Lapis Semi Polished bead bracelet. The source of the above Lapis Semi Polished beads is the rugged mountainous region of the north-east of Afghanistan, close by the border with Tajikistan. Lapis Lazuli has been mined in that far-flung area since Antiquity, and was indeed the only source for this fabled gemstone throughout history until commercial quantities of it were discovered in Chile in thye late 1800s.
Lapis lazuli is one of only two rocks in the gemstone world, the other being Turquoise; save for some organics such as Coral and Pearl and Amber, all the other gemstones are crystalline. Lapis takes a high polish, so that it positively gleams, but in a semi-polished state, as above, it has an interesting, earthy, natural look.
Note the white calcite inclusion on one side of the central Lapis Lazuli block bead; calcite and pyrites are the two characteristic natural inclusions of this gemstone.