Lazurite

Item Description

Good crystallized examples of Lazurite are not terribly common in nature. The most commonly seen and best quality pieces of the species are those from Afghanistan. These beautiful crystals have been mined for thousands of years, but weren't immediately identified as a mineral species, as they were a component of the stone Lapis Lazuli. The earliest reference I can find for Lazurite dates back to 1869 according to mindat.org. This piece features a few dodecahedrons of dark blue Lazurite measuring up to 1.3 cm across on etched Calcite matrix. It should be noted that over the last several years, Lazurite was discredited as a valid mineral species, and was being classified as a sulfide-bearing variety of Hauyne. Thankfully in 2021, Lazurite was reinstated, so we can now resume labeling all of our Lazurite specimens accurately. The piece is not repaired, and the Lazurite crystals are largely undamaged. A nice example of this classic and fine quality material from Afghanistan.