Few gems display a color as rich as the deep royal blue of fine lapis - Diamonds, Gems

	Home Page \| Jewelry Metal

Alterng Gemstone

Cultured Pearls

Decorative Stones

Lapis Lazuli

Few gems display a color as rich as the deep royal blue of fine lapis. The name itself comes from an ancient Arabic word, "allazward," meaning “sky” or "blue." In ancient times lapis was known as "sapphirus," Although today sapphire is a name reserved for the colored varieties of corundum.

Lapis was one of the most precious commodities of the ancient world, and was even valued on an equal level with gold. Lapis was used in medicines, cosmetics, and paintings. When powdered, lapis yields an intense blue pigment known as ultramarine.

The famous artist Ver¬meer may well have used lapis in preparing the blue paint that bears his name. Today ultramarine is manufactured synthetically.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli

The tomb of Tutankhamen, Pharaoh of Egypt, contained a wealth of l and lapis jewels. The gem is known from burial sites 1,000 years older still. Lapis has been mined continuously (though sporadically) for more than 6,000 years in the Badakshan region of Afghanistan.

Lapis is actually a rock, composed chiefly of the minerals lazurite, pyrite, and calcite. Lazurite is blue, pyrite yellow, and calcite is white. - brassy-gold spots and flecks of pyrite in genuine lapis are very distinctive. The hardness of lapis (specifically the lazurite component) is5 1/2-6 on the Mohs scale. Lapis is usually made into cabochons or polished flat wafers, carved or made into boxes and beads. In spite of the relatively low hardness, scratches can easily be polished out, so the gem wears well.

Fine lapis often has a violet cast. Material resembling that from Afghanistan has been found in the U.S.S.R. This has pyrite spots an( occurs in various shades of blue. The Russian royalty used lapis exten¬sively in construction, and some rooms built by Catherine II, for exam pie, are lined with slabs of fine lapis.

Lapis also occurs in quantity in the Andes Mountains of Chile. This ¬material is paler in color than Siberian or Afghan lapis, is heavily veined or spotted with white or grayish calcite, and sometimes has a greenish coloration. This is the least valuable type of lapis. Small quantities of lapis have been found in southern California, Labrador, Burma, Angola and Pakistan.

So-called "Persian lapis" actually comes from Afghanistan. "Swiss ¬lapis" and "German Lapis" are both blue-dyed chalcedony. Glass is ¬commonly used to imitate lapis, but the fracture surface of glass bright, whereas genuine lapis breaks with a dull, uneven fracture. A sintered synthetic spinel colored by cobalt is an effective imitation, and actually contains flakes of genuine gold to imitate pyrite inclusion ¬Some lapis is dyed to enhance its color. Pierre Gilson of Paris has ¬produced synthetic lapis, containing pyrite flakes, that is visually identical to fine Afghan lapis.

The finest natural gem material is a dark-blue color with a violet ca uniformly colored and displaying no white spots. The best material ma. sell for more than $10 per carat. Carvings made of large solid blocks are very costly. A wide variety of carved objects has been made from lapis. Cabochons are used primarily in men's jewelry, for which lapis eminently suited because of its rich color and durability.

Consumer Tips-Imitation lapis may be very realistic and careful examination may be required to identify it. Fine lapis is plentiful enough t, satisfy existing demand and keep prices at a fairly low level. Fill, "Persian" (Afghanistan) lapis often has small white spots on a blue, background. Stones cut from such material are frequently "touched up with dye to color in these white areas, even though the entire stone, might not be dyed and the color of the lapis itself is natural in origin. It ¬always wise to inquire at the time of purchase whether lapis has bee treated in any way, and have this indicated on the sales slip. The, presence of pyrite is a good indication of genuine lapis.

However, a new synthetic lapis manufactured by Pierre Gilson o - Paris contains actual inclusions of pyrite. This may pose detection problems in the future.

Copyright © 2006 wonderxtreme.com
All Rights Reserved.