Rhodochrosite on Fluorite (ex Dr. William Logan Collection)

Item Description

This piece could easily pass as coming from the famous Sweet Home Mine in Colorado. The color, luster, gemminess, habit, associations and paragenesis are almost exactly the same. The Wutong Mine in China produced some really impressive Rhodochrosites in recent history, and this miniature is a lovely example of this now hard to find material. Several sharp, well-formed, gemmy, lustrous, rich red colored rhombohedra of Rhodochrosite are sitting on a layer of translucent / gemmy soft purple and greenish Fluorite with a bit of host rock matrix some scattered golden metallic Pyrite crystals. The largest Rhodo rhomb measures about 2.0 cm across, but you have to follow it down into the vug to see the whole crystal. Overall, the piece is in decent condition, though there are some cleaved crystals around the periphery where the piece was removed from the pocket wall. The color really stands out as the crystals glow even when not in direct lighting. A wonderful example of this contemporary material that was quickly disappeared from the market. Priced at $1,200 in the inventory. From the worldwide Rhodochrosite collection of Dr. William S. Logan (Specimen #X37-7).