Lapis Lazuli

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 is the Latin for "stone" and lazuli the genitive form of the Medieval Latin lazulum, which is taken from the Arabic لازورد lāzaward, which is from the Persian لاژوردlāzhward, the name of a place where lapis lazuli was mined. Taken as a whole, Lapis Lazuli means "stone of Lāzhward".  The name of the place came to be associated with the stone mined there and, eventually, with its color. The English word azure, the French azur, the Italian azzurro, the Polish lazur and the Spanish and Portuguese azul are cognates.

In ancient times, lapis lazuli was known as sapphire, which is the name that is used today for the blue corundum variety sapphire.

In ancient Egypt Lapis Lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments such as scarabs; the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians also used it in ancient Mesopotamia for seals and jewelry. Lapis jewelry has been found at excavations of the Predynastic Egyptian site Naqada (3300–3100 BC), and powdered Lapis was used as eye shadow by Cleopatra. In ancient Mesopotamia, lapis artifacts can be found in great abundance, with many notable examples having been excavated at the Royal Cemetery of Ur (2600-2500 BC).

Lapis Lazuli was widely used by Egyptians for cosmetics and painting.  Persian legend says that the heavens owed their blue color to a massive slab of Lapis upon which the Earth rested.

Lapis Lazuli is one of the gemstones that are used in commesso, also called Florentine mosaic.  Commesso is a technique of fashioning pictures with thin, cut-to-shape pieces of brightly colored, semi-precious stones, developed in Florence in the late 16^th century.  The stones most commonly used are Agates, quartzes, Chalcedonies, Jaspers, Granites, Porphyries, Petrified Woods, and Lapis Lazuli.  Commesso pictures, used mainly for tabletops and small wall panels, range from emblematic and floral subject to landscapes.

Ground up into a powder and stirred up together with binding-agents, the marble-like gemstone can be used to manufacture radiant blue watercolors, tempera or oil paints. Before the year 1834, when it became possible to produce this color synthetically, the only ultramarine available was that valuable substance made from genuine Lapis Lazuli that shines out at us from many works of art today.

Many pictures of the Madonna, for example, were created using this paint. But in those days, ultramarine blue was not only precious and so intense that its radiance outshone all other colors; it was also very expensive. But unlike all other blue pigments, which tend to pale in the light, it has lost none of its radiance to this very day. Nowadays, the blue pigment obtained from lapis lazuli is mainly used in restoration work and by collectors of historical paints.

Lapis lazuli has been collected from mines in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for over 6,000 years 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.  In addition to the Afghan deposits, lapis has been extracted for many years in the Andes (near Ovalle, Chile), the Lake Baikal region of Russia; Siberia; Angola; Burma; Pakistan; Canada; India; and in the USA in California and Colorado.

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Lapis takes an excellent polish and can be made into jewelry, carvings, boxes, mosaics, ornaments, and vases. It was also ground and processed to make the pigment ultramarine for tempera paint and, more rarely, oil paint. Its usage as a pigment in oil paint ended in the early 19th century when a chemically identical synthetic variety, often called French ultramarine, became available.  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. 

Lapis Lazuli is the anniversary gemstone for the 7^th and 9^th year of marriage.  It is the secondary birthstone for September.

Lapis Lazuli can easily be scratched or chipped.  Water can dissolve the stone’s protective coatings. Hence clean your Lapis Lazuli jewelry with a soft dry cloth.

Lapis lazuli is an ancient gem, and as such, has a storied history. Egyptian cultures made a practice of burying a Lapis Lazuli scarab with their dead, and believed it to offer protection. The very earliest cultures valued Lapis Lazuli more highly than gold. Greeks spoke of an ancient Sapphire that was included with gold, and this was unmistakably Lapis. Some believed that dreaming of Lapis would foretell love that would be forever faithful.

When working or meditating with Lapis Lazuli, it can bring matters more clearly to the mind. It is one of the most powerful stones and should be used with care. Wearing a Lapis Lazuli ring can help you to become a channel. The ancient Egyptians used Lapis Lazuli as a symbol of Truth.

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The stone is said to increase psychic abilities. Lapis is said to be a cure for melancholy and for certain types of fever. Lapis Lazuli eliminates negative emotions.  It relieves sore throat pain.
Traditionally believed to increase mental clarity, virility, and calm.  Lapis Lazuli is an energy focuser for teachers, lecturers, and speakers.  It enhances creative self-expression.  It is believed to be useful in relieving depression and promoting spirituality.