Hey there! Hope everyone is doing well on this Saturday!
Any ideas on what type of stone this may be? It’s the loveliest color of pink, but nobody knows what it is. It is hallmarked “Nakai” and Sterling on the back; I presume this would be Grace/Gilo Nakai? Does anyone know much about this artist (s), or is it a shop?
I wondered if perhaps it may be a light colored sugilite?
Thanks, everyone!
I don’t know if these are the same people but there is a “Nakai Indian Jewelry” in Santa Fe.
https://nakaiindianjewelry.wixsite.com/nakaiindianjewerly
A large malachite ring I have with the same markings but the sterling mark is the newer italicized stamp.
Comparing properties of Rhodochrosite and Rhodonite, I’m tending towards Rhodonite also. If for no other reason than the Mohs scale hardness. Rhodochrosite is softer than turquoise, I didn’t realize that.
I did it the easy way
1st I searched for rhodochrosite jewelry images & got these
rhodochrosite jewelry images ← click
one of the hits from that page looked interesting
the snob blog got the click 
but there was some interesting info there.
went back to google and searched
pink cabochon stone ← click
and on that page this stone jumped out
looked good but the price point was a better fit
it’s kind of a fun bubblegum pink color! i wonder if it might be a pink jade, but i think rhodonite is more likely.
Yes, that is what attracted me to it to begin with. This was somewhat of a impulse buy and did not cost very much, but it was unlike any other stones that I had and was such a pretty color.
@AC Yes, that’s why I was confused about the Hallmark. I also saw that shop online as well as the grace and gilo name. Maybe I should send the shop a photo and see if it looks like something they’ve ever sold.
This one seems a little older and more traditional in style than what that shop sells but they also had some more traditional looking pieces as well.
@Steve and @AC thank you for the guidance and research! I know I can always count on this group for great information!
The images I saw looked more like the right color, and if you look through a jewelers loupe, there are some very small brown inclusions in the stone, but more like dots than matrix; the general matrix network is white/crystalline and spider web-like rather than banded. I saw examples online that were close in both rhodochrosite and rhodonite, so I may have to do a little bit more research or take it by my jeweler and see if she can identify it.
Guess I was way off base thinking sugilite!
I did find this link; being hard to tell the difference must not be uncommon:. Rhodonite vs. Rhodochrosite: What’s The Difference? | Gem Rock Auctions
Per the first paragraph and picture, The matrix pattern is like that black and pink stone that the person is holding, although the color of mine is much lighter and without the black. That one is rhodonite and the color variation does mention a rosy pink, which would fit what I have.
And I learned NAKAI is a shop mark from Hougart v5, not the individuals!
"Gilo & Grace Nakai (Navajo). Grace Nakai shared the stamp with her husband Gilo. They operated a shop since the 1980s. Piece workers supply the shop; some pieces were designed by Grace.
I think Rhodonite is a good educated guess as on close inspection it looks very similar to your stone’s matrix.
