LAPIS LAZULI Lapis was among the first gemstones to be worn as jewelry. Its name is composed of the Latin "lapis" for stone and "azula" from the Arabic for blue. Prior to 1834, when the color could be made synthetically for artistic use, the stone was ground into a powder and mixed to create brilliant blue watercolors and oil paints. The gold "flecks" often seen in Lapis are iron pyrites which resemble gold. The finest Lapis is found in the mountains of Afghanistan
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