Lapis lazuli crystals. Lapis lazuli (blue) is a semi-precious stone widely used in jewellery, which has been prized since antiquity. Lapis lazuli is a

---

Lapis lazuli crystals. Lapis lazuli (blue) is a semi-precious stone widely used in jewellery, which has been prized since antiquity. Lapis lazuli is a rock containing the mineral lazurite, which gives it a deep blue colour, and also flecks of the golden-yellow mineral pyrite (iron sulphide). It has been mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for 6,500 years and jewellery containing it has been found at ancient Egyptian sites.

---

Size: 4024px × 2908px
Photo credit: © DIRK WIERSMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: blue, chemical, chemistry, crystal, crystals, earth, gem, gemstone, geological, geology, historical, history, inclusions, iron, jewel, jewellery, jewels, lapis, lazuli, lazurite, mineral, mineralogy, minerals, ornamental, polished, precious, pyrite, rock, rocks, science, semi, semi-precious, semiprecious, silicate, stone, stones, sulphate, sulphide, ultramarine