Silver Jewellery – Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli is a favourite gemstone used in silver jewellery and can be found with specialist jewellery retailers like http://www.thejewellerychannel.tv/.

What is Lapis Lazuli?

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Lapis Lazuli is mainly composed of Lazurite, a silicate of the feldspathoid group. Lazurite crystallizes to a deep and magnificent blue that is opaque with a touch of greenish blue, and is stunning when set in a piece of silver jewellery. Lapis lazuli is arguably a rock rather than a mineral because to be a true mineral it would have only one constituent, and lapis is made up of various other minerals. Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline limestones as a result of contact metamorphism.

Courage and Perception

The best known varieties of Lapis Lazuli come from the Kokcha river valley, Badakshan, Afghanistan, the Andes of Chile, and California. Used in the inlay work of the Taj Mahal and of mosques all over the Middle East, wearing a lapis in silver jewellery makes the wearer full of determination to see their tasks through to the end, fearless, courageous and good warriors. It ensures triumph over enemies and the power to see through any mask or deception. It was known to protect one from enemies and help protect the faith.

Lapis Lazuli in art

'Lapis' is the Latin word for stone, and 'azula' comes from the Arabic meaning blue.  The lapis lazuli is a popular stone in gold and silver jewellery, but without lapis lazuli we wouldn’t have the history of art that we have today. Ground up into a powder and stirred up together with binding-agents, the marble-like gemstone can be used to manufacture radiant blue watercolours, tempera or oil-paints. Before the year 1834, when it became possible to produce this colour synthetically, the only ultramarine available was the substance made from genuine lapis lazuli, including the blues used in paintings of the Madonna.

Lapis Lazuli in history

The ancient royal Sumerian tombs of Ur, located near the Euphrates River in lower Iraq, contained more than 6,000 beautifully executed lapis lazuli statuettes of birds and deer, as well as dishes and beads. These carved artefacts undoubtedly came from material mined in northern Afghanistan. Egyptian burial sites dating before 3000 B.C. contained thousands of gold and silver jewellery items, many featuring lapis, and powdered lapis was favoured by Egyptian ladies as a cosmetic eye shadow.