haute pink
Spinels are often called the great imposters of the gem world for their cunning ability to masquerade as rubies and sapphires. First discovered in Badakhshan, a province in Northern Afghanistan, spinels form in a range of colours, from ruby-like crimson to fiery orange, vivid green, sapphire blue, and violet. The British Crown Jewels contain perhaps the most famous example of the stone’s mistaken identity: the crown’s 170-carat central gem, confusingly called the Black Prince’s Ruby. Though still beautiful, the spinel makes the piece far less valuable than if it were a ruby. Here, we highlightfour contemporary designs that celebrate the true splendour of this vexing gem.
![Spinel and diamond ring](https://rrsg.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/22184606/FEA_SpinelsGems_OscarHeyamn-e1495270433906.jpg)
![Spinel and white gold necklace](https://rrsg.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/22184607/FEA_SpinelsGems_Bulgari-e1495270406915.jpg)
An industry pillar, New York’s Oscar Heyman jewellery house has been crafting classically inspired designs for top jewellery houses like Tiffany & Co. and Cartier for decades. This gold platinum ring highlights a stunning deep-red 7-carat oval spinel and flanks it with a pair of brilliant-cut diamonds. Meanwhile, at Bulgari, twenty plump spinel beads sit like succulent red berries on this vine-like diamond-covered 18-carat white gold necklace, which was recently added to the High Jewellery collection.
![Spinel ring](https://rrsg.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/22184607/FEA_SpinelsGems_Coomi-e1495270421275.jpg)
![Spinel ring](https://rrsg.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/22184606/FEA_SpinelsGems_Spark-e1495270448167.jpg)
Mumbai’s Coomi Bhasin frequently works colourful pink spinels into her ornate designs. This handcrafted ring centres on a luminous 13-carat pink spinel that is framed with four petite yellow diamonds and set on a diamond band. Meanwhile, this 18k white-and-rose-gold ring from New York’s Spark Creations centres on a pear-shaped, pink-hued spinel framed with white diamonds.