A very unusual rhodochrosite, from a find made in the mid 1990"s. Botryoidal rhodochrosite is known from a few places, particularly a few long closed localities in Germany and Japan.  Where these differ most however, is in the depth of the red color.  More often than not, botryoidal rhodochrosite tends to be a very light pink. At Ushkatyn, it is nearly maroon.  Actually, I cannot think of another location that has quite this color of rhodochrosite, be it crystalline or botryoidal.

One side of the specimen has been polished to show the concentric banding of rhodochrosite beneath the surface.

The piece is probably 90% rhodochrosite, usually rhodo layer s somewhat thinner.

This was one of the larger specimens available, and I selected it because it did not have a shard-like appearance, as is so often the case when a specimen was originally part of a much larger layer of material.  It also shows the botryoidal habit well, and the rhodochrosite is particularly thick.

This interesting material is not often available, and while I don"t expect them to sell particularly quickly, they were just too cool to pass up.