ForMatter/Materials/gemstone/Lapis Lazuli
mat_gem_lapis_lazuli

Lapis Lazuli

metamorphic rock, lazurite + calcite + pyrite, opaque · lapis, lazurite (mineral component), Afghan blue
highlast updated 2026-04-28
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

A blue rock more than a single mineral — lazurite (the blue), calcite (the white), and pyrite (the gold-flecked iron sulfide). Mined for over 6000 years from a single valley in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, ground into the genuine-ultramarine pigment Vermeer used for the turban in *Girl with a Pearl Earring*, and still cut for jewelry as cabochons and beads. Through the medieval and early-modern period genuine ultramarine was among the most expensive pigments in the European painter's palette.

Metamorphic rock — primary blue mineral lazurite (Na,Ca)₈(AlSiO₄)₆(SO₄,S,Cl)₂, sodalite-group framework silicate, with admixed calcite and pyrite. Mohs 5.5. Specific gravity 2.7–2.9. Color from S₃⁻ chromophore in lazurite cages. Always cut as opaque cabochon or carved object — never faceted. The Sar-e-Sang valley in Badakhshan has been the dominant source since pre-dynastic Egypt.

mechanical

  • mohs_hardness5.5
  • specific_gravity2.8
source: Hurlbut & Klein

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg1.5
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • recyclabilitymoderate
  • biodegradableFalse
  • localityprimary mining: Afghanistan (Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan); secondary: Chile, Russia
visual
deep ultramarine blue, characteristically flecked with metallic-gold pyrite
tactile
cool, dense, opaque
Walter Benjamin (dead — channeled)

The pigment travels further than the painter. Ultramarine reached the canvas only by way of camel routes, ledgers, surcharges, the slow patience of a substance valuable enough to be its own reason for travel — and what reaches the painted surface still carries that travel inside it. The blue does not refer to the sky. It refers to the journey.

Channeled within the philosophy of Walter Benjamin, *The Arcades Project* (Eiland & McLaughlin trans., Belknap/Harvard, 1999), Convolute H "The Collector" — on the trade-route trophy and the rarefied material brought from a distance.

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere matte finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      matte
albedo        #1a3a8a
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.75
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#1a3a8a",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.75,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Lapis Lazuli · finish: matte
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_gem_lapis_lazuli")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.0103, 0.0423, 0.2542, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.750
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Lapis Lazuli · finish: matte
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_gem_lapis_lazuli", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (26, 58, 138))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.750)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Lapis Lazuli \u00b7 finish: matte",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.0103,
    "g": 0.0423,
    "b": 0.2542
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.75,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_gem_lapis_lazuli",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.0103,
          0.0423,
          0.2542,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.75
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Lapis Lazuli · finish: matte
def Material "mat_gem_lapis_lazuli" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_gem_lapis_lazuli/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.0103, 0.0423, 0.2542)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.750
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
Substitutes
Turquoise (Natural)

Citations