Lapis Lazuli

The name comes from the Latin lapis, meaning stone, and lazuli comes from the Arabic term allazjward, meaning paradise.

Its history began more than 6,500 years ago when it was used by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt. It was a stone more valuable than gold, due to its unique and deep color, which was a symbol of purity, health, luck, and nobility.

Lapis lazuli was used to adorn the funeral masks of great Egyptian pharaohs, and in the Sumerian tombs of Ur, more than 6,000 small statuettes made of this beautiful stone were found. It is said that Cleopatra used it as a powder to add color to her eyelids. Later, in the Middle Ages, renowned painters used it to add color through ultramarine blue.