Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli has been known since ancient times,  and owes its name (as do several other blue minerals), to the Persian word ‘lazhward,’ meaning blue. The colour of Lapis Lazuli varies from greenish-blue to a rich purple blue, with the ideal colour being a dark blue of extraordinary depth and intensity. Owing to the inclusion of iron pyrites within the stone, most specimens display bright, brassy specks which, if not too prominent, are valued as a sign that the stone is genuine.

The most famous locality for Lapis Lazuli is in the Badakshan district of the mountainous north-eastern part of Afghanistan, the mines having been intermittently worked for 6000 years. Amidst the wild and uninviting Sayan Mountains, light blue boulders of Lapis Lazuli are found in the rapid Slyudyanka River, which flows into the southern end of Lake Baikal bordering on Mongolia. An occurrence of Lapis Lazuli has been found near the summit of Antonio Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California, and also in Cascade Canyon in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Lapis Lazuli is rarely faceted, but the material is fashioned into seal stones and small carved objects, and is used as inlay material, often with a lighter-coloured mineral such as the stalactitic marble best known as ‘Onyx marble.’

• Lapis Lazuli Jewellery is often given as a 9th Wedding Anniversary gift

View Lapis Lazuli Jewellery at Astley Clarke