Antieke juwelen glossarium
(verklarende woordenlijst)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z         (alles)

Lapis Lazuli

A gemstone that is massive, typically of a deep blue color, but sometimes with mottlings of white. It is a complex mineral, composed of grains of several blue minerals, including hacyne, lazurite, and sodalite, in a matrix of calcite, and sometimes spangled with inclusions of brassy-coloured pyrites. The varying proportions of the minerals determine the color of the stone. As it is opaque, it is cut en cabochon or flat, and never faceted; it has a poor luster and is dull except when it is given a polished surface. it has been used since ancient times (known then as sapphire'). In some Anglo-Saxon jewelry the inlaid decoration, once thought to be lapis lazuli, is now considered to be blue glass. it has been made synthetically, and has been used to produce ultramarine, a coloring pigment now also made synthetically. the stone has been im-itated by Swiss lapis (blue-dyed jasper), by dyed agate, by sintered syn-thetic spinel, and also by paste, blue enamel, and ceramic ware, all of which a re readily distinguishable. Some lapis has been stained to make it darker.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson