Pigment of illuminated manuscripts, cut into a triangle. Size 7.25.
Lapis is the royal one. It was ground into pigment for illuminated manuscripts, carved for pharaohs, and traded across continents before anyone thought to call it semi-precious — and this piece has that dense, unarguable royal blue.
It is faceted into a trillion, which is slightly contrary of me. Lapis is a rock rather than a single mineral, a mix of lazurite, calcite and pyrite, so it does not cut like a gem and is nearly always left as a cabochon. Faceted, the blue reads almost like enamel: hard flat planes instead of a soft dome. The triangle keeps it compact and modern, a deliberate contrast to all the freeform stones I usually work with.
It wears composed and a little formal, in the best sense — a ring for the days you want to look decided.
