This is a pristine, competition miniature of rhodochrosite. Although the mine is still active, it has not produced rhodos of this quality since the late 1970's. This cluster features CLASSIC FORM AND COLOR: translucent, cranberry colored, scalenohedrons, up to 3 cm tall. This is the BEST habit for the mine and species, to most folks! This quality is extremely difficult to find in dealers stocks, and when one is found, the price can be priced incredibly high. As expensive as this may seem, they do only go up in value every year. It has been 25 years and more now since they were found. Every year, they become harder to obtain and yet every collector wants one for the collection to represent the pinnacle of rhodo collecting. Those with the contrasting manganite, as here, and arranged in a radial burst like a flower, represent the most desirable style among several varietals that came out in the late 1970s. 3.75 x 2 x 3 cm