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TRADE NAME
Lapis Lazuli
ABOUT
Lapis lazuli (sometimes abbreviated to lapis) is a semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its intense blue color.Lapis is a rock, not a mineral, because it is made up from various other minerals. To be a mineral it can only have one constituent. The main component of lapis lazuli is Lazurite (25% to 40%), a feldspathoid silicate mineral composed of sodium, aluminium, silicon, oxygen, sulfur, and chloride. Its formula is (Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(S,SO4,Cl)1-2.[3] Most lapis lazuli also contains Calcite (white), Sodalite (blue) and Pyrite (metallic yellow). Other possible constituents are Augite, Diopside, Enstatite, Mica, Hauynite, Hornblende and Nosean. Some contain trace amounts of the sulphur rich lollingite variety geyerite.Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline marble as a result of contact metamorphism. The finest color is intense blue, lightly dusted with small flecks of golden pyrite. There should be no white calcite veins and the pyrite inclusions should be small. Stones that contain much calcite at all or too much pyrite are not as valuable. Patches of pyrite are an important help in identifying the stone as genuine and do not detract from its value. Often, inferior lapis is dyed to improve its color, but this is often a very dark blue with a noticeable grey cast.SHODHAN OR AYURVEDA PURIFICATION PROCESS
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