Thanks Frank, that looks correct. It's not a young plant at all, you are looking at the effects of plants grown in full sun with very little water. It has that thick-stemmed, compact leaves look. It went green again because it has recently been re-rooted but the colour is normally brown/purple

Here is one I have that was ID-ed here as E. gibbiflora 'Metallica'. It is mostly that color even if kept outside, but has been darker purplish at times. Leaves are quite thick as Nick describes. I think this one may be E. Perle von Nurnberg; according to ICN, Metallica's leaves could be slightly undulate. PvN is a hybrid of E. g. Metallica and E. elegans 'Potosina'. So I am not sure which one it s exactly...

From ICN:

Echeveria gibbiflora 'Metallica':

“General habit and flowers as in the type, but the leaves broader, the largest seven to seven and a half inches long by five to five and a half inches broad five-sixths of the way up, much rounded towards the apex, with a faint apiculus, not at all concave, when young a decided purplish lilac edged with glaucous-green, passing into a brownish bronzy green as they fade, the edge not at all crisped……. The plant was introduced from Mexico, some years since, by the late Hugh Cuming” – but this one is not recorded ever having visited Mexico.

This means it is an open question whether this plant has been a true species or already a hybrid produced in cultivation.

Regarding leaf colour, E. gibbiflora is a fairly variable species as photos of plants in habitat as well as in cultivation prove. However to claim that glaucous-green and purplish specimens found in the wild are identical with E. gibbiflora 'Metallica' Hort. is ignoring the fact that the colours of the latter were the result of cultivation in Europe, obviously rather different from habitat conditions in Mexico. To attribute legitimately this name to a plant in habitat in Mexico would require its cultivation in Europe to find out whether after a couple of years it would be a match to Lemaire's / Baker's description.

Thanks, Rina. I also thought Metallica was a possibility although the leaves are much smaller than described.

I think I will have to grow this one a while and see how it changes.

I was looking at other pictures and now I am wondering whether it could be one of the plain-coloured chromas? That seems to fit the leaf size and shape better

Leaf shape looks very similar to chroma. I think chroma is quite small overall - much smaller than PvN or gibbiflora as far as I know. Couldn't really tell about size from the photo. I didn't take my photo with size in mind either, should have included battery or something for comparison...but it is in 6" pot - that is how I bought it.

Here's a picture with my hand as size reference. I do have fairly large hands for a woman but the pot is only a 4-inch so it is a pretty small plant. Nowhere near the size of your Metallica

Nick

There were 1 or 2 suggestions that my plant is PvN. I do not think so, I have others that were bought with label (even if I don't always rely on them 100%), and hey do look slightly different. Plant above is very 'orderly', PvN is bit more 'casual' - not sure if those terms describe what I mean, exactly :)

I have 1 chroma, but it isn't looking that great - I am not having much luck with it for some reason. It is much smaller. There are other ppl here that have chroma, hopefully they post photo of their plants.

I just got another suggestion, that it is E 'Mandala', a 'Metallica' mutation. I think that is the closest so far