This beautiful purple Spinel comes from Bamiyan province, central Afghanistan.
The specimen #007 measures about 6.5 x 5 x 5.5cm and weighs about 360g, the well-defined large crystal octahedron has an edge length of about 3.8cm. The matrix consists mainly of Feldspar.
Since the 16th century different spellings of the mineral Spinel have been used, e.g. Spynell, Spinella and Spinellus. Today the spelling Spinel is common, occasionally Spinnell can be found. A misleading synonym for lavender spinel is Almandine Spinel. The purple color is caused by different admixtures, e.g. chromium, iron or cobalt.
Hello! My name is Marco Schreier, founder of the Mineralienhandlung GmbH of the same name, a specialist wholesaler for minerals, fossils, gemstones, tumbled stones, collector's objects and gift items made of stone. In the year 1998 I founded the brand Maulwurf Geschenke aus der Natur® in order to combine our product range for resellers, museum shops, dealers and other commercial users of the precious stones with our quality guarantee.
You will only receive mineralogically correctly identified stones from us, which promote the joy of collecting and experiencing the precious treasures of nature. Treatments such as coatings or coloring are always declared. Our own production in Asia guarantees the best quality at attractive wholesale prices and fair and transparent product procurement. I personally vouch for this.