925 Sterling Silver Lapis Lazuli Star & Ball Stud Earrings
Lapis lazuli is the blue of the ancient world. The Egyptians ground it into powder to paint the eyebrows of their gods. The craftsmen who made Tutankhamun's golden death mask used lapis lazuli for the blue stripes of the nemes headdress — the deep, saturated blue that has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back five thousand years. The painters of the Renaissance ground lapis lazuli into ultramarine — the most expensive pigment in the medieval world, more costly than gold — and used it to paint the robes of the Virgin Mary, because only the most precious blue was worthy of the most sacred subject. The word "ultramarine" means "beyond the sea" — the blue that came from so far away, from the mountains of Afghanistan where lapis lazuli has been mined for more than six thousand years, that it seemed to come from another world entirely. The lapis lazuli in this earring carries all of this: the blue of the pharaohs, the blue of the Virgin's robe, the blue that painters and kings and priests have considered the most precious color in the world for six thousand years. Set in the star and ball design — the star that is the shape of the night sky, the ball that is the shape of the earth — the lapis lazuli becomes the earring that connects the ancient earth to the eternal sky. This 925 sterling silver stud earring sets lapis lazuli and white zircon CZ in the star and ball design using the inlay technique, in 14K gold or platinum plating, at 1.38g. The earring that wears six thousand years of the world's most precious blue on the earlobe.
Why You'll Love It
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Lapis Lazuli — The Blue of the Ancient World — Lapis lazuli — the deep, saturated blue with golden pyrite flecks that has been the most precious gemstone color in the world for six thousand years. The blue of Tutankhamun's death mask, the blue of the Virgin Mary's robe in every Renaissance painting, the blue that the word "ultramarine" — "beyond the sea" — was coined to describe. The lapis lazuli earring that carries three thousand years of the world's most sacred blue on the earlobe.
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Star + Ball — Sky and Earth — The white zircon CZ star above and the lapis lazuli ball below — the star that is the shape of the night sky, the ball that is the shape of the earth. The earring that connects the ancient earth — the lapis lazuli that comes from the mountains of Afghanistan, mined for six thousand years — to the eternal sky — the star that has guided travelers and sailors and dreamers since the beginning of human history. The fine jewelry piece that wears the universe in two elements.
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Natural Gemstone — The Genuine Blue — Genuine lapis lazuli — the natural gemstone, not a simulation or a substitute, the real blue that the ancient Egyptians and Renaissance painters prized above all other colors. The natural gemstone earring that delivers the authentic color and the authentic history of the world's most ancient blue, in the most wearable and most accessible fine jewelry form.
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Golden Pyrite Flecks — The Stars Within — The golden pyrite flecks that appear naturally within the lapis lazuli — the tiny gold stars embedded in the deep blue stone, the natural inclusion that makes every piece of lapis lazuli unique and that gives the stone its distinctive appearance of a night sky filled with stars. The lapis lazuli that already contains the stars within itself, the stone that is its own universe.
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Two Plating Options — Choose 14K gold plating for the warm, classic finish that gives the lapis lazuli its most traditional and most luminous expression — the gold setting that echoes the golden pyrite flecks within the stone and the gold of Tutankhamun's death mask. Or choose platinum plating for the cool, modern white metal look that gives the lapis lazuli its most contemporary expression — the silver setting that makes the deep blue of the stone appear most saturated and most vivid by contrast.
Product Details
- Material: 925 Sterling Silver
- Plating: 14K Gold Plated / Platinum Plated
- Main Stone: Lapis Lazuli — Natural Gemstone, Ball, Inlay
- Accent Stone: White Zircon (CZ) — Star, Inlay
- Design: Star + Ball Stud
- Weight: 1.38g (per pair)
- Style: Ancient, Celestial, Lapis Lazuli Fine Jewelry Star Ball Stud Earrings
- Occasion: Everyday wear, special occasions, gifting, self-purchase, all occasions
