Rhodochrosite intergrown with Baryte - image 1

Rhodochrosite intergrown with Baryte - image 2

Rhodochrosite intergrown with Baryte - image 4

Rhodochrosite intergrown with Baryte - image 5

Rhodochrosite intergrown with Baryte

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The first recorded find of excellent quality baryte crystals associated intimately with rhodochrosite came out of China in 2022, and we bought much of the pocket at the time. Waiting to see if more came, we have now only seen a few more minor examples, and are now releasing the first lot. This is perhaps the choicest of our miniatures, with a sharp snow white baryte 2.6 cm tall surmounting a rhodochrosite cluster. Fascinatingly, the terminations of each baryte show oriented and included rhodochrosite within! At that point, once you see it, you realize it is in ALL the crystals, and so the baryte here grew somehow as a shiny facade and covering over rhodochrosite pinnacles or stalactites, encasing them as we would encase a house in walls to give it smooth exteriors. The more you look, the more fascinating this is. Also on close examination you can see the baryte is itself made up of two layers, one snow white and opaque (and fluorescent!), but overlaid with a more sparkling, clear layer of growth that does not fluoresce. A fascinating find!