Lapis Lazuli is one of the earliest gemstone minerals and has been mined in Badakhshan in the northern province of Afghanistan for over 6000 years. Lapis is actually a rock rather than a mineral because it is a mixture of Laurite, calcite and pyrite. It is the presence of sulfur in Laurite that gives the rock its intense blue color. Calcite is white mineral calcium that gives the stone its white streaks and sulfide is white gold in color and this is where lapis gets its beautiful glitter.


Lapis has a very romantic and mystical history that spans the Ancient Egyptians, the Assyrians and the Babylonians where it was used for cylinder seals among other artistic uses. The most beautiful ancient discoveries of Lapis lazuli was found in the ancient tombs of Sumerian were thousands of lapis lazuli statues carved of birds, vases, plates, ornaments and beaded jewelry.


Historians even believe that Cleopatra used lapis dust as eye shadow. When lapis is powdered down it produces and beautiful blue pigment called ultra marine that is used by many artist through out
the ages for paintings, most commonly seen during the Renaissance period. The deeper and more intense the blue of the lapis the more valuable and sought after it becomes. Collectors look for smooth fine grained lapis with minimum of calcite. The calcite can be seen as white streaks or patches within the darker blue, or it can be distributed throughout the specimen, giving the rock an overall lighter blue hue. Pyrite inclusions are valued by collectors, but the inclusions should not be too large, since they have a tendency to discolor at the edges.



Lapis is a soft stone so it can be easily mauled and manipulated into beautiful sculptures and fine powders. It is a multi purpose stone with brilliant beautiful colors that people adore. It has the mysticism of the ancient tribes and cities and is has the aura and captivating beauty of the Far East. The stone is very soft ranging about 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale it is porous so needs to be protected from light and chemicals. It is most commonly use now days for beads and jewelry and can look exquisite on a large antique styled ring with a silver of platinum setting to contrast with the deep blue stone.