{"product_id":"lapis-lazuli-teardrop-pendant","title":"Martinez Lapis Lazuli Teardrop Pendant in Sterling Silver","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis blue was once worth more than gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor most of recorded history the only real source of lapis lazuli was a single mountain range in northeastern Afghanistan. Painters ground it into ultramarine, the most expensive pigment in Europe, priced above gold by weight. That is why Renaissance painters saved it for one subject: the robe of the Virgin. If a patron wanted this blue in a painting, they paid for it specifically.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLook closely and you will find flecks of gold scattered through the stone. That is pyrite, and it is a good sign. Natural lapis carries pyrite and often a little white calcite. The uniform, flawless, almost plastic blue you see in cheap jewelry is usually dyed howlite or reconstituted powder. Real lapis has weather in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a big, confident teardrop with a deep saturated color and a glassy polish, hung from a matching lapis bail so the blue carries all the way up. The sterling is deliberately plain. With a stone like this, the silversmith's job is to get out of the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTurn it over and it is signed Martinez, sterling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStone: lapis lazuli with natural pyrite inclusions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMetal: sterling silver\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHallmark: Martinez, sterling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePendant: 1 inch long, 1 1\/2 inches including the bail\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChain: not included, hangs on your own\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne of a kind: yes, a single piece\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWildflower is a turquoise shop first, so lapis has to earn its place here. This one did.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Martinez","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48447833342174,"sku":"20260717-PEN-001","price":450.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0791\/2538\/1342\/files\/wildflower-artisans-lapis-lazuli-teardrop-pendant_f95e26dd-5b4b-4320-8495-3c918354eead.jpg?v=1785267780","url":"https:\/\/wildflowerartisans.com\/products\/lapis-lazuli-teardrop-pendant","provider":"Wildflower Artisans","version":"1.0","type":"link"}