Lapis Lazuli is a beautiful stone for a distinctive signet ring. Lapis is a softer stone and needs to be protected from damage. Gareth designs his signet rings to have a raised bezel to protect the edge of the stone.
Other jewelers raise the stone above the gold to make it easier too carve. This leaves the stone very vulnerable to breakage. Gareth has replaced many ring stones that were broken because of this design flaw. Family crests carved in Lapis Lazuli must be polished. This two stage process makes them a premium option.
Lapis is relatively soft, softer than glass. For a ring, look for a setting where the gold rises above the edge of the Lapis to protect the edge from damage. Remove your ring if doing rough work, such as landscaping, gardening, rock climbing. Place it on a leather or metal necklace tucked under a shirt.
Smooth Lapis can be wiped with a cloth. Family crests with engraved and carved details may need to be cleaned by soaking in soap solution and brushing with a toothbrush. Keep Lapis dry as water can affect the yellow pyrites. Prolonged exposure to strong sunlight may cause fading over a long period of time. I have not seen this with my customer's Lapis jewelry, but it is a possibility.
Caution jewelers that the ultrasonic or steam cleaner may cause damage to the stone, especially if the solution is a harsh one. Lapis must never be placed in acid pickle, used by jewelers to clean gold after soldering. Most jewelers know this but point this out to your jeweler.
When a ring is resized larger or smaller, pressure can be exerted onto the stone. This may cause the stone to crack. Make your jeweler sign an affadavit that if the stone is broken they will pay for a replacement of the same quality.
Carving lapis Lazuli is a difficult, advanced process. A stable stone, free from cracks and with a solid structure is required for a good carving. Lapis Lazuli is a soft stone and does not like heat or pressure.
The carver has to have a light and delicate touch to avoid damage. Carvings in Lapis must be polished. This makes carving Lapis a long process and great experience is needed to create the best results.
Ask Gareth Eckley to hand carve an eagle, lion, wolf, animal, totem or any design into Lapis for you.
The beautiful, blue stone called Lapis Lazuli has been used in jewelry since ancient times. Lapis was a favorite of the Ancient Egyptians. It was inlaid into the Tutenkamun death mask, his sarcophagus and other ancient jewels.
Lapis is named after the Persian word 'Lazhward' for blue. The deep ultramarine blue color of the finest Lapis is highly prized and owes it's color to the mineral Lazurite. This is sometimes found as a single crystal as in this example here.
Lapis forms as a result of metamorphic action on limestone though contact with molten granite which creates crystalline marble and new minerals including Lapis.
The intensity and saturation of the finest Lapis comes from the amount of Lazurite in the rock and from the quantity and position of Sulphur radical anons in the crystal lattice. This varies with location and even within a single rock.
Lapis Lazuli that is perfectly saturated with the most intense blue color is very rare and expensive.
The minerals that together make up Lapis Lazuli are Lazurite, Hauynite, Noselite, Sodalite, Calcite, Diopside and Iron Pyrites. The golden color of Iron Pyrites accent the deep blue to great effect. The highest quality Lapis Lazuli has a greater concentration of Lazurite and less Calcite.
Custom cameo portrait ring made by Gareth at Portrait Cameos. Hand carved with the portrait of a man in Lapis Lazuli. The photograph is of a renowned explorer and grandfather of the customer. Set in a gold ring with Lapis lazuli inlaid panels on the shoulders. These are protected and enhanced by gold Acanthus leaf details pinned onto the sides.
Afghanistan - Persian LapisThe finest Lapis Lazuli has always been found in Afghanistan. The mines of the Badakshan region, near the Russian border, have been mined for 6000 years. The traveler Marco Polo visited them in 1271. These mines were the source of Ancient Egypts' Lapis and are still used to this day.
The mines are extremely remote, at a height of 11,000 - 16,000 feet. It is difficult to get heavy machinery to them and pack animals are still used to carry the Lapis Lazuli to markets in Kabul, Afghanistan or North Pakistan.
Found near lake Baikal, and Bokhara in Turkestan. Gem quality or AAA grade Lapis is seldom found in Russia. The blue is less intense and there is more white Calcite and banding of the rock. This material is often used for ornamental purposes and seldom for jewelry.
This Lapis is dominated by white Calcite with only lesser amounts of the blue Lazurite. The blue color is less intense than Afghan sourced Lapis. This is often dyed to appear darker and used for bead necklaces and inexpensive jewelry. Found in the Andes of Ovalle, Coquimbo.
Lapis was the stone of Laz, the Babylonian goddess of love and was widely believed to make you lucky in love. The gemstone also represents Ishtar the Sumerian goddess of battle and love. Lapis was the most highly prized gemstone to the Ancient Egyptians, the deep celestial blue symbolized royalty, honor, the gods and power. Lapis lazuli represents a universal symbol of truth. Lapis lazuli was valuable to the ancient Egyptians as an image of the heavens. Its dark-blue coloration was the indigo of the night sky while the white-gold flecks of pyrite represented the imperishable stars. Lapis was often used to represent the sky godess Neut and her daughter Isis, goddess of heaven.
Lapis Lazuli is a difficult stone to work with for the lapidary and gem carver. The stone is soft, but as it is technically a rock made from a combination of materials, it often develops an orange peel surface. This is known as undercutting and happens because the hard and soft materials polish at different rates. Soaking Lapis in distilled water can help to prevent oil or compounds penetrating any voids or fractures. There is good info from other gemstone cutters on the Orchid forums
Safety is very important as Lapis gives off a toxic dust when cut. This contains sulphur and copper and should not be inhaled. Always cut Lapis with water to keep the dust from forming. If using carving points charged with Diamond, the wax, silicone or oil lubricant will keep the dust away.
Lapis cuts quickly as it is a soft material. The diamond saw is very fast, when slabbing or trimming. Keep the stone wet with either an oil based or water based coolant.
Grinding can be done with a less agressive wheel than for Quartz or Agate. Use a 220 grit instead of 100 grit for material removal, 320 - 400 grit for shaping and 600 - 1200 grit for final smoothing. Nova wheels are good for this as they cushion the stone.
Curved surfaces such as cabochons can be sanded with 600, 1200, 3000 grit, applied to belts or pads. Keep the stone wet, in motion with a light touch to avoid flats or a build up of heat.
Polish with Linde A or Chromium Oxide on a hard Felt or hard Leather wheel. This gives a slick flow polish with minimal undercutting. Other gem cutters have used hardwood or charging polishing pads with diamond paste, 8000, 14000, 50k and 100k. However I have found that the soft pads and the numerous steps encourage undercutting.
Cut by Doug Menaude - Bespoke Gems
Finishing flat Lapis is much more difficult. I have tried many combinations of laps and grit. Sanding works well with 1200 and 3000 on Copper or Tin.
For Diamond I pre-polish with 8000 on a tin lap then polish with 50K on a tin lap. However, Linde A works very well on a tin lap and is now my favorite method. You can get a glossy and flat surface with no undercutting.
This faceted Lapis is by Doug Menaude who will cut gemstones to order. Visit his website at Bespoke Gems
If the stone gets too hot, particles of pyrites or quartz can be ripped out of the stone and cause a deep scratch as they are dragged over the surface. Heat generated by running dry and too much pressure can also cause cracks and fractures.
Lady Diana Gibson-Watt asked me to create a jewelry suite from some of her collection of Lapis lazuli gemstones and natural pearls.
Diana had toured the middle east in the 1950s. She visited Jordan, Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan where she bought her Lapis.
I designed a pendant with a pearl enhancer in 18kt yellow gold to fit over the pearl necklace.
The central Lapis is encircled by fully drilled pearls on gold pegs with gold spacers in between. The drop earrings match the pendant.
Click the button for more examples of jewelry that I designed for Lady Gibson Watt.
Lapis Lazuli has been used to make blue pigment for centuries. Ground Lapis Lazuli has been used to dye cloth and for art. There are examples from Bhuddist monks from the 4th century.
Painters of the Renaissance such as Cellini, Michelangelo and of course Titian used ground Lapis pigment for their paintings.
Titian, is regarded as one of the finest portrait artists. His signature effect was to use Ultramarine blue that he created by grinding Lapis and mixing it with Linseed Oil.
This is actually known as Titian blue by some and can be seen on his painting of 'Bacchus and Adrienne' from 1521. I saw this in the National Gallery in London. While the other oil paint has faded the blue of the robes and the background is still as intense now as when first painted 500 years ago.
Michelangelo used Lapis Lazuli powder to pigment tempura paints for the blues in his fresco in the Sistine chapel.
The girl with the pearl earring by Vermeer uses lapis pigment for her headscarf. This is a brilliant blue, especially as it is 400 years old.
An excellent resource is this page on how to make pigment and paint from lapis lazuli by Silwa of Swaneholm. The most informative and well researched article on Lapis Lazuli to make Ultramarine blue pigment is by David Marguiles.
The process involves crushing the Lapis, then using various processes and agents to remove the impurities. The best quality Lapis gives a more intense final result than when cheaper material is used. The washed and clean powder is is used to pigment tempra paint for frescos or can be mixed with linseed oil to make an oil paint.
You can buy real lapis lazuli pigment from Lapis Lazuli World, listed at $1300 per Kilogram ( 2.2 lbs ).
