Hauyne (var: Lazurite)

Item Description

These are the finest quality and most well-known examples of Lazurite in the world. They have been known for thousands of years, and the material is blue part of the stone Lapis Lazuli. This piece features a good sized, sharp, well-formed, dodecahedron of deep royal blue Lazurite which is perfectly set on the contrasting marble matrix. Despite the fact that Lazurite was a species for a long time, it should be noted that Lazurite is NO LONGER a valid species, as the material is now classified as a variety of Hauyne (specifically a sulfide-rich variety). Still, it is incredibly difficult to find large, attractive, isolated crystals such as this on matrix. The piece is not repaired, and the Lazurite crystal is undamaged, though it does have a bit of skeletal or negative growth where it is partially filled with marble matrix. For the size, this is a sharp crystal, which is important to note as most crystals from this locality end up rather distorted or "lumpy" when they get this size. A wonderful matrix example of this classic and fine quality material from Afghanistan.