the.com/rhodochrosite
a manganese carbonate that bleeds pink because it slowly devours rust from within.
means Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral prized for its rose-pink to red color, often appearing in distinctive banded layers.
from From the Greek 'rhodon' (rose) and 'chros' (color), literally 'rose-colored' — a 19th-century scientific coinage built to name the stone's blush. The same 'rhodon' blooms in 'rhododendron' (rose-tree) and tints the metal rhodium, whose salts make rosy solutions.
- national gem
- Argentina's official national mineral, mined by the Incas
- inca rose
- old stalactites cut to reveal rosy banded rings
- too soft
- hardness 4 means it scratches under casual wear
- color thief
- manganese gives the blush, iron muddies it brown
- sweet poison
- acid drips fizzy bubbles, dissolving it like chalk
sweet home mine colorado — state mineral of colorado, famous for pink rhodochrosite crystals found near sweet home, producing gem-quality specimens
catamarca province argentina — produces exceptional red rhodochrosite from the capillitas mine, world's finest quality specimens with perfect rhombohedra
peru inca rose — pink rhodochrosite carved into figurines and jewelry, historically named 'inca rose' by peruvian miners in the andes