> GEMMOLOGY AND LORE: LAPISLAZULI

Ugh, sorry for the long gap between postings. Had a busy weekend, and on top the daycares are on strike, so my husband and I had to juggle child and work. But we manage. :)

Today, I'd like to do a post on gemmology, describing a certain stone, its different appearances and supposed uses in healing and stone therapy. 

To get the necessary raffle out of the way: The supposed healing properties are in no way scientifically proven and don't replace medical treatment. In every case, a doctor should be consulted. I don't advertise the so-called healing properties of stones, I just report the different opinions of others to create a comprehensive picture. Yadda yadda.

One of my personal favourites is lapislazuli, because I love the deep blue dotted with the typical golden pyrite specks. Sadly, I don't much use it in my designs, simply because there are so many treated stones on the market that it's hard to tell the difference, other than maybe that the untreated stones are usually unremarkable and not as beautiful and therefore are harder to sell. Figures.

Milky Way - Earhooks with lapislazuli chips

The name means "blue stone" in Latin, which is also mirrored in the mineralogical name lazurite. Sometimes, it is simply called lazuli.

The stone has been used for jewelry and healing for over 9000 years! The earliest findings were somewhere in the Indus valley. In ancient Middle Asia cultures and throughout antiquity it had been used for cultic rituals and as a colorant.

Lapis is formed in the contact zone (metamorphic zone) of just forming magmatites and metamorphously changing sediments (metamorphite; = marble). Important mines are in Sar-e-Sang in Badakshan/Afghanistan (which also produces the best quality) and in Chile and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The crystal form of lapislazuli is cubic, although visible cubes are a real rarity. It is a sulfurous aluminum silicate, is a rare representative of the sodalite-nosean-group and is a framework silicate. In its raw appearance, it is of a deep blue, with golden (pyrite) or yellowish-white (marble) specks.

In terms of technical specifications its mohs hardness is 5-5.5, the density 2.4 (can also be up to 2.9 due to inclusions), it has a imperfect eminent minerlal cleavage, shows shell fracture and has a weak blue steak colour.

Sometimes, sodalite is mistaken for lapislazuli, but the easiest way to resolve the problem is to check the streak colour, which is white for sodalite.

As I already mentioned, lapislazuli is often imitated and treated. The usual methods are artificial colouring to achieve the much demanded deep blue hue, or actual imitations with coloured calcite, quartz (chalcedony, jasper), magnesite (also often used as imitate for turqoise), china, glass, synthetic spinel, plastic and many more. Sadly, many forgeries can only truly be confirmed through gemmological analysis.

The supposed therapeutic effects of lapislazuli include dissolving of insecurities and the easier acceptance of criticism and to find the courage to voice inconvenient truths. For the latter three aspects, it should be worn around the throat. It is fittingly also called "stone of truth".
Since it's uses are focused on the throat, it is also supposed to ease raw throat, swallowing difficulties and colds. Furthermore, it is said to lower the blood pressure and slow hormone cycles.