OKENITE
Specimen oke-5
$ 210.00Dims: 5.5 x 3.8 x 3.6" (14.0 x 9.7 x 9.1 cm)
Wt: 2 lbs., 7.4 oz. (1.116 kg)
Poona, Maharashtra State, India
This large hand specimen consists of a vug that was chiseled out of the basalt base rock in which it formed. This vug houses a large, rounded cluster of hundreds or thousands of radiating Okenite needles. Apart from a small but noticeable area of crushed crystals, the cluster is in very good condition. Given its 1.7" (4.3 cm) diameter, the crystals should have an average length of 0.8 or 0.9" (2.0 - 2.3 cm), but I have a feeling that they do not radiate from a central point. The Okenite needles are about as thin as human hairs, on the average, and so cannot be individually studied witout powerful magnification. They do reflect a bright pearly luster, however, and likely have good form. Though the crystals are likely colorless and transparent as individuals, the cluster has a white coloration and is likely only translucent at its edges. It rests among at least 2 rounded, incomplete gyrolite nodules that have a watery, milky white coloration and a waxy luster. There are a few others resting elsewhere in the hollow, but these are much smaller than those ajacent to the Okenite cluster.