Burmese red spinel and diamond three stone ring. Set to centre with a cushion shape old cut natural unenhanced Burmese red spinel in an open back claw setting with an approximate weight of 1.00 carats, flanked by two cushion shape old mine diamonds in open back claw settings with an approximate combined weight of 0.50 carats, to an elegant three stone design featuring curving claws, an intricately pierced gallery and fancy open backholing, flanked by trumpeting shoulders and flowing through to a solid tapering D-shape shank. Tested yellow gold, circa 1890, accompanied by Gemmological Certification Services report #79225-40.

The name 'Spinel' is actually derived from the Latin word “spinella”, meaning little thorn, due to their sharp crystal formation. Like diamonds, Spinel are part of the cubic crystal system and they form in perfect octahedrons. A hard and durable gemstone, spinel scores an 8 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, making it a perfect choice for a piece of jewellery.

Spinels can come in a myriad of colours, including red, pink, orange, blue, violet, green, and black. The finest spinels exhibit a bright and brilliant red, which can be similar in appearance to ruby, leading to historical confusion between the two gemstones. It was only in 1783 that mineralogist Jean Baptiste Louis Rome de Lisle developed a test to differentiate between ruby and spinel.

The so-called 'Black Prince's ruby', found on the British Imperial state crown is one of the most famous examples of a Spinel that was confused as a Ruby for centuries!

This ring is in excellent condition.