Lapis lazuli is one of the oldest blue stones in jewelry, and also one of the most often dyed or copied. This page covers what real lapis looks like and how it's graded, the imitations to watch for, how to keep a lapis bracelet from dulling, and how it compares with sodalite, the blue stone the BVDIY studio does carry.
Lapis lazuli is a rock, not a single mineral: deep blue lazurite with white calcite and gold pyrite flecks. It rates about 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale and dislikes soaking, acids and perfume. Much cheap lapis is dyed or reconstituted. The BVDIY studio doesn't carry lapis; Sodalite with a few Pyrite beads gives the blue-and-gold look as an alternative.
What is lapis lazuli made of?
Lapis lazuli is a metamorphic rock made mostly of lazurite, the mineral that gives the blue, mixed with white calcite and specks of brassy pyrite. Smaller amounts of other minerals such as diopside and sodalite are common. Because the mix varies, two lapis beads cut from different pieces can look quite different.
The most famous source is the Badakhshan region of northeastern Afghanistan, mined for thousands of years. Lapis also comes from Chile, which tends to produce a lighter blue with more white, and from Russia near Lake Baikal.
Lapis is graded mostly by eye. These are the usual differences between a cheap strand and a fine one:
| Feature | Higher grade | Lower grade |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Even, intense royal or violet blue | Paler, patchy or greyish blue |
| Calcite (white) | Little or none | Streaks or blotches of white |
| Pyrite (gold) | Fine, scattered flecks | None, or large brassy patches |
| Polish | Glassy-smooth, no pits | Dull or pitted where softer calcite wore away |
Lower-grade lapis isn't fake. Many people prefer the white-veined look, which is more affordable. It just shouldn't be priced as the deep blue kind.
How can you tell if lapis lazuli is dyed or fake?
Dyed lapis is the most common problem: low-grade, whitish lapis is soaked in blue dye and often waxed to hide it. Other stand-ins are a different material altogether. What to watch for:
- Dyed lapis: blue that looks extra dark in the white calcite areas, or blue collecting in cracks and around the drill hole. Jewelers test it with a cotton swab and a little acetone on a hidden spot: blue on the swab means dye. Only try it on a bead you don't mind marking, since acetone also strips wax.
- Reconstituted lapis: lapis powder bound with resin and pressed into blocks. It looks very uniform, and the gold specks tend to be the same size everywhere.
- "Swiss lapis" or "German lapis": trade names for dyed jasper or chalcedony. Neither is lapis.
- Dyed howlite: white howlite with grey veins, dyed blue. The veins stay dark grey-black rather than white.
- Glass: sometimes with copper or gold glitter added to mimic pyrite, usually too sparkly and too even.
Under the FTC's jewelry guides, a treatment like dyeing should be disclosed when it isn't permanent, needs special care, or significantly affects value. A seller who labels beads as dyed lapis is selling honestly.
How do you keep a lapis lazuli bracelet from dulling?
Keep lapis dry and away from chemicals, and it holds its polish for years. At about 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale, it is softer than quartz (7), and the calcite in it reacts with acids, so lemon juice, vinegar and household cleaners can etch the surface, and sweat left on it dulls the polish. Its wax or polish coating also wears faster in hot water.
- Put it on after lotion and perfume, not before.
- Take it off for showers, swimming, the gym and washing dishes.
- Wipe it with a soft, slightly damp cloth and dry it straight away. No soaking, no ultrasonic cleaner.
- Store it apart from quartz and other harder beads, which will scratch it.
That makes lapis better suited to a bracelet worn out in the evening than one that lives on the wrist through a working day at a sink.
Where does lapis lazuli's meaning come from?
Lapis lazuli is traditionally associated with wisdom, truth and royalty, and the history behind that is real. It was carved into jewelry and seals in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, where it was inlaid in royal funerary pieces. Ground and purified, it became ultramarine, the costly blue pigment Renaissance painters saved for the robes of the Virgin Mary. In modern crystal folklore it's linked with honest speech and self-expression.
For other stones with their folklore lines, see the guide to crystal meanings.
How is lapis lazuli different from sodalite?
Sodalite is the stone most often mistaken for lapis, and the two are related (sodalite can even occur inside lapis). The quickest test is color and specks: lapis is a brighter royal blue and often has gold pyrite, while sodalite is a darker, inkier blue with white veins and almost never shows gold.
| Lapis lazuli | Sodalite | |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Bright royal to violet blue | Deep navy to violet-grey |
| White areas | Calcite, in spots and streaks | Veins and patches, often more of them |
| Gold specks | Pyrite, common | Rare |
| Mohs hardness | About 5 to 5.5 | About 5.5 to 6 |
| Water and handwashing | Avoid | Tolerates everyday handwashing |
| Folklore | Wisdom, truth | Logic and calm thought |
How do you build a lapis-style bracelet with sodalite?
You can get lapis's blue-and-gold look by pairing Sodalite with a few Pyrite beads in the BVDIY studio. It's an alternative, not lapis: the blue is deeper and the gold sits in separate beads rather than inside the stone.
Blue-and-gold stretch bracelet: for a 17 cm wrist at 8 mm the studio gives 23 positions. Put one Pyrite at the center front and one Pyrite five beads to each side of it, then fill the other 20 positions with Sodalite. Sodalite is $1.40 a bead and Pyrite $2.00, so the total is $46.99 with the $12.99 base. Three pyrite beads is the right amount; more and it starts to look flashy rather than flecked. Pyrite is best kept dry, so this bracelet comes off for handwashing anyway.
Lapis-style necklace: lapis bead necklaces are a classic, and the same idea works at necklace scale. At 20 in with 8 mm beads, the studio gives 31 positions. Use 25 Sodalite and 6 Pyrite, with each pyrite bead after every four or five sodalite. That's $47.00 in beads plus the $18.99 necklace base, $65.99 in total. For more necklace layouts, see designing a necklace online.
For a darker, more violet blue, Iolite ($2.60) can replace part of the sodalite. Before ordering a bracelet, measure the wrist: whole centimeters from 14 to 20, and if you're between sizes, choose the larger.
Sources: Lapis lazuli composition, sources, imitations and dyeing: GIA Gem Encyclopedia. Hardness of lapis lazuli and sodalite: Mindat mineral database. Treatment disclosure: FTC Guides for the Jewelry Industry (16 CFR Part 23). December birthstones: GIA birthstones by month.