TUC114-029

Rhodochrosite

$6,000.00

Miniature, 3.7 x 2.8 x 2.7 cm

N'Chwaning II Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Rhodochrosite of this style came from N'Chwaning in the early 1980s, and today is elusive to find on the market. This cute miniature reminds me of a flower. It is highly unusual, with secondary crystals grown atop the earlier generation of elongated, gemmy, cherry-red scalenohedra. The top layer of crystallization has a strange, truncated termination with little flat tops on each crystal. I have seen only a handful of these specimens, surely all from the same pocket, for sale over the years. Joe Budd Photos