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Best Values
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Woman's sterling silver band featuring 2 channel set blue sapphires accented by inlaid lapis and Australian opal. The two princess cut blue sapphires have a total weight of .16 carats and are high quality. The inlaid blue lapis harmonizes nicely with the dark blue Australian opal's blue and green fire. This womans ring measures about 5.5mm wide and is shown in a size 7. The ring is available by special order in 3 to 5 weeks. It is hand signed "MMH" by Mark Hileman on the inside of the ring. A matching man's band is available if you would like to wear this ring as a wedding band.
Lapis Lazuli has been highly valued for many thousands of years. The most famous locality for fine quality lapis lazuli is the same ancient deposit high in the mountains of Afganistan where it was originally mined at least 6000 years ago.
The value of lapis is determined almost exclusively by color, with deep, intense, blue with violet tones being at the apex. Fine grained, uniform specimens, such as the ones used in this ring, attain a smooth highly polished surface not seen in lower grades. Calcite inclusions always lower the value, but pyrite inclusions enhance it in the minds of many collectors and jewelry lovers. The quality of polish, and the artistry of fashioning are also factors in value.
As you can see from the photos, this is very high grade lapis with no calcite and a few specks of pyrite in some of the pieces.
