A stone with a rich history. The sapphire referred to in the Bible was actually Lapis Lazuli.
00000Used as an inlay material along with malachite, Russian furniture makers fashion fabulous table-tops from the stone. As well as its use in jewellery as a beautiful and rich stone, ground to a fine powder, the stone becomes the basis for the artists' colour Ultramarine.
00000The gold flecks associated with the stone are in fact pyrite (fools' gold) and there is some controversy as to whether or not these flecks are desirable. Fashion plays a part in dictating this.
00000Lapis is reputed to have a number of healing properties, especially for the nervous system, MS, hearing, inflammation and pain. The Chinese used powdered lapis as eye shadow.