In addition to beautiful rich reds, spinel can be found in a range of beautiful pastel shades of pink and purple. Of particular interest is a vivid hot pink with a tinge of orange that is mined in Burma that is one of the most spectacular gemstone colors in any gem species. Spinel also comes in beautiful blues which are sometimes called cobalt spinel, but these are very very rare. They have never even seen the real thing. In fact, the main thing holding back greater recognition for spinel is rarity.
Fine spinels are now more rare than the rubies they used to imitate.
In addition to Burma, now known as Myanmar, spinel is mined in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Tadjikstan, part of the former Soviet Union. Spinel is a durable gemstone that is perfect for all jewelry uses.