Gems, Precious Stones, Precious Metals - Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli - Gem Color 11 - #26619C

Lapis lazuli (sometimes abbreviated to lapis) is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color. Lapis lazuli was being mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan as early as the 3rd millennium BC, and there are sources that are found as far east as in the region around Lake Baikal in Siberia. Trade in the stone is ancient enough for lapis jewelry to have been found at Predynastic Egyptian and ancient Sumerian sites, and as lapis beads at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania.

Lapis lazuli is a rock, largely formed from the mineral lazurite. Most lapis lazuli also contains calcite (white), sodalite (blue), and pyrite (metallic yellow). Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline marble as a result of contact metamorphism. Lapis takes an excellent polish and can be made into jewelry, carvings, boxes, mosaics, ornaments, and vases.

Lapis lazuli is commercially "synthesized" (actually simulated) by the Gilson process, using artificial ultramarine and hydrous zinc phosphates. It may be substituted by spinel or sodalite, or by dyed jasper or howlite.