6,000-Year-Old ‘Blue Gold’ Still Available and Costlier Than Gold

This stone, sometimes referred to as “blue gold,” has a very deep blue color with flecks of golden pyrite. The Badakhshan region of northeastern Afghanistan is its primary source and has been mined for more than 6,000 years, making it one of the oldest and most precious gems in history.

For millennia, the mines in Badakhshan, operated since the Neolithic era, have supplied lapis lazuli. In ancient Egypt, it was considered a sacred gem and frequently associated with gods. The Pharaohs and nobility used lapis lazuli jewellery because they believed it had spiritual powers and offered protection. Its deep blue hue symbolized heaven and appeared everywhere in religious pieces and burial articles, like Tutankhamun’s fabled funerary mask, into which the stone was set.

The charm of the gemstone was taken into Mesopotamia, where the Sumerians engraved seals and amulets using lapis lazuli. Their ceremonial objects were often marked with the bright blue lapis lazuli. One of the most striking examples is the Standard of Ur, which features mosaics, and whose use underscores its ties to the concepts of wealth and power.

Ancient Symbolism

Lapis lazuli also played a very important role in the art world. Grounded into powder, it was transformed into ultramarine, the brightest and most prized blue pigment of the medieval and Renaissance periods. Artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo used ultramarine in religious paintings and frescoes, ensuring its place in the history of art as a symbol of brilliance and enduring beauty.

Contemporary Use and Further Respect

Today, lapis lazuli is still mined in Afghanistan, even though extraction has not become an easy and simple process with the advent of modern mining techniques. The gemstone remains popular, and artisans worldwide are creating jewelry, ornaments, and sculptures that emphasize its breathtaking beauty.

Modern metaphysical uses reflect its long history relationship with spirituality: today, people feel that it energizes emotional healing and improves intuitive sense. The purist uses the lapis lazuli-pigmented ultramarine that still predominates contemporary art despite synthetic pigments.

Indeed, from ancient royal tombs and sacred relics, to modern jewelry and art, the timelessness of lapis lazuli remains in its classic beauty. The stone adorns pharaohs, inspires the masters of Renaissance art, or represents luxury and spirituality. A lasting legacy to nature’s transference of being, across and through time and civilization, leaves one in awe.