"Wheat sheaf" Rhodochrosite

Wheat sheaf variety rhodochrosite: Vibrant red-pink Rhodochrosite from the Kalahari Manganese Field of South Africa

Hands down, this is a vibrant red-pink Rhodochrosite from the Kalahari Manganese Field of South Africa.

These crystals are very similar to the intergrown wheat-sheaf style seen in some books from this find circa 1980; however, these 'sheaves' are standing on end and with all of their terminations providing an intense sparkle to the piece.

The 'wheat sheaf' varieties are one of the very rarest of habits for Rhodochrosite from the Kalahari and only came out in a small window of time from the N'Chwaning II Mine around 1980. Today, these pieces are treasured, and very few are ever seen for sale.

This small cabinet piece has the best color, a riveting insanely sparkly luster, and a great shape for display either vertically or horizontally. This habit features rounded, almost opaque, light pink areas, which are supplanted by glassy and gemmy, cherry-red, needle-like terminations.

The contrast of differing colors and forms in one crystal is stunning and unique to these specimens from a single pocket or zone long ago, nearly 40 years. The Rhodo is very sparkly and has such intense color saturation, it lights up across a room. This gorgeous piece comes with a custom engraved lucite base. This rare specimen is out of the Marty Zinn Collection in 2003 and the William Logan Collection from 2017.

Location: From N'Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape, South Africa

Measures: 6,20 x 4,60 x 2,00 cm in total size

And many thanks to Laszlo Kupi from Finemineralphotography for the fantastic job! @finemineralphotography