This pink spinel believed to be from Vietnam’s Luc Yen district contained many interesting solid inclusions. Two of them include this rod-like crystal on the right, which micro Raman revealed to be pargasite, and the large dolomite crystal to its left. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported occurrence of pargasite in spinel from this deposit. Bright green pargasite is a common guest mineral in the marbles from the Luc Yen area.
Natural Spinel • Vietnam • Enhancements: None Detected (None) • Lighting Conditions: Dark Field
Photographer: E. Billie Hughes •
Image Number: A-003-7191-2 • Field of View = 2.5 mm • Date Posted: 19 August 2020
Hughes, E.B., Koivula, J.I., Manorotkul, W., Renfro, N. and Hughes, R.W. (2019) Spinel inclusions: An exercise in aesthetics. InColor, No. 43, pp. 48–55; RWHL*.
Gübelin, E.J. and Koivula, J.I. (2005) Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones, Volume 2. Basel, Switzerland, Opinio Publishers, 830 pp.; RWHL*.