Rhodonite

specimen number:
1052477

location:
Kurganovskoe, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

description:
A classic old Russian specimen consisting of a large pink slab of rhodonite, this polished on one face. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video and dates to the very early 20th century if not earlier. Very attractive.

The Kurganovskoe deposit in Russia, located in the Ural Mountains, is one of the classic localities for rhodonite and has been known since at least the 18th and 19th centuries when it was worked as a source of ornamental stone. The deposit is associated with metamorphosed manganese rich rocks, where regional metamorphism and later hydrothermal processes produced concentrations of manganese minerals. Rhodonite from this locality typically occurs as massive material with a distinctive pink to red color, often veined with black manganese oxides, and was widely used in decorative objects and architectural applications in imperial Russia. The geology reflects the transformation of original manganese sediments into crystalline rock under heat and pressure, creating the characteristic appearance of the material. Specimens from the Kurganovskoe deposit are considered classic and are historically significant due to their use and long period of extraction.

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