Lapis Lazuli - LL02

From ancient cultures to today’s fashion runways, lapis lazuli has long been prized for its intense color. There is no color more present in fashion today than blue in its many hues and tones. 

Lapis is popular for cuff links, bracelets and signet-style rings for men, and occasionally as a dial material for high-end watches. Piaget and Hermès are among the brands with recent models set with lapis lazuli. Because it is found in large pieces of rough, lapis has historically been used to carve objects as well, including bowls, vases, boxes, hair combs, dagger handles, small statues and game boards. 

Lapis is equally at home in statement pieces for women as it in cuff links for men. Many designers who work with color use high quality pieces of lapis for one-of-a-kind necklaces, rings and earrings – Italian jewelry designer Marco Bicego recently introduced a new version of his popular Lunaria collection entirely set with faceted lapis lazuli. It has also become a staple gem of men’s jewelry collections, perhaps because of its status as a rock – lapis is an aggregate, opaque gem, and is therefore perceived as strong and hard, and therefore acceptably masculine.

Northeast Afghanistan and Pakistan are the major sources of lapis lazuli. The mines west of Lake Baikal in Russia are also a source, as are the Andes mountains of Chili. Smaller quantities are mined in Italy, Mongolia, the United States and Canada. According to the Gemological Institute of America, Afghan lapis is intense and uniform in color, and medium dark or slightly violetish blue.