blue gemstones - lapis lazuli

Exclusive summary about Blue Gemstones - Lapis Lazuli by Karen Lockridge

One of the oldest, and arguably most beautiful blue gemstones, is Lapis Lazuli.

Lapis can be found in Siberia, Chile, United States, Pakistan and Canada, but the most desired, Lapis Lazuli, is primarily mined in the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan. Lapis though defined as a rock, it is actually a combination of minerals, including lazurite, sodalite, calcite and pyrite. The most desired specimens being the dark violet blue stones with a sprinkle of the gold pyrite.

Lapis has long been considered one of the world's most popular stones. Ancient Egyptians were known to grind the blue stone and use its color for the eyelids, as well as jewelry. Famous King Tut had intricate inlays of the stone in his array of wealth discovered in his burial tomb.

The stones were recognized for their beautiful bright, blue color by some of the great masters of art.

Lapis Lazuli - Ancient Gemstone

Exclusive summary about Blue Gemstones - Lapis Lazuli by Ron Nash

There are few gemstones with as long and romantic a history as lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli was one of the earliest gemstone materials. Historians believe that Cleopatra used powdered lapis for eye shadow. Lazurite, complex mineral containing sulfur, is the essential ingredient of lapis and gives it its vivid blue color. Calcite is calcium carbonate, a white mineral responsible for the white streaks in many specimens of lapis. Pyrite is an iron sulfide which is white-gold in color and lends lapis its distinctive glitter.

The finest lapis is a deep intense blue. High quality lapis is smooth and fine grained with a smoothly polished surface. Lapis is a fairly soft stone, ranging from 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale. Though there are many choices today in blue gemstones, lapis can fairly be said to be the original blue stone.

Posting by Sefa di 18:00