Rhodochrosite with Bertrandite

Item Description

These specimens came out in the early 1990s, and quickly disappeared from the market. Kara-Oba had the distinction of producing the rare and interesting combination of Rhodochrosite with Bertrandite (a manganese species with a beryllium species), and I can only think of a few places in the world outside of Kazakhstan where these two minerals are found together on the same specimen. This is a good quality example of this rare combo featuring attractive, well-formed, pearly, white Bertrandite crystals measuring up to 7 mm sitting atop layered rhombic crystals of Rhodochrosite. Don't let the brown color fool you, these are truly Rhodochrosite crystals and there is actually a small contacted point on the back of the piece where a pink internal color can be seen. Most of the Rhodos from this locality are brown on the surface (presumably due to the presence of iron that was introduced at the end of the formation of the crystals - which chemically would mean the outermost portion of the crystals are actually Siderite), but they are pink inside. A very attractive and hard to find association specimen from about 30 years ago, the likes of which we probably will not see again. Good crystallized Bertrandites are not common, and certainly worthwhile for anybody who collects rare minerals in good display quality specimens. Priced at $1,200 in the inventory.