Rhodonite

Rhodonite is a manganese-rich silicate mineral best known for its distinctive pink, rose-red and reddish-brown colouring. Many polished specimens display dramatic black veins, patches or dendritic markings. These dark areas are generally secondary manganese oxides that developed as the Rhodonite was altered or weathered. Rhodonite belongs to the Rhodonite Group and forms mainly in manganese-rich metamorphic deposits. It may occur as massive material, granular aggregates or well-formed crystals. Although opaque pink-and-black material is the form most familiar in the crystal trade, exceptionally fine Rhodonite crystals can be translucent or transparent and may display intense red colour. Its name was introduced in 1819 and comes from the Greek word meaning “rose”, referring to its characteristic colour. Rhodonite has been used for jewellery, carvings, decorative objects and ornamental stone, with particularly famous historical material coming from Russia. Because Rhodonite can resemble Rhodochrosite and several other pink manganese minerals, colour alone should never be used for identification.