1.9" Natural Blue Lapis Lazuli Worry Palm Stone Pyrite Crystal Calcite Mineral
Location: Afghanistan
Weight: 2 Ounces
Dimensions: 1.9 Inches Long, 1.6 Inches Wide, 0.4 Inches Thick
The item pictured is one you will receive.
Hardness: 5.5
Lapis Lazuli is not a single mineral but a combination of lazurite, calcite, and pyrite, with small amounts of other minerals. Contrary to common belief, it does not contain lazulite. Its name literally means “blue stone,” derived from Latin and Persian or Arabic.
Humans have valued lapis lazuli for over 6,500 years. Ancient civilizations—including Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome—admired its vibrant color, considering it as precious as sapphire and turquoise.
The finest lapis comes from Badakhshan, a harsh province in present-day Afghanistan. Towering mountains rise to 17,000 feet, carved with treacherous ravines and sparse vegetation. For centuries, people have braved this forbidding terrain to seek the azure treasure of high-quality lapis lazuli.
As far back as 700 BC, when the region was part of Bactria, lapis mines were already producing this prized gem. Remarkably, these mines continue to operate today, making them the world’s oldest known commercial gemstone sources.
Merchant caravans transported their precious blue cargo across Bactria, on their way to the great cities of the ancient Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Persians. Marco Polo referred to the area’s lapis mines in 1271, but few outsiders have seen them because of their inhospitable location.
