Stone Beads — Lapis, Sodalite, Other Blue Stones

Lapis - the queen of stones. Lapis was ground and mixed with oils to make eye-make up by the ancient Egyptians. It's rich, deep blue, flecked with glittering pyrite, has been long sought as a decorative stone, both in jewelry and in objets d'art. Some of the best quality Lapis comes from mines in Afghanistan, which makes it understandably hard to get these days.

Sodalite, with it's silky black and blue, is a lovely stone in it's own right. Some of the best deposits are here in Canada, in Bancroft, Ontario. At one time, known as Canadian Lapis or Canadian Blue Stone, it was a serious contender for the province's "official" stone, but eventually lost out to Amethyst.

We try to choose consistent stock, but the nature of natural stones is that there will be inconsistency between strands and between individual beads.