Bringing in the New Year with a bright bang! Here are some red spinel melee! I’ve had plans for these little guys for years, but they WILL be set in 2015. Famous last words. Hah!
I bought these stones with my husband after a great Vietnamese lunch. We popped over to the local gem store and I spotted these beauties. He keeps asking me why I haven’t set them yet, and I don’t have an answer besides that I haven’t gotten to it yet.
They are mostly red or red-pink, and really remind me of the color of Maraschino cherries as a group. Some are more pink, and some are more red. Since spinels are so rare, I accept their differences. Once set, I doubt the color differences will be noticeable.
Taking these photos allows me to see and appreciate the variations in color and cut. Each stone is special in it’s own way.
There is something so satisfying to me about tossing little stones around like confetti and taking pictures of them. I love capturing their tiny details, even more so than larger stones.
The Gemstone Project 
Great post and awesome photos as always! I cannot wait to see what you do with them. Do you think that you will use them all for one project/piece or do you think that they will be used in multiple applications?
-gingercurls10
http://thegemandi.wordpress.com
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Thanks! I’ve always planned on making a band with them, but I recently came up with a second parcel, so now I am really not sure what to do with so many little guys. If the second parcel is matched well enough, I might make two bands instead of just one! Or something else, they’d be cool as accent stones, and I have a bunch of rubies and red spinels I really need to do something with. Too much red suddenly!
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Reblogged this on The Gem and I and commented:
Gorgeous pictures and informative content!
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Can you tell us where you found the red spinel melee? I may need some next year for a pendant project.
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I actually bought everything that was in the store, because it was so unexpected and I didn’t figure I’d come across it again! I have two parcels, one that’s currently in my etsy shop and one that I’m going to use for a band eventually. I had divided it into 3 parcels and sold one a few years ago, reserved one for myself and the other is listed here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/222956273/parcel-red-spinel-melee-rounds?ref=shop_home_active_18
I know there are more out there, it’s just a matter of finding them. Let me know if you need help!
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