Rhodochrosite (found 1977)

Item Description

A jewel! Cherry red crystals of any mineral, with glassy luster, would excite us. But, these legendary rhodochrosites from circa 1980 have a special place in most collector's hearts. Glassy and gemmy, this cherry-red cluster of scalenohedral Rhodochrosite from the Hotazel Mine has crystals to 1.5 cm in length. This is just a gorgeous thumbnail with variously oriented Rhodochrosite crystals! It is a perfect balance and size to impress, and has the best color and best gemminess. These older Hotazel came out in the mid-1970s in just a few pockets and were much more limited finds than those from the N'Chwaning I Mine in the early 1980s. And, we know this is Hotazel from the old label and the purchase in 1977 from Mineral Kingdom of Woodmere (Miriam and Julius Zweibel, legendary dealers from New York who went frequently to Africa) Note that, as with nearly all such Rhodochrosite specimens, there are minute cleavages at the tips, mostly as a result of how they were collected at the time and par for the course with this old material (and in any case, only visible up close). This piece does show small cleaves on several crystal tips: As far as they go, it is important to disclose this issue but it has no real visual effect. Hotazel Rhodochrosites remain one of the ultimate classics, and specimens like this are hard to come by. A note on the index card that comes with the piece indicated that it was originally obtained from the legendary "Mineral Kingdom" dealership of Miriam and Julius Zweibel in 1977, the big African importers of the time. Valued $5000-plus. This is from the Ed Ruggiero Collection, of Dallas. Ed was instrumental in development of early semiconductor tech at texas Instruments.