Lapis is a gemstone straight out of fairy tales of the Arabian Nights: deepest blue with golden shining Pyrite inclusions which twinkle like little stars.
This opaque, deep blue gemstone looks back at a long history. It was one of the first stones ever to be used and worn for jewellery. Excavations in the antique cultural centres all around the Mediterranean provided archeologists with samples for jewellery which was left in tombs to accompany the deceased into the hereafter. Again and again this jewellery consisted of necklaces and objects crafted from Lapis lazuli – the clear indication that thousands of years ago the people in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome cherished deep blue Lapis lazuli. It is reported that at the legendary city of Ur situated on the Euphrat river, there was a busy trade in Lapis lazuli as early as four thousand years BC. In those days the stones were mined in the famous occurrences in Afghanistan. But in other cultures Lapis lazuli was also worshipped as a holy stone. Especially in the oriental countries it was considered as a gemstone with magical powers. Numerous seals, rings, scarabs and objects were crafted from the blue stone, which was introduced to Europe by Alexander the Great. Here the color was called "ultramarine", meaning "from beyond the seas".
Information on gemstones provided in part by: The International Colored Gemstone Association
|
Catalog Request