Spinel

Abundant, attractive, affordable, and colorful spinels are available in red, pink, and blue colors and can occasionally exhibit asterism and chatoyancy. Spinel is a gemstone found in great abundance in Sri Lanka, and until the rise of modern gemology in the 19th and 20th centuries, spinels were often mistakenly identified as corundum, as they were mostly found in the same mine. Subsequent research into the mineral composition of these two gem families led to their separation, and many gem enthusiasts found that their beloved rubies and sapphires are, in fact, spinels.
Natural spinel, however, has always been a rare and beautiful gem. Sri Lanka is the second largest supplier of spinel to the global gem and jewelry market, with colors ranging from ruby red, pink, orange, shades of reddish-brown, purple, blue, bluish-green, mauve, greenish-black, black, to colorless. The occurrence of natural blue spinel coloured by cobalt has been found in Sri Lanka. Cobalt spinel has been found around Ratnapura, Okkampitiya, and Embilipitiya. Apart from the common varieties, there are also varieties identified as Ceylonite, Gahnite, and Ghanospinel.