lapis lazuli
lapis & citrine necklace
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| composition | rock composed primarily of lazurite, calcite and pyrite |
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| name source | from the Latin lapis, meaning "a stone," and the Arabic azul meaning "blue" (from which the word azure comes) -- literally "blue stone" |
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| other accepted names | lapis |
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| historical aliases | sapphirus (antiquity), safir, "lazurine stone," lazuric, Armenia or Bukharia stone (Russia), "stone of rulers" |
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| folkloric aliases | "the stop stone," "stone of total awareness," "stone of teachers" |
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| color | intense blue with minor patches of calcite and brassy yellow pyrite |
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| color source | sulfur |
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| significant sources | Afghanistan (Kokcha) and Chile (Cordillera) |
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| MOH scale | 5 - 5.5 |
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| care and treatment | Wash in warm soapy water or clean in ultra sonic jewelry cleaner. (Be careful not to leave in ultra sonic too long as dyed product may lighten.) Take care not to knock about as stone is relatively soft. |
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