Rhodonite: Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.(CONNOISSEUR'S CHOICE)

For mineral collectors introduced to the hobby through the lapidary arts, rhodonite may well have been the first pink mineral with which they became acquainted. It is plentiful in massive form and lends itself to easy cabochon work. Good specimens containing well-developed crystals are quite another matter, however, and are known from only a relatively few occurrences. Although rhodonite [Ca[Mn.sub.4][Si.sub.5][O.sub.15]] would seem easy enough to identify, much material initially ...