Rhodochrosite With Manganite

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This lovely Rhodo has excellent luster and a very juicy, cherry-red color. It is sparklya and bright, in part due to a druse on some crystal tips of submillimeter quartz, deposited atop. Many of the Rhodo scalenohedrons, which reach up to 1 cm in length, have this quartz cap which makes them look like white sugar was sprinkled atop. Some of the terminations are also sprinkled with glittering black, metallic crystals of manganite which increases the visual interest greatly. Overall, thus, we have the manganite and the quartz accents on an already superbly cherry-red rhodo, and the result is a very unique and choice specimen! It is a miniature that stands out from the crowd (not that there are many to go around these days, as this was mined in 1979-1982). While it is difficult to find a good rhodochrosite from these finds today, they DO turn up time to time on the market. However, usually they are price prohibitive to own, and I have seen few as unique in style as this combination specimen (at a reasonable price)