TK08 Rhodochrosite

Ushkatan III  Deposit, -Zhayrem area, Kazakhstan
7.4x 5.5x 3.4 cm

$400

Kazakhstan is not a place that comes to mind when one thinks of rhodochrosite, but in the 1990's this deposit produced a number of very fine botryoidal specimens.

Much of it was used for lapidary work, particularly cabochons.  Today they are rare, and represent one of the few examples of good-colored botryoidal rhodochrosite.

I liked this one because you could see some of the matrix present underneath the rhodochrosite-- often times they tend to look like shards of rhodochrosite, but this one looks like a proper specimen.