Nice lot of Bluish Purple to Cornflower Blue Pakistani Spinel Crystal Specimens from the Hunza Region of NWFP. I have never before seen such vivid colors of Blue in Spinel coming from Pakistan. This lot really has the most fabulous colors. The material overall is moderately to heavily included with a few stones having nice areas gemmy enough to facet though the cut stones will be relatively small in size being melee. This lot is ideally for the collectors and/or cabbers. Please note that Facet Grade material is limited and there are no Guarantees on the facet quality rough in here; however, we are confident that this will make the right person very happy. The material is a great buy as we don't know if any more of this material will be coming out in the near future.

1. Pakistan is known to produce a variety of colors in Spinel; however, it is rarely facet Grade. As of the last few years there has been a pretty significant find of a bright cornflower blue Spinel in Hunza, Pakistan similar to the fabled Kashmir Sapphire. The material has the most beautiful color and is highly sought after; however, most material found as of thus far is cabbing grade and little or no facet grade material is readily available. Afghanistan has also been known to produce red Spinel and we are hearing of increased mining efforts in Badakshan, Afghanistan. This is the region known to produce everything from Lapis to Spinel. We will keep you informed of developments as they unfold.