Name: Rhodonite
Brand: Crystal Classics
Price: 12500 USD
Availability: InStock

Rhodonite

A specimen such as this needs little introduction, such is its phenomenal quality. Rhodonite, calcium manganese silicate, is an uncommon species, sometimes an ore of manganese, and other times an ornamental polished stone. This is because it usually occurs as massive layers in rock rather than individual crystals. Crystals, wherever found, are much sought after and take several forms within the triclinic structural form: either as blades, or tabular forms. At Broken Hill in New South Wales large blocky, somewhat tabular crystals of an intense raspberry-red colour dominate at North mine in a form not seen anywhere else on Earth. Nearby, at Zinc Corporation mine, gemmy, razor-sharp bladed crystals were found in one small cavity and are probably the best-of-species crystals, but as individuals. Similar sharp gemmy individual crystals have been found at Morro da Mina in Minas Gerais, Brazil, but good examples are rare. In terms of display specimens, Franklin in New Jersey produced some fine crystallized aggregates but these are extremely rare and usually show some degree of damage. It was the amazing finds at Chiurucu mine (also known as San Martin mine) in Peru that set the new benchmark for aesthetic quality from the 1990s onwards, but the flow of specimens has been very sporadic, with most coming from the original find in 1989. Other attempts at reworking the deposit were made in the late 1990s and in 2006/2007, but the crystals from each phase are all distinctly different. This remarkable small cabinet display specimen embodies everything fine about that original occurrence in 1989. Its colour is simply mind-blowing. For a Rhodonite, it is the richest, intense pink you could wish for - like a bubble-gum pink. The crystals, like stacked blades, reach over 1 cm in length and are wonderfully formed, with no damage. The whole specimen is pure Rhodonite: super-rich and staggeringly beautiful. Very few Chiurucu mine specimens of this quality are available today - most having gone to museums, or tightly held by the few lucky collectors who managed to obtain one. A true South American classic.

$12,500.00