Does anyone know what the blue stone in Egyptian jewelry is ?

Question

I have a necklace from Egypt and it has a blue stone with an eye inset. Hope someone can tell me what the stone is called.

Answer 1

As mentioned by the previous responders, lapis lazuli or turquoise are the most likely actual stones to be a part of your necklace. While lapis lazuli is not actually found in Egypt it was popular in ancient Egypt and so has continued to be popular for jewelry sold to tourists. Turquoise comes primarily from the Sinai (or did in ancient times) and so was/is also a popular stone.
There is a possibility that what you have is not a stone but a material called faience. It's a quartz frit based substance that is fired and produces a glaze. Depending on other additives it can be blue, green, red, etc. Blue or blue-green were very popular colors for faience in ancient Egypt and a number of faience objects were produced including amulets, inlays, statuettes, vessels, etc. Materials that imitate faience are also popular in modern jewelry.

Answer 2

Lapis lazuli, also known as just lapis, is a stone with one of the longest traditions of being considered a gem, with a history stretching back to 5000 BC. Deep blue in color and opaque, this gemstone was highly prized by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, as can be seen by its prominent use in many of the treasures recovered from pharaonic tombs. It is still extremely popular today.

Lapis is a rock and not a mineral because it is made up from various other minerals. To be a true mineral it would have one constituent only.

The first part of the name is the Latin lapis, meaning stone. The second part, lazuli, is the genitive form of the medieval Latin lazulum, which came from Arabic (al-)lazward, which came from Persian لاژورد lāzhward. This was originally a place-name, but soon came to mean blue because of its association with the stone. English azure, Spanish azul, Italian azzurro also derives from this source. Taken as a whole, lapis lazuli means stone of azure.

Answer 3

Bluestone Jewelry

Answer 4

Lapis lazuli, also known as just lapis, is a stone with one of the longest traditions of being considered a gem, with a history stretching back to 5000 BC. Deep blue in color and opaque, this gemstone was highly prized by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, as can be seen by its prominent use in many of the treasures recovered from pharaonic tombs.

Answer 5

Well there are two stones it is likely to be Lapis or Turquoise. Egyptian jewelry I would guess most likely lapis. Lapis is a deep blue usually

Answer 6

lapis I think is the stone you are referring to if it is a deep blue color if it is a pale blue might be turquoise.