Polished Lapis Lazuli Block, 4kg | Badakhshan Afghanistan

A 4 kg Lapis Lazuli Block, Nearly 3 Inches Thick

This polished Lapis Lazuli block from Badakhshan, Afghanistan weighs 4 kg, about 8.8 lb, and measures 27.0 cm long and 13.0 cm wide (10.6 × 5.1 inches). Its 7.0 cm thickness, about 2.8 inches, gives it real depth when you look at it from the side, and it stands upright on its own.

The stone is lazurite in an even ultramarine blue, polished to a reflective finish across its main faces. Gold-coloured pyrite shows as veins and soft clouds running through the blue. You can see how colour and pyrite change from piece to piece in our Lapis Lazuli collection.

Placing it

At 8.8 lb it suits a mantelpiece, a long shelf or a desk, as long as the surface can carry the weight. If you’re comparing sizes, the polished stone collection has other large blocks, some flatter and some more square. To learn where the stone is mined, read our guide to where Lapis Lazuli comes from, and for more pieces from Afghanistan and Pakistan, browse our mineral specimens and crystals.