Crystals from Afghanistan

The Sar-i Sang mines, in the mountains of Badakhshan, have been worked for more than six thousand years, making them one of the oldest known gem deposits. Their lapis lazuli travelled as far as pharaonic Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ground and purified, it produced ultramarine, the most precious blue pigment in European painting, kept for the Virgin's cloak in many Renaissance pictures.

The pegmatites of Nuristan and Laghman, in the east of the country, also yield kunzite and brightly coloured tourmalines.

Good lapis lazuli is deep blue, sometimes flecked with golden pyrite; too much white points to calcite. Very uniform, cheap lapis is often dyed or reconstituted. With a hardness of 5 to 5.5, it scratches more easily than quartz. Kunzite fades in strong light, which is why it is sometimes called « the evening stone ».