Short answer: lapis lazuli is a deep blue rock made mostly of the mineral lazurite, with white calcite and gold flecks of pyrite. It has been mined in Afghanistan for more than 6,000 years, was set into Tutankhamun's funeral mask and was ground into ultramarine, the costliest blue of Renaissance painting. It is fairly soft and often dyed, so it needs gentle care.
What is lapis lazuli?
Lapis lazuli is a rock, not a single mineral. Its most important part is lazurite, a blue mineral of the sodalite family, typically 30 to 40 percent of the stone. The rest is mostly white calcite, gold-colored pyrite and other minerals such as diopside. The finest lapis is an even, deep blue with small, scattered flecks of pyrite.
Lapis forms near igneous intrusions, where limestone or marble was altered by heat and mineral-rich fluids. Lazurite grew in place of parts of the host rock, often in certain bands or layers.
Its name comes from the Persian word for the gem, lāžward, the same root that gave Spanish and Portuguese azul and English azure.
How hard is lapis lazuli?
Because it is a mix of minerals, its hardness varies: from about 3 where there is calcite to 5 to 5.5 where it is lazurite. It has no cleavage, but it can split along calcite veins and layers. It is softer than quartz and better suited to pendants, earrings, beads and carvings than to rings and bracelets that take daily knocks.
It leaves a blue streak on unglazed porcelain and has a specific gravity of about 2.7 to 2.9, higher with more pyrite.
A 6,000-year history
Lapis lazuli is one of the oldest gem materials in human use. It was mined as early as the 7th millennium BC at Sar-i Sang and other sites in Badakhshan, in northeastern Afghanistan, where the mines have been worked for more than 6,000 years. Afghan lapis supplied the ancient Persian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, and later the Greeks and Romans.
It appears in the funeral mask of Tutankhamun. At the end of the Middle Ages, Europe began importing lapis to grind into powder for ultramarine, a pigment used by painters including Masaccio, Perugino and Titian. Ultramarine made from lapis was a luxury into the 1800s, so costly that it was used mostly by accomplished artists whose wealthy clients could pay for it.
Where does lapis lazuli come from?
Afghanistan remains the world's leading source. Chile is another important source; lapis from the Andes near Ovalle was carved by the Inca. Lapis is also mined west of Lake Baikal in Russia, and in Pakistan, Canada and Argentina, with small amounts in California, Colorado and Arizona.
What is lapis lazuli traditionally associated with?
In modern crystal traditions, lapis lazuli is associated with wisdom, truth, self-expression and honest communication, and it has long been a stone of royalty. It is commonly linked with the throat and third eye chakras, and some lists pair it with Virgo, Libra and Sagittarius.
It also has a place in birthstone history: the 1912 United States list gave lapis lazuli for December, and the British list gives it for September.
These are traditions and beliefs, not properties you can measure in the stone.
Lapis lazuli vs sodalite
The two are often confused, and both contain minerals of the sodalite family.
- Pyrite: lapis usually has gold flecks of pyrite. Sodalite rarely does.
- Color: lapis is a brighter ultramarine blue. Sodalite is a darker royal or indigo blue, often with white veins.
- Streak: lapis leaves a blue streak. Sodalite leaves a white one.
- Weight: lapis is heavier for its size.
The sodalite guide covers that stone in detail.
Raw, tumbled and polished lapis lazuli
Rough lapis looks dull until it is polished, which brings up a bright luster and the full blue. Tumbled stones, beads, cabochons, spheres, eggs, carvings and inlay are all common. Pieces with more white calcite are less valued but can be attractive; evenly colored material with fine pyrite is the most prized.
Lapis lazuli jewelry
Lapis is classic in beads, pendants, signet stones and inlay. Because it is fairly soft and can split along calcite layers, it is not ideal for rings or bracelets worn every day.
Is lapis lazuli treated?
Often. Lapis is slightly porous and takes dye well. Much of the material on the market has been dyed blue to hide white calcite, then treated with wax or oil to improve the luster and seal the dye. Dyed lapis is still lapis, but the treatment should be disclosed.
How do you care for lapis lazuli?
- Wipe it with a soft, damp cloth, then dry it.
- Avoid soaking it, and avoid soaps, chemicals, ultrasonic and steam cleaners, which can affect dye and wax.
- Keep it away from acids, which attack the calcite.
- Store it apart from harder stones that can scratch it.
How can you tell real lapis lazuli?
- Pyrite flecks that look like tiny gold crystals are a good sign of natural lapis.
- Dye test: a cotton swab with a little nail polish remover rubbed on a hidden spot will pick up blue if the stone has been dyed.
- Imitations include dyed jasper, dyed howlite, sodalite and man-made material, including lapis made by the Gilson process. A very uniform blue with no calcite and no pyrite deserves a second look.
- Streak: natural lapis leaves a blue streak.
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Frequently asked questions
Is lapis lazuli a mineral or a rock?
A rock. It is a mix of minerals, mainly blue lazurite with white calcite and gold pyrite. Lazurite is the mineral that gives it its color.
Can lapis lazuli get wet?
Brief contact with water is fine, but do not soak it. It is slightly porous, and much lapis is dyed and waxed, so wipe it with a damp cloth and dry it instead of washing it.
What is lapis lazuli traditionally associated with?
In crystal traditions it is associated with wisdom, truth and communication, and with the throat and third eye chakras. These are traditional meanings rather than measurable properties.
What are the gold flecks in lapis lazuli?
Pyrite, an iron sulfide mineral. Small, scattered pyrite flecks are a sign of natural lapis and are part of what makes fine lapis look like a night sky.
Why was lapis lazuli used for paint?
Ground lapis makes ultramarine, an intense blue pigment. Until synthetic blues were developed from the mid-1800s, it was a luxury pigment, used mostly by accomplished artists with wealthy clients. It is one of the few natural pigments with a permanent, vivid blue.
Where does the best lapis lazuli come from?
Afghanistan, where the Sar-i Sang mines in Badakhshan have been worked for more than 6,000 years, has long been the source of the finest lapis. Chile and Russia are other important sources.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Lapis lazuli: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli
- Geology.com, Lapis Lazuli: https://geology.com/gemstones/lapis-lazuli/
- GIA, Lapis Lazuli: https://www.gia.edu/lapis-lazuli
- Wikipedia, Lazurite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazurite