Rhodizite (rare and fine)

Item Description

Rhodizite is one of the more impressive rare minerals that has been found in Madagascar. It has been found in only three localities outside Madagascar: The Sverdlovsk Oblast of Russia, the Meldon Aplite Quarry in Devon, England, and at the Animikie Red Ace Pegmatite in Wisconsin, USA. It should be noted that the Russian and English material are both questionable according to mindat.org as of the time of this listing, so there may only be ONE valid locality for Rhodizite outside of Madagascar. Before the Madagascar material hit the market, the largest known crystals were found in Russia and they only measured up to 1 cm. Rhodizite is a rare mineral, and the fact that it's a gem quality cesium beryllium borate makes it all the mor intriguing. Rhodizite forms a series with Londonite, and it should be noted that many of the crystals from Madagascar should be labeled as Londonite-Rhodizite series unless they have been properly analyzed. This specimen was acquired from Dr. Federico Pezzotta, a Madagascar mineral expert who personally analyzed it as Rhodizite. The piece features a solitary, very sharp, well formed, lustrous, light greenish-yellow color dodecahedron measuring 1.3 cm across sitting on Quartz and Feldspar matrix. No damage, and fine quality for this rare mineral species. Priced at $1,500 in our inventory.