RHODONITE is named after the Greek word for rose, rhodon.Chemically, it is manganese silicate. Its color is usually pink but it can range to dark pink and even to brown. Rhodonite is distinguished from another pink manganese mineral, rhodochrosite, by its greater hardness (5.5 to 6) and by the presence of black streaks of manganese oxide.

Rhodonite typically comes in massive, coarse and fine granular aggregates. Because of its attractive color and black streaks of manganese oxide, rhodonite is often carved into cabochons, beads and carvings.