Judging quality
The fibres compress and spring back slightly. Any stiff, chalky white ball is more likely mesolite or a weathered zeolite.
Zeolite-associated
Okenite
Puffball sprays of hair-fine white fibres sitting in basalt cavities — often described as cotton balls, and genuinely soft to the touch, since the fibres flex under a finger.
Care
Extremely delicate and impossible to clean once soiled. Keep in a closed case, never touch the sprays, never wash.
History & lore
The Deccan Traps basalt quarries of Maharashtra have produced the world's finest zeolite specimens for over a century, largely as a by-product of road aggregate.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Okenite
- What is Okenite?
- Puffball sprays of hair-fine white fibres sitting in basalt cavities — often described as cotton balls, and genuinely soft to the touch, since the fibres flex under a finger.
- How hard is Okenite and what is it made of?
- Okenite is a Zeolite-associated-family mineral with the composition CaSi2O5·2H2O. It crystallizes in the triclinic system and rates 4.5-5 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in white, cream.
- Where does Okenite come from?
- Notable localities for Okenite include Pune & Nashik, Maharashtra, India, Greenland, Chile.
- How do you tell good Okenite from filler?
- The fibres compress and spring back slightly. Any stiff, chalky white ball is more likely mesolite or a weathered zeolite.
- How do you care for Okenite?
- Extremely delicate and impossible to clean once soiled. Keep in a closed case, never touch the sprays, never wash.
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.