There’s an underrated gemstone that appears in all the best places, from Dior and Tiffany & Co. The latest fine jewelry collection to the red carpet, although you may not immediately spot it, as it comes in a wide range of colors, from crimson to red carpet. Blue to soft gray, lavender, orange, pink, and deep black. This stone of various colors is spinel.

“Our spinel sales are very strong,” says Rebecca Shukan, sales director at jeweler Omi Privé. “Our retail partners and collectors have been eagerly purchasing our cobalt spinel rings with blue hues. This season, we also used grey spinel because we like the combination of grey with lilac and blue undertones. Still, we consider it to be one of the most underrated colored gemstones on the market.”

This can be a local issue. Olivier Reza, CEO of Parisian jeweler Reza, finds that his Asian and European clients are most familiar with this gemstone. Although U.S. shoppers have yet to embrace it, demand elsewhere has pushed prices higher. “The cost of [spinel] with a unique color is comparable to the best unheated Ceylon sapphires,” he said.

Giorgio Bulgari, founder of jewelry brand Giorgio B, said the price of a high-quality red sample was “astronomical”, but he was still willing to pay. “This is very popular among collectors and connoisseurs. The lively nature of spinel makes it very attractive, sometimes even more attractive than ruby.”

For contemporary designers, soft, pastel tones are more appealing than the highly competitive blues and reds. Designer Eva Fehren uses grey and purplish-pink spinels in shield, hexagonal and radiant cuts for her latest collection Dusk and sets them in black gold. “I was drawn to these special spinels because they give off a quiet glow, just like the colors you see on the edge of a sunset,” she said. “This is my first time using spinel, but it won’t be my last.”