Rhodochrosite

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A classic, cherry red, single Rhodochrosite scalenohedron from the great finds at the N'Chwaning I Mine in the early 1980s. It's nearly an inch in length and totally gem with excellent form. The red color is just vibrant and the with the clarity of the crystal it is just a stunning thumbnail example of this famous find! It doesn't even require much light to be noticed in a display! The tip looks a little funky but this is not damage, rather a contact face where it grew against another small, 1.5 mm crystal there — and not visible from one angle. It is pristine, but has an unusual termination, in other words. And, for this material, is an imposing thumbnail with the right color and gemminess at the right price point. Featured in the book Collecting Pseudomorphs: The Changelings of Mineralogy (Mineralogical Record, January 2025) on p. 69, fig. 16. Part of an educational set, with these additional items: Rhodochrosite ps. Sturmanite (SYP25-13b) and Sturmanite (SYP25-13c).