Since I used lapis lazuli in this month's giveaway rosary, I thought I'd offer a bit of information about it. First, it is one of my favorite gemstones, as it is for many people. It's an easy stone to love because of its cobalt blue color, but also, good quality lapis has pyrite inclusions, giving it random gold shadings. In ancient times, sapphire was frequently translated as lapis lazuli.
The name lapis lazuli comes from the Persian word lazhward meaning blue, in allusion to its color. In ancient times, lapis lazuli was known as sapphirus, which is today's name for the blue corundum variety sapphire. Lapis lazuli has been highly valued for many thousands of years. The most famous locality for fine quality lapis lazuli is the same ancient deposit high in the mountains of Afghanistan where it was originally mined at least 6,000 years ago. It was used by the ancient Egyptians in many religious ceremonies, and was often used as an inscription stone for various passages from the Book of the Dead. Lapis lazuli was one of the stones in Aaron's Breastplate, described in the Bible (Exodus). Up until the 19th century, lapis lazuli was ground up and mixed with oil to produce the deep blue-green pigment known as ultramarine which meant literally beyond the sea, as the lapis lazuli was brought from far away by ship.
