Collection: Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli is valued for its deep blue colour. The source of the pigment ultramarine, it is not a mineral per se but a rock coloured by lazurite. In addition to the sodalite minerals in lapis lazuli, small amounts of white calcite and of pyrite crystals are usually present. Diopside, amphibole, feldspar, mica, apatite, titanite (sphene), and zircon may also occur.

Because lapis is a rock of varying composition, its physical properties are variable. It usually occurs in crystalline limestones and is a product of contact metamorphism.