18K Rhodocrosite Cube Ring

Rhodocrosite is a calcite mineral composed of manganese carbonate. The pink stone has delicate white veins running through it. First mined by the Incas in the 13th century, the stone was believed to be the blood of their ancestors and sacred. They kept watch over the mines until the end of the civilization in the 16th century. 

The mines lay untouched for hundreds of years during which time emormous stalactites and stalagmites formed. In the 20th century, the discovery of a cavity filled with stalactites up to ten feet wide covered in rhodocrosite was made in Argentina. 

This ring has a richly layered cube of rhodocrosite sitting in a square gallery and a squared band.