This beautiful purple Spinel comes from the Bamiyan province in central Afghanistan.
Specimen #016 measures about 3 x 4 x 3.5cm and weighs about 80g, the well-defined largest crystal octahedron has an edge length of about 1.4cm. The parent rock is mainly 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.
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