Unique Glass Home Decor

The euphonious name is composed from ‘lapis’, the Latin word for stone, and ‘azula’, which comes from the Arabic and means blue. So it’s a blue gemstone – but what an incredible blue! The worth of this stone to the world of art is immeasurable, for the ultramarine of the Old Masters is nothing other than genuine lapis lazuli. Ground up into a powder and stirred up together with binding-agents, the marble-like gemstone can be used to manufacture radiant blue watercolors, tempera or oil paints. Before the year 1834, when it became possible to produce this color synthetically, the only ultramarine available was that valuable substance made from genuine lapis lazuli that shines out at us from many works of art today. Many pictures of the Madonna, for example, were created using this paint. But in those days, ultramarine blue was not only precious and so intense that its radiance outshone all other colors; it was also very expensive. But unlike all other blue pigments, which tend to pale in the light, it has lost none of its radiance to this very day.

The pure royal blue pigment, also known as Natural Ultramarine Blue or lazurite is extracted from the gemstone, Lapis Lazuli. The Lapis Lazuli rock is composed by more or less 15 minerals, mainly by Lazurite, Calcite, Pyrite, Dioxide, Mica, Huynite, Homblende, Wollastonite and others.

Making The Pigment

The raw material to obtain the pigment, is crushed, grinded and cleaned to separate the other minerals using various methods, in order to concentrate only the Lazurite in pure crystals under 70 microns. The natural Lapis Lazuli pigment is a lazurite concentrate that differentiates itself from its syntetic counterparts by the vibrancy of the blue that it produces. The large size of the lazurite crystals, with irregular and angular shapes, react to light like a finely faceted small diamond, thereby producing and ever-changing display of rich vibrant blues. This creates a three dimensional gem-like effect, which is not attainable with the very small, round and uniformly shaped particles of the synthetic ultramarine blue pigment. This pigment is not affected by the UV rays.

The intense and exclusive blue color of lapis lazuli has always been a symbol for purity, health, elegance, luck and nobility. It is for this reason that this splendid semi-precious stone has been used by man for more than 600 years to highlight its creations.

The Sumerians and Babylonians gave splendor to their best jewels, by using lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan. The Greeks also attributed to the stone healing. The Egyptian Pharaohs used lapis lazuli in their thrones and funeral masks and Cleopatra used its dust as eye-make up. During the Renaissance period, lapis lazuli powder has also been as a fade resistant blue pigment by renown Painters as Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico and Albrecht Durer.

In the Americas, the Incas, Molles, Diaguitas and other pre-Columbian cultures have for ever 200 years, used lapis lazuli to ornament different artifacts, by extracting the stone from the same deposit located 3600 meters above-sea-level in the Andes Mountains in the area of Ovalle in Chile, which today is named Las Flores de los Andes S.A. In 1851, the location of this deposit was mapped, and 1894 registered as Las Flores de los Andes, In 1989 the company Las Flores de los Andes S.A, owner of this Lapis Lazuli mine, built at 60km. Access road that allowed the extraction of material in larger quantities and sizes.

We are proud to introduce at homedecorbylulu.com an exquisite line of hand blown glass products that contain natural Lapis Lazuli lazurite crystals. These products are known as Lapis Glass. What makes these pieces special is, unlike the synthetic lapis glass being used by jewelers, these products are made with 100% Lapis Lazuli.