Stone 101
Deep blue with gold-coloured flecks. Painters once paid more for it than gold.
Lapis lazuli is that night-sky blue with little sparkles of pyrite and white streaks of calcite. Here you'll find bracelets, fine bead necklaces, bead strands and raw chunks.
Shop Lapis Lazuli by shape
The basics
Lapis isn't one mineral, it's a rock. The blue is lazurite, the white streaks are calcite and the gold-coloured sparkles are pyrite.
Afghanistan's Badakhshan region has been mined for it for over 6,000 years. Ground into powder, it made ultramarine, the pricey blue of Renaissance paintings.
Rituals, not rules
These are traditions people enjoy, not promises. Pick the one you keep coming back to.
Care
Straight talk
Lapis has lots of look-alikes: dyed howlite, dyed jasper (sold as 'Swiss lapis') and lab-made versions. Real lapis is dense blue with natural pyrite flecks. Some natural lapis is waxed or dyed to deepen the blue, and anything we know is dyed says (Enhanced) in the title.
Keep going
Good questions
The name means 'blue stone', from Latin and Persian. In tradition, lapis is linked with truth, wisdom and clear words, and ancient Egyptian royalty prized it.
Look for gold-coloured pyrite flecks and some white calcite. If colour rubs off on a damp white cloth, it may be dyed.
A quick rinse is fine, then dry it right away. Skip long soaks and salt water.
LAP-iss LAZ-yoo-lee. Plenty of people just call it lapis.
