Lapis Lazuli Agate or most of people called is as Lapis, is a semi-precious stone that has an antique signature for its intense color. It’s a compact and massive crystal habit, that usually comes in large groups. This gemstone began to exported to Europe in order to get be ground into powder and extracted into an Ultramarine (the finest and the most expensive blue pigments). Some famous artists used Ultramarine back in the Renaissance era. It also used as the clothing of the central figure of the painting, the Virgin Mary.
Lapis comes from a Latin word for stone. Lazuli is the genitive form of the Medieval Latin, the Lazulum. Lapis Lazuli is still a rock, that is formed by mineral component of Lazurite. The beauty comes from the composition of Calcite, Sodalite and Pyrite. It also consists with a some amount of sulfur-rich minerals.
The Beauty of Lazuli
This gemstone have an intense blue color due to the presence of Radical Anion in the Crystal. Some of the Lapis Lazuli Agate have a blue, with mottled white calcite. It have a uneven fracture and dull textures. If Lapis Lazuli is being polished, the color will even grow brighter than the raw, unpolished one. Lazuli mostly used and extracted as Ultramarines, and after that, it can be used as a painting materials and decorative colors. It also can be use as an interesting home decoration, which will perfectly placed in your living room. Lapis Lazuli Agate also perfect for your jewelries and act like a beauty stone that is crowned on your rings.
Lapis Lazuli Agateis still being mined in the Northeast of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are still a large-scale source of Lapis Lazuli, mostly come from the Lake Baikal in Russia and Andes Mountains in Chile.
