Manganese-bearing Smithsonite

Item Description

Here is a rare, small cabinet size specimen of sharp, dark pink Manganoan Smithsonite that completely covers the display face of its matrix, and is quite rich for this unusual Smithsonite varietal from Tsumeb. The crystals have a very good, dark pink color, excellent luster, and classic rhombohedral habit that, combined, makes them distinguishable by eye from the more common, and more pastel pink, Cobaltian Smithsonites. Manganoan Smithsonites like this came from one small pocket area of the mine in 1984-1985, and not again before or since in such quality. They are well-formed, gemmy to translucent and are to 1 cm on edge. This is a great example of this rare varietal, where the dark pink color is due to manganese and not the more common cobalt substitution. Internal reflections in these transparent to translucent crystals make them "pop" with color! Tsumeb produced the best Manganoan Smithsonites in the world! These were commonly mislabeled in old collections as either "Smithsonite" (as with this label) or as "Cobaltoan Smithsonite before it was realized that these unique pieces were colored by manganese instead of by cobalt. Most Manganoan Smithsonite is thought to have come out in the mid-1980s, and was originally sold as Cobaltian Smithsonite prior to analysis. This large, rich specimen is a treasure from that era. The piece is accompanied by a Van Scriver label and is from the Sussman collection (sold by us, in the early 2000s).