Azurite is translated from Persian lazard as blue or French azur as azur, i.e. copper azur. The chemical composition, as well as the drawing, is similar to green malachite, as both are copper carbonate. The blue color of the stone is caused by copper compounds. Crystals of Azurita are dark blue color, and here earthy masses are lighter cornflower-blue. The edges of Azurit have a strong reflective shine. Azurite is often confused with a dark blue stone like it - lazurite, which is very highly valued in the East.
The hardness of the crystal on the Mohs scale is 3.5 - 4.0, the density is 3.88 g/cm3,
In Namibia, the Teumeb deposit in Namibia produces beautiful collector's Azurites up to 25 cm in size and in perfect quality. Famous Azurita deposits are located in Morocco (Mibden, Tuissit), France (Chessy), Kazakhstan (Nikolaev and Kryuchkovsky mines).
In Russia, Azurites are large and valuable in their beauty (size of crystals 5-6 cm) mined in the Urals (Gumeshki mine).
Jewelry made of azurite and its prices:
Azurit is a favorite of collectors because of all kinds of quirks of its color, because of the wonderful deep blue color, the presence of the shine of faces, a clear shape of the crystals, a spectacular substrate of brown, grayish or greenish color. Blue minerals are not so common in nature.
Jewelry with this stone is very effective. Azurite is used to make pendants, cufflinks, beads and earrings. The Azurit celestial crystals are made of rare and expensive jewelry. The price for jewelry with it is tens of dollars.
Magical properties of azurite:
Azurite is a fighter against melancholy, emits healing positive energy and positive impact. Jewelry from Azurit will save you from an angry outburst, help to avoid emotional excitement and get rid of fear and stress.
In Egypt, the priests of antiquity, thanks to Azurit, turned to the gods. He served them to increase the strength of consciousness.
Druids in Ireland in their rituals with Azurita's native sticks helped people to experience feelings previously unknown to them, facilitating their choice for the future.
Azurit is like a talisman for lawyers, critics, judges, journalists, i.e. those who are involved in honest and objective activities. If sly, Azurit can punish his owner, he is able to uncover the deception and embarrass the cheater.
Therapeutic properties of azurite:
Lithotherapists believe that Azurit is able to heal any kind of disease. Applying a stone to a sick place, you can relieve acute pain, and with it itching and burning. For complete healing it is recommended to meditate with a stone. With Azurita you can accelerate and improve the result of any medical treatment.
Astrology of azurite:
Astrologers believe that Azurit is the stone of Libra, that is, persons who were born under the sign of Libra. They don't even have to wear it, it's enough for the stone to be in their home collection.
Everyone else needs to be more careful with Azurit, in which he is similar to agate. If you overdo it, the stone will refuse to help and may even "die".
Imitation and synthetics:
Today, as in the olden days, azurite is often confused with its colleague lazurite, considering azurite to be only one of the latter's varieties. Azurite is a completely independent mineral, which, unlike lazurite, has a much brighter blue tone. Malachite divorces in lapis lazuli are not observed, while azurite often combines with malachite. Azurite is easily distinguished from other stones, as it is the only mineral with deep blue color, boiling in hydrochloric acid.
History:
The term "azurite" was coined in 1824 by the French mineralogist Francois Bedan. Despite the fact that the stone was known since ancient times, for a long time it was confused with a similar mineral - lazurite. For example, Aristotle described the properties of these two gems in his works, without noting any difference between them.
In the Middle Ages, lazuli and its "doppelganger" azurite were actively used to create a natural deep blue color paint. And the latter was used even more often, because its processing required much less time and effort.
Shortcomings of azurite paint have already become apparent in our time. It turned out that when the mineral is in the air for a long time and under the influence of moisture, it gradually turns into malachite. It is this physical property of the stone that explains the predominance of green in the paintings of ancient artists.
The largest azurite in history was called "singing stone". The nugget weighing more than 4.5 tons was found in the U.S. and is now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.