STONE GEMMY RHODOCHROSITE STALACTITE CHUNK

Huge gem quality RHODOCHROSITE STALACTITE SLICE!

Very high quality 100% natural Rhodochrosite with deep pink and red colorations. The specimen would make an outstanding addition for someone's collection. 

The name Rhodochrosite comes from the Greek rhodos, meaning “rose,” and khros, meaning “color,” and refers to its vivid pink to rose-red color. It has a vitreous and pearly luster, often banded in layers ranging from white or light pink, to those that are nearly red and opaque. Though most Rhodochrosite is in the pink to red color range, it can also be yellowish, orange or brown. It is often confused with the manganese silicate, Rhodonite, but is distinctly softer with white banding, rather than the black veins of manganese oxide present in Rhodonite. Rhodochrosite is also referred to as Raspberry Spar, Manganese Spar, and most notably as Inca Rose , as the Incas believed Rhodochrosite was the blood of their ancestral rulers turned to stone. It is the National Gemstone of Argentina, where some of the most important deposits are mined, and is the State Mineral of Colorado, USA, where the Sweet Home Mine near Alma and nearby localities produce some of the rarest and most beautiful red Rhodochrosite in the world. In massive form, Rhodochrosite’s pink and white bands are extremely attractive and often used in semi-precious jewelry, decorative stones or carved into figurines, while stalactite forms are cross-cut in slices to display their unique concentric bands. Fine transparent crystals are rare and costly. Ancient Lore and Legend Rhodochrosite, known as “Inca Rose,” was believed to have been discovered in the pre-Colombian 13th century silver mines in what is now the Northern part of Argentina when it was part of the Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyo. An Incan ruler named Viracocha was credited with the discovery of the beautiful red stone, and it became sacred to the people who thought it was the solidified blood of their ancestral kings and queens. The mines were abandoned when the Inca Empire began its decline, but the next seven hundred years or so of inactivity is now thought to be what permitted massive stalactite growths to form in the old workings.