Lazurite on Marble

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This is a very impressive display quality specimen of the sharp crystals of Lazurite that ONLY come from this small region of Afghanistan (more often called Lapis Lazuli in the public or in the past). This was the source of the Stone of Kings in ancient times, with Lapis from these mountain deposits trekked to Egypt and all over the ancient world. Specimens with crystals were only "rediscovered" in relatively modern times; and possibly the first superb modern crystals started coming out to us as collectors in the 1980s after Herb Obodda opened the region up for collecting minerals as specimens. Since then, good specimens have come in spurts, with dry years between production of good specimens. Even after all that time, this piece that Jack purchased in the 1990s is still a superb example of really high quality, hard to surpass. It has a sharp, dramatic crystal cluster atop that is 2 inches from tip to tip (5 cm) and is composed of one large crystal plus a nice accent. These show none of the rounding, curvature, or generally ugly mottled color of most specimens. Crystals of this size, without deformation or mottling, are extremely rare. This is the one that Jack bought and kept for decades, even as new production flowed around him, because of its innate quality. It is complete 360 and displays nicely on trimmed marble matrix.