Judging quality
Very soft with perfect basal cleavage and flexible but inelastic laminae — it bends and stays bent, unlike mica.
Hydroxide
Brucite
Pale golden-yellow platy crystals with a pearly, almost waxy glow, best known from Pakistani specimens where honey-colored brucite sits on grey matrix.
Care
Soft and slightly water-sensitive over time. Dry storage, no washing.
History & lore
Named for Archibald Bruce, an early American mineralogist, in 1824.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Brucite
- What is Brucite?
- Pale golden-yellow platy crystals with a pearly, almost waxy glow, best known from Pakistani specimens where honey-colored brucite sits on grey matrix.
- How hard is Brucite and what is it made of?
- Brucite is a Hydroxide-family mineral with the composition Mg(OH)2. It crystallizes in the trigonal system and rates 2.5-3 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in yellow, golden, white, blue-green.
- Where does Brucite come from?
- Notable localities for Brucite include Balochistan, Pakistan, Russia, Canada (Quebec), Italy.
- How do you tell good Brucite from filler?
- Very soft with perfect basal cleavage and flexible but inelastic laminae — it bends and stays bent, unlike mica.
- How do you care for Brucite?
- Soft and slightly water-sensitive over time. Dry storage, no washing.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.