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Lapis Lazuli Mohs Hardness: 5-6. Lapis lazuli is a rock, not a mineral and is formed from more than one mineral. The finest colour is intense blue, lightly dusted with small flecks of golden pyrite. Stones with no white calcite veins and only small pyrite inclusions are more prized. Lapis lazuli is a relatively rare, semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color. The English word azure, the French azur, the Italian azzurro, the Spanish and the Portuguese azul are cognates. Taken as a whole, lapis lazuli means "stone of Lazhward". Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for over 6,000 years, and trade in the stone is ancient enough for lapis jewellery to have been found at Predynastic Egyptian sites, could also be found in the Siwa Oasis in the Western Libyan desert, and lapis beads at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania. |