Rhodonite: meaning, properties and lore

The mineral

Rhodonite is a silicate mineral that occurs as rounded crystals, masses, or grains in various manganese ores, often with rhodochrosite. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes it as a manganese, iron and calcium silicate with the formula (Mn,Fe,Ca)SiO3. It is the Mn-rich member of the pyroxenoid group and is triclinic, and its ideal formula is MnSiO3. The ideal composition has been synthesised but has never been found in nature, where calcium, magnesium and ferrous iron replace some of the manganese.¹³⁴⁵

Rhodonite has a hardness of 5.5 to 6 on the Mohs scale and perfect cleavage in two directions. That cleavage, together with a brittle, uneven fracture, makes transparent rhodonite one of the most difficult of all gems to facet. Gem-Quality specimens are therefore usually cut as cabochons or carvings.³⁴⁹¹⁰

Rhodonite is very similar to its polymorph pyroxmangite, which has a repeating sequence of seven tetrahedral units rather than five. Rhodonite contains more calcium, more than 0.05 wt.%, than pyroxmangite, and this difference is how the two can generally be told apart. Rhodonite-rich rocks at Tanatz Alp in Switzerland have been described as rhodonite-pyroxmangite in a study of their chemical, physical and gemological properties.³⁸

Tanatz Alp rhodonite has a specific gravity of 3.40 to 3.63 and refractive indices of about 1.72 to 1.74. Its MnO content is 45.97 to 48.64 wt.% and its SiO2 content is 46.70 to 47.92 wt.%, with low MgO and CaO below 5 wt.%. Its pink colour follows from the Mn-rich composition, with iron absent, so it is softer in tone than iron-bearing rhodonites.³

Rhodonite occurs in manganese-bearing rocks and is found in the Ural Mountains of Russia, where it is mined for ornamental uses. It is also found in Sweden, New South Wales, California and New Jersey. Rhodonite is also a primary source of some important manganese oxide deposits, such as the manganese ores of India.⁴¹²³⁷

Rhodonite from Broken Hill occurs in the sulphide zone of the Broken Hill silver-lead mines, associated with galena, blende and garnet. It is found either as crystals with rounded edges or as isolated fragments disseminated through the ore. Its crystals are generally extended parallel to the e (010) face, and twenty-eight crystal forms have been recognised on them. Fine-grained rhodonite of clean pink colour is a desirable gem and ornamental stone.¹¹¹²¹

History and lore

Rhodonite was first discovered in 1790 in the Ural Mountains near Sidelnikovo and was named in 1819 by the German naturalist Christoph Friedrich Jasche. Its name derives from the Greek rhodo, meaning rose, because of its characteristic pink colour. Tanatz Alp was first described by Kenngott in 1866, who reported rhodonite on Mount Splügen.³⁶

The Broken Hill occurrence was first noted by Professor R. Beck of Freiberg, who described it in 1899, according to Anderson. Rhodonite has also been recorded as a gem of Russia and as one of the principal stones found in various States of the Union in the index of The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, and that book also gives rhodonite as another name for fowlerite.¹¹¹²²

In the Ural Mountains one single rhodonite mass weighed 22 tons and needed ninety horses to move it thirty miles to the Imperial Lapidary Works at Ekaterineburg, as recorded in The magic of jewels and charms. That book also describes the stone as a silicate of magnesia and says it is found more especially in the Ural Mountains and in Massachusetts.⁶

The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg preserves many rhodonite objects that belonged to the Russian aristocracy, especially the czars. The stone is a great favourite in Russia and is frequently cut into egg-shaped ornaments, as The magic of jewels and charms records. Rhodonite was declared the official state gem of Massachusetts in 1979.³⁶

Rhodonite greatly resembles some varieties of garnet in appearance, and in small well crystallised specimens it is of a pleasing deep red colour and quite transparent. Fowlerite, the zinc-rich variety, is found at Franklin, New Jersey, and contains up to 10 wt.% ZnO.¹¹¹²³

Birthstone, zodiac and chakra links

Rhodonite is not a traditional birthstone for any month. Crystal practitioners say it is not officially tied to a particular birth month, and that it is sometimes associated with the modern modern zodiac sign Taurus. This is a modern link made by practitioners, not an ancient or established one.

Rhodonite is associated with the heart chakra, a link that crystal practitioners make and that is modern.

What crystal practitioners say

Crystal practitioners associate rhodonite with the mind and emotions. Contemporary lithotherapy practitioners regard it as a stone of emotional healing and inner peace. Believers hold that it helps balance emotions, promote forgiveness and understanding, and encourage self-love.

Leavy says the stone encourages love of all kinds, including self-love, relationships and group cooperation. Leavy suggests charging it under the new moon or in the sun on the spring equinox when working with new beginnings.

Practitioners who work with the heart chakra say rhodonite is most commonly associated with the chest, located in the centre of the body. Leavy suggests placing rhodonite on the chest or wearing it as a pendant over the heart to amplify its heart-related properties.

Crystal practitioners credit the stone with this protective role in folk belief, which they describe as an older custom in that region.

Crystal healers hold that a tumbled stone or slice of rhodonite placed next to a minor abrasion supports the body's recovery. They also say the stone is believed to help prevent scars from open spots and pimples when placed on the affected area.¹³

What testing has found

Edzard Ernst, who analysed 150 complementary and alternative treatments, found that rigorous trials of crystal healing's therapeutic value are lacking. He concluded that no scientific proof of any effect beyond placebo exists.¹⁴

In 2001, British psychologist Christopher French asked 80 volunteers to distinguish real crystals from fake ones while holding them and meditating. Six reported no sensations, while the rest described tingling or a better sense of wellbeing. Those handed fake plastic or glass pieces reported the same sensations as those holding real ones, leading the researchers to conclude that suggestion, not the crystals, produced the effects.¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶

The results of the crystal study have not been replicated in larger studies, so generalising from them is hard. Rigorous scientific research into crystal therapy is lacking, and few studies have compared it with other therapies. Ted Kaptchuk, a Harvard Medical School professor, said placebo effects in unconventional medicine can be dramatic and compelling to patients. According to Permutt, there is no proven link between crystals and the body.¹⁵

Jarry explains that the reputation of alternative medicine benefits from non-specific placebo effects and regression to the mean. Users publicly testify to improvement without knowing what would have happened without crystals. Researchers at the Broken Hill study used gemological testing, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to identify inclusions in a 7.38 ct rhodonite gem.¹⁴¹⁰