Lapis and Turquoise Pendant

Afghanistan lapis and nacozari Turquoise set in 925 Sterling Silver by Vaughn Nagel.

Width: 16mm

Length: 62mm

Nacozari turquoise is from Sonora, Mexico. The mine is located south of the Bisbee mine in the same mountain range. Nacozari turquoise is bright blue with very little matrix. Some stones show some white matrix due to the stone's aluminum content.

🔳

Lapis lazuli, also known simply as "lapis," is a blue metamorphic rock that has been used by people as a gemstone, sculpting material, pigment, and ornamental material for thousands of years. High quality lapis lazuli can be a costly gem. The most desirable specimens have a rich, solid blue color and perhaps a few reflective pieces of gold pyrite.

Unlike most other gem materials, lapis lazuli is not a mineral. Instead, it is a rock composed of multiple minerals. The blue color of lapis lazuli is mainly derived from the presence of lazurite, a blue silicate mineral of the sodalite group with a chemical composition of (Na,Ca)₈(AlSiO₄)₆(S,Cl,SO₄,OH)₂.

🔳

🔳