Before It Was A Brooch, It Was A Palace Wall

Long before it found its way into a piece of jewelry, lapis lazuli did its finest work on plaster and canvas. Ground into ultramarine, it was the pigment grand houses paid dearest for, reserved for ceilings, altarpieces, and the folds of a painted robe. That same mined blue, prized for centuries as a mark of royal and divine favor, now surfaces in a brooch, carrying the same weight it always has.

With reporting from Elle Decor.