Price is per 16-inch string of these beautiful beads. All different sizes, range from 14mm x 11mm x 2mm to 10mm x 7mm x 3mm - many in string.
Through the ages, lapis has been associated with power, wisdom, love, and a stimulant for psychic ability. And in the art world its famous for the ultramarine blue paint used by the Grand Old Masters, like on portraits of the Virgin Mary. While other compositions have long since paled, lapis has lost nothing of its brilliance.
Lapis is still mined in the remote mountains of Afghanistan, the best stones being deep and intensive blue with finely distributed golden crystals. The twinkling inclusions are not gold but pyrite, caused by iron. The blue colour comes from the sulfuric content of lazurite, and looks dull until polished. Lapis is a soft stone that should be treated gently while polishing. Unpolished, the dark blue looks dull with golden inclusions and whitish veins from marble. However, a Lapis which has dulled after being worn too often is easily polished, and jewellery is often surface sealed with wax or resin.
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