Lapis Lazuli

About Lapis Lazuli

Prized for 6,000+ years - the most famous source is the Sar-e-Sang mines in Afghanistan, still producing after 6 millennia. Ultramarine blue pigment was made by grinding lapis lazuli - it was more expensive than gold during the Renaissance. Michelangelo could not afford enough for his Sistine Chapel frescoes. It contains lazurite (blue), calcite (white veining), and pyrite (gold flecks). Cleopatra used powdered lapis as eye shadow. The death mask of Tutankhamun features lapis inlay. Afghanistan produces the finest quality. It was one of the first gems to be used as jewelry. The word azure comes from lapis lazuli. It was ground into powder for the most expensive blue paint for 5,000 years.