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Open daily, 10 am to 6 pmOpen daily, 10 am to 6 pm
Est. 1977 · 89A & Jordan Rd, Uptown Sedona
The gallery is just over the hill.
Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Coffee Pot Rock and Thunder Mountain
Stone
A rock made largely of lazurite, best known from Afghanistan. Deep blue with golden pyrite flecks and white calcite.
Reference specimen, for comparison only: not the stone or metal in a given piece. We do not sell loose stones.
In the gallery
Bracelets · 17 pieces
$499
Lapis Lazuli
Afghanistan
$350
Spiny Oyster
Gulf of California
$499
Spiny Oyster
Gulf of California
$389
Lapis Lazuli
Afghanistan
$549
Lapis Lazuli
Afghanistan
$359
Spiny Oyster
Gulf of California
$495
Lapis Lazuli
Afghanistan
$599
Spiny Oyster
Gulf of California
$359
Spiny Oyster
Gulf of California
$1,125
Touch of Santa Fe · Diné (Navajo)
Kingman Turquoise
Kingman, Arizona
$835
Eugene Chee · Diné (Navajo)
Mother of Pearl
Tropical seas
$1,125
Touch of Santa Fe · Diné (Navajo)
Kingman Turquoise
Kingman, Arizona
$1,115
Touch of Santa Fe · Diné (Navajo)
Kingman Turquoise
Kingman, Arizona
$1,125
Touch of Santa Fe · Diné (Navajo)
Kingman Turquoise
Kingman, Arizona
$420
Max Calladitto · Diné (Navajo)
Lapis Lazuli
Size 7 · Afghanistan
$510
Rick Tolino · Diné (Navajo)
Kingman Turquoise
Size 7 · Kingman, Arizona
$510
Rick Tolino · Diné (Navajo)
Kingman Turquoise
Size 7 · Kingman, Arizona
Lapis has been treasured for more than six thousand years, mined in the mountains of Afghanistan and traded across the ancient world — into the jewelry and burial goods of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and later into the palettes of Renaissance masters who reserved its ultramarine for the robes of the Madonna.
It entered Southwestern jewelry far more recently, as a prized blue alternative to turquoise. Native lapidaries favor it especially in fine inlay, where its intense, even color makes a deliberate statement beside the softer blues of native stone.
Cultural Significance
Lapis gives Native lapidaries a true, deep blue useful for contrast and depth in channel and mosaic inlay, where it can be set against turquoise to play one blue against another. Its golden pyrite flecks echo a night sky, and it is often combined with turquoise, coral, and shell in compositions that want a richer, darker note. Cut as cabochons or precise inlay pieces, it adds weight and saturation to a design.
Geology
Lapis lazuli is a rock rather than a single mineral: its blue comes from lazurite, accented by brassy specks of pyrite and veins of white calcite. The finest material — historically from the Sar-e-Sang mines of Badakhshan in Afghanistan, worked for millennia — shows a deep, even blue with an even scattering of gold and little visible calcite.
At Mohs 5 to 5.5 it is relatively soft and slightly porous, so it is cut and worn with more care than quartz, and lower grades are sometimes treated to deepen the color.
Care
Lapis is soft and porous and sensitive to chemicals and heat. Keep it dry and away from cosmetics, perfume, and cleaners, which can dull or discolor it, never use a chemical dip, clean it with a soft cloth, and store it separately to avoid scratches.
Set in pieces you can buy today. We do not sell loose stones.
This collection includes Native American–made and Southwestern-style pieces; each piece's own page states its origin where it is known.
