Characteristics of Lapis Lazuli:

Chemical Name: Sodium Calcium Aluminum Silicate Sulfate

Formula: Na3Ca(AI3Si3O12)S

Colors: Blue

Structure: Cubic

Hardness: 5.0-5.5

Specific Gravity: 2.4

Refractive Index: 1.5

Lustre: Dull to vitreous

Streak: Blue

Locations: Afghanistan, USA, Chile, Argentina, Italy, Russia

What is Lapis Lazuli? 

For over 6,00 years, people have been drawn to the intense blue of Lapis Lazuli, often flecked with golden glints like stars in the night sky. It is relatively rare, and commonly forms in crystalline limestones as a product of heat and pressure; the strong blue color is mostly caused by the mineral Lazurite, although Lapis also contains pyrite and calcite, and usually some sodalite and hauyne. The highest-quality material is a deep, dark blue, with minor patches of white calcite and brassy yellow pyrite. A large quantity of modern Lapis material originates from mines in Afghanistan while lighter blue material is found in Chile, and lesser amounts in Italy, Argentina, Russia and the USA.

Lapis Lazuli in history

From many centuries, the only known deposits of Lapis Lazuli were those at Sar-e-Sang, in a remote mountain valley in Afgahanistan, from where it was widely traded across the ancient world. Object from ancient Egypt contains Lapis Lazuli date from at least 3100 BCE and include scrabs, pendants, inlays in gold and silver, and beads. Powered Lapis Lazuli was used as a cosmetic – the first eye shadow (along with malachite) – as blue pigment, and as a medicine. Outside ancient Egypt, the tomb of Sumerian Queen Pu-abi (2500 BCE) contained numerous gold and silver jewelry pieces richly adorned with Lapis, and the Chinese and the Greeks were carving Lapis Lazuli as early as the 4^th century BCE.

The Latin term “sapphirus” probably referred to Lapis Lazuli, with the modern term derived from the Arabic word “lazaward”, meaning “heaven” or “sky”.