The Encyclopedia · Stones & materials
Lapis lazuli
A deep blue stone flecked with gold-colored pyrite, mined in Afghanistan for millennia.
Lapis lazuli is a deep blue rock, often flecked with golden pyrite, mined in Afghanistan for more than six thousand years. It was ground for ultramarine pigment and carved for jewelry since antiquity. In the twentieth century it was a favorite of Cartier in the Art Deco years and of the gold jewelry of the 1960s and 1970s.
What to look for
The finest lapis is an even, intense blue with little white calcite. Dyed and reconstituted lapis exist and look flatter.
In the collection
Lapis lazuli, available now
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