GEMS FROM L

LAMPWORKED GLASS Lampworked glass (also called torchwork) is formed from glass canes and tubes that are shaped by hand over a flame (oil lamps and bellows were originally used, hence the name lampworking). Lampworked glass beads are made in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and designs, including millefiori, rose-like overlay beads (pictured above), aventurine glass, and many others. Lampworking was invented in the 1700's in Murano, Italy.

LAPIS LAZULI
Lapis lazuli is a rich blue opaque, semi-precious stone that has been used in jewelry since ancien times. Ground-up lapis lazuli was once used as a pigment for oil paintings. Lapis lazuli is often dyed to deepen and improve its color. Lapis has a hardness of 5.5; it chips and scratches easily. It has a specific gravity of 2.4 to 2.9. Water can dull its sheen. Lapis lazuli contains the minerals calcite (which decreases its value), pyrite (which can increase its value), and sodalite. Swiss lapis is not Lapis lazuli at all; it is dyed jasper. Denim lapis is relatively pale, low-grade, inexpensive lapis from Chile; it is the color of denim cloth because of calcite inclusions (which whiten the color and lower the value).