Home > Type Localities – March 17 > MS1538 Lazurite

Lazurite - Sold


Lazurite is an aluminosilicate of sodium and calcium. Knownlegde of lazurite dates back to ancient times, as the mineral comprises part of the lapidary material lapis lazuli, which is now defined as an ornamental rock consisting primarilly of lazurite and calcite with minor pyrite. Yale mineralogists James Dana and George Brush described the blue component alone under the name lapis lazuli in their 1868 System of Mineralogy. It waited until Brögger & Bäckström (1891) to finally assign the blue material a separate species name. Lazurite still enchants collectors with its rich color, and its powder serves as a fine paint pigment.

Lazurite has cubic symmetry; its crystals typically assume dodecahedral form. This specimen consists of an isolated 1.7 by 1.5 cm crystal in matrix. The marble matrix is essentially crystalline calcite with minor pyrite. Showy.