Rhodochrosite - unusual style

Item Description

Rhodochrosite from the famous Kalahari Manganese Field finds of 1978-1982 or so, is among the most legendary of all mineral discoveries. We all know what the best of them look like, the textbook cherry red to strawberry red scalenohedral crystals, sometimes in clusters, with gem zones. They are in books, shown in ads, etc etc. And then, there are the oddballs! In this case, literally, an "odd ball" shaped specimen that seems to be a thick (approximately 1 cm thick) cast of rhodochrosite that curled around a ball shaped object that is now missing. Perhaps it formed as a cast over a calcite or xonotlite ball that is now gone. Who knows?! In any case, this is one of the weirdest N'Chwaning rhodo styles we have ever seen. It seems complete all around, too - no broken edges. It is a thick rind of probably lapidary grade material, with a curving and natural shape as a specimen that you would not expect. The shape looks more like that of a Kelly Mine smithsonite ball - but in red! From an old collection, and you can see what the previous collector paid on a previous dealer label from some years ago. It is, indeed, a bizarre mineral oddity.