The lapis lazuli particles were also especially fine, which requires a laborious grinding process. This detail in particular suggests that the stones were purposefully made into pigment.

A bit of lapis lazuli — a rich blue pigment — is trapped within a central tooth's dental tartar on this lower jaw of a European woman who died sometime between A.D. 997 and 1162.

History’s blue Watch fans love a good backstory, and few naturally occurring materials have a better one than lapis lazuli. Each dial has a distinct texture because of the pyrite veins in the lapis ...

The blue flecks of lazurite came with microscopic bits of a clear mineral called phlogopite, another ingredient in lapis lazuli. It’s rich in iron and magnesium, and it’s possible to trace the ...