{"id":166,"date":"2008-02-06T01:27:30","date_gmt":"2008-02-06T09:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cheldodge.net\/blog\/2008\/02\/06\/gemstone-of-the-day-rhodochrosite\/"},"modified":"2008-02-06T01:27:30","modified_gmt":"2008-02-06T09:27:30","slug":"gemstone-of-the-day-rhodochrosite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/lavajewelry\/2008\/02\/06\/gemstone-of-the-day-rhodochrosite\/","title":{"rendered":"Gemstone of the Day: Rhodochrosite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s gemstone of the day is another pretty pink gem: rhodochrosite<\/a>. Rhodochrosite gets its name from the Greek, meaning “rose colored.” It is a manganese carbonate mineral with a hardness of only about 3.5-4 on Moh’s scale. Rhodochrosite forms by the oxidation of manganese-bearing ores in a carbonate environment (for example, stalagmites and stalactites in caves). It is found in Argentina, Peru, Colorado and Montana, U.S, and Quebec, Canada.<\/p>\n

One of the diagnostic features of rhodochrosite<\/a> (in addition to its low hardness) is that it will react to acid (geologists commonly carry a small vial of weak hydrochloric acid when doing field work – I call it weak acid, but I stupidly melted a pair of hiking pants one time when I left a vial of acid in my pocket while hiking.) Rhodochrosite is also fairly brittle, so I prefer not to use it in jewelry that is knocked around a lot, like rings or bracelets. It’s a beautiful stone for pendants and earrings.<\/p>\n

I’m particularly fond of rhodochrosite<\/a> that has pink and white banding on it (see below). I usually see this kind of rhodochrosite labeled as Grade B, but I find it more interesting and appealing than the more “gemmy” Grade A stones (see above).<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Rhodochrosite on Wikipedia<\/a>
\nRhodochrosite on webmineral.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Question of the Day<\/b>: Do you have any questions about rhodochrosite? Any requests for a particular future “gemstone of the day”?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"