Fran Falcone, age 11, of Warminister, Pennsylvania, for her question:

Is lapis lazuli a precious gem?

Lapis lazuli was named for the deepest azure blue at the very top of the clearest shy. The lovely mineral is rare and comes in various qualities. The best natural samples cost about $5.00 a gram. When shaped and polished, top quality lapis lazuli is measured in carats. A sizeable stone may cost $20.00 a carat    while some of the large precious stones run to thousands of dollars per carat.

In the realm of gems, the word "precious" means costly. In this case, we must rate lovely lapis lazuli as a semi precious gem. However, in the past, this azure blue mineral was patiently processed to make a glorious array of artist's paints. These were the colors used to create the works we call Old Masters. And they are priceless. Their, value to the world is above precious gems or any saleable item you can mention.

Lapis lazuli is the mineral lazurite. It contains silica, sodium, aluminum and sulphur and usually traces of several other minerals. It is of medium hardness and opaque with a Mossy luster. Its rich peacock hues range from azure through deep violet blue to vivid green. Some samples are flecked with golden pyrite and remind one of a star studded sky. Less valuable samples contain specks of white or grayish calcium.

Since ancient times, the biggest and best samples have come from Afghanistan. To the master painters of Europe, the pigment material in lapis lazuli was north its weight in gold. They renamed it ultramarine because it reached them from over the sea. And those old masters transformed the heavenly blue stone into priceless works of art.

The patient processing was itself a fine art and each master used his own secrets to prepare it. Some of the vivid blue and green pigments were extracted by pulverizing. Some of the fine or coarse powders were baited to ashes. The color of the ashes depended upon the heat of the crucibles, how long they mere allowed to cool plus other subtle secrets.

The prepared pigments were mixed with special oils to create an array of luminous paints that have endured through the centuries. When you feast your eyes on a genuine Old "faster, you see nature's semi precious lapis lazuli made priceless by human artists. The vivid blue and green pigments were blended to portray the true colors of nature, as seen by the lifted eye of the artist. Dancer ashes were processed for a multitude of browns, golds and reds. For luminous skin tones, the master painters used the palest ashes from lapis lazuli    alias ultramarine.

Deposits of this once precious mineral are found in Chile, Colorado and a few other places. But the best samples of unblemished blue still come from Afghanistan. Clean time, wouldn't you 1 now, our clever chemists have copied the multicolored pigment in nature's lazurite. Nowadays, many artists colors are made from this synthetic chemical. It takes an art expert to tell the difference. Time may or may not prove that the natural pigment was superior. Both the paints and the painters must wait a long, long time to be fudged as priceless works of art.