Judging quality
The classic specimen is a complete blue ball or rosette sitting cleanly on contrasting white zeolite. Color should be electric, not dull grey-blue, and the rosette intact.
Silicate
Cavansite
Vivid blue rosettes of calcium vanadium silicate that grow in the basalt quarries near Pune, almost always perched on white stilbite or heulandite.
Care
Extremely fragile and light-sensitive. Never wash; display out of direct sunlight.
History & lore
Cavansite was first described in 1967 from Oregon, but the Indian quarries produce nearly all specimen material.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Cavansite
- What is Cavansite?
- Vivid blue rosettes of calcium vanadium silicate that grow in the basalt quarries near Pune, almost always perched on white stilbite or heulandite.
- How hard is Cavansite and what is it made of?
- Cavansite is a Silicate-family mineral with the composition Ca(VO)Si4O10·4H2O. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and rates 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in electric blue.
- Where does Cavansite come from?
- Notable localities for Cavansite include India (Wagholi, Pune), USA (Oregon).
- How do you tell good Cavansite from filler?
- The classic specimen is a complete blue ball or rosette sitting cleanly on contrasting white zeolite. Color should be electric, not dull grey-blue, and the rosette intact.
- How do you care for Cavansite?
- Extremely fragile and light-sensitive. Never wash; display out of direct sunlight.
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.