Lapis Lazuli

A deep-blue rock made mostly of the mineral lazurite, flecked with golden pyrite and white calcite.

Lapis Lazuli specimen — Photo: Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify lapis lazuli

Intense ultramarine blue.
Glittering gold pyrite flecks.
White patches of calcite.
Light blue streak.

Often confused with

Sodalite
Sodalite is a lighter blue with white veins and no pyrite.
Compare side by side
Azurite
Azurite is softer and fizzes vigorously.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Sar-e-Sang, Afghanistan
Coquimbo, Chile
Lake Baikal, Russia

Uses

Jewelry and the pigment ultramarine.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

Afghanistan's lapis mines have been worked for over 6,000 years.

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