Lapis has been mined in the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan for more than six thousand years. It reached Egypt, it reached Rome, and it was ground into ultramarine — for centuries the most expensive pigment a painter could buy, worth more by weight than gold.

These are three rounds per ear, graduated in size, each individually wrapped in gold-filled wire that spirals visibly around the stone rather than hiding behind it. The ear wires are formed by hand as well.

Look for the pyrite: the small gold flecks scattered through the blue are naturally occurring iron pyrite, and they are the traditional mark of genuine lapis rather than dyed substitute.

Light enough for all day. Substantial enough to be noticed.

Natural stone, so the depth of blue and the amount of pyrite will vary between pairs.