Rhodochrosite

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Matrix rhodochrosite specimens, from N'Chwaning, like this one, are very rare. The cluster of cranberry red, gemmy, lustrous, rhodochrosite crystals, reach 1.75 cm in length. The crystals clearly exhibit their scalenohedral form with complex modifications at the terminations that add to the light reflected off each point! This specimen has a lot of pizzazz to it even though one or two crystals have tiny cleaves, which you might think is not unusual given that this is such a soft mineral and these are 25 years out of the ground. However, I can say that most of them came that way from the very beginning, and to find clusters even with minimal tip damage such as this one is very difficult. This piece is in fact the product of buying a grapefruit sized piece and trimming it brutally to get to the protected core crystals - which is why they are so nearly pristine. MUCH MORE COLORFUL In PERSON, this is one of the rhodo pockets that just GLOW with color...