Associated with lithium-bearing pegmatite districts (e.g., Brazil, Elba Island), it forms through the metamorphism of siliceous sandstones in
the vicinity of lithium-bearing granitic pegmatites, or through the recrystallization of the pegmatitic quartz itself. Its hardness is determined by the quartz (7 on the Mohs scale); the presence of lithium is generally detectable only through chemical analysis.

It is of growing economic interest as a potential secondary source of lithium for the battery industry; it is an attractive specimen for collectors specializing in economic geology; it is rarely used for ornamental purposes.