On the eve of the Spring Festival, the jewelry market is booming, and colored gemstones are once again in high demand. Although the market is entering a long-term trend... “ Bear market ” Already 4 However, thanks to the collective strength of capital in many niche jewelry categories and the innovative business practices of merchants, colored gemstones continue to buck the trend and remain popular. Among them, the standout star—pink spinel—has yet to make much of an appearance in the domestic market. 1 Over the course of a year, but the retail price has already doubled.

However, since hot pink quartz closely resembles rubies in appearance, there have been instances of jewelry e-commerce platforms selling hot pink quartz as rubies. Consumers should be extra vigilant when purchasing jewelry.

“ What jewelry is trendy for this year’s Spring Festival? ” At the Kangwang Road Market in Guangzhou, Ms. Zeng, a resident of Yuexiu District, recently shopped on Taobao. The sellers promptly recommended to her the market’s new arrival—spinel. At first glance, the bright red spinel (commonly known as “hot pink”) looks indistinguishable from a pigeon’s-blood ruby, yet its price is only a fraction of the latter’s. 1/5 To 1/3 。

Less than 1 The annual price has doubled.

Hot Pink is a bright red spinel that achieves gem-quality transparency. At the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in the United States, Hot Pink has been consistently... 3 The year has become a new hotspot coveted by gemstone companies around the world.

The reporter’s investigation found that from... 2015 Since the second half of the year, gem-quality spinels in hot pink and other colors have been sporadically appearing on the processing, wholesale, and retail markets in the Pearl River Delta.

Mr. Huang, a longtime merchant at Liwan Plaza, introduced: “ Compared to other high-end gemstones, heat-treated pink sapphires boast brilliant colors, and products of superior quality account for a significant proportion. Many heat-treated pink sapphires exhibit the exquisite pigeon's-blood red hue characteristic of top-grade rubies, making them highly appealing in appearance. In contrast to mid-range gemstones such as tanzanite and garnet, or organic gems like amber and pearls, spinel boasts greater hardness and higher collectible value, giving it clear advantages. ”

In the mainland market “ Landing ” Less than 1 Over the past year, the price of hot powder has doubled. The weight of ordinary hot powder is approximately... 2 Kla ~3 Kela, the price has been changed from the previous one. 1 Ten thousand yuan rises to 2 Ten thousand yuan; average fineness, relatively heavy weight 5 Klajie powder, the price has been adjusted from its launch price. 4 Ten thousand yuan has risen to nearly the current level. 8 10,000 RMB. Currently, the market price of hot powder is comparable to that of tourmaline; even ordinary hot powder now costs more than the popular chrysoberyl (non-cat's-eye variety) on the market. Price.

Actual output is lower than expected.

Dr. Zhang Shibai from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Guangzhou) believes that the current production centers for hot powder are concentrated in Tanzania, recently... 4 Over the past year, the actual quality and quantity of mined gemstones have fallen far short of expectations. Judging from the price trends of products such as emeralds and tourmalines, the long-term value of emerging gemstones generally tends to rise significantly.

However, unlike last year’s trendy products—such as southern red jade and tridacna shells—spinel lacks any established cultural tradition, so it remains to be seen whether it will appeal to Chinese investors. Tan Lian from Guangdong Gongzheng Auction House believes that current purchasing trends for this product are still largely driven by consumer demand, and buyers should focus on acquiring pieces that are particularly rare and feature vivid colors. 5 Products priced above KLA; as for investments, the timing is still not quite right, and we’ll need to wait and see a bit longer. It’s wise to stock up on raw stones—there’s plenty of room for imagination, and buying early won’t put you at a disadvantage.

Common Misconceptions in Spinel Collecting

Misconception 1 Spinel is hot powder.

In online jewelry sales, consumers currently have a rather vague understanding of the concept of “hot powder,” and similar situations frequently arise. “ Pink hot powder ”、 “ Light blue hot powder ” words that are laughably inappropriate. Director Xiang Xianbiao of the Guangdi Jewelry Testing Center emphasized: According to the definition in American mineralogy and gemology, only spinels with a true red color can be called "hot pink." The price difference between hot pink spinels and ordinary spinels is enormous—by at least... 5:1 the relationship. To this end, if e-commerce platforms use pale pink or blue spinels to masquerade as hot-pink ones, 1 When a kula is sold at a high price of tens of thousands of yuan, there’s a suspicion of confusing concepts and deceiving consumers. However, purplish-red spinels with excellent clarity and high color saturation are sometimes referred to as “hot pink” by overseas merchants.

Misconception 2 Hot powder must be cheaper than ruby.

In terms of color, shape, and hardness, heat-treated pink sapphires are highly similar to rubies. However, from the perspective of the Guangdong market, heat-treated pink sapphires of the same specifications generally sell at prices about lower than those of rubies. 60%~80% The proportion of such cases is significant. The Guangzhou Jewelry Testing Center has already uncovered instances where low-priced hot-powder rubies were fraudulently passed off as rubies several times their actual value—another scam frequently seen in e-commerce sales.

But that doesn’t mean that hot pink sapphires are necessarily cheaper than rubies. Veteran jewelry collector Lin Chaohui explains that, in comparison, rubies have... “ Ten out of ten are cracked. ” It is said that heat-treated pink sapphires generally have higher clarity and better color. Therefore, heat-treated pink sapphires of the same weight may not necessarily be cheaper than rubies.

Misconception 3 Tanzanite is spinel.

The primary source of heat-treated pink corundum is Tanzania, where tanzanite—a colored gemstone already renowned in the international jewelry world—is also mined. During their investigation, reporters found that many online jewelry retailers confuse these concepts, lumping tanzanite together with heat-treated pink corundum and spinel. In fact, aside from sharing the same origin, the two are completely different: Tanzanite is a variety of zoisite with a Mohs hardness of only... 6~7 The colors are primarily blue and violet-blue; while spinel has a Mohs hardness as high as... 8 Its hardness is comparable to that of tourmaline and aquamarine, slightly lower than that of cat's eye and emerald, and it comes in a wide variety of colors. Hardness is one of the key factors determining a gemstone's value; thus, spinel with high hardness clearly holds greater collectible value. △