Lajward (Lapis Lazuli) Prices in Pakistan: What You Are Paying For

Lajward is a stone most Pakistani families already know, even if they have never bought one. It turns up in old silver rings and in a grandfather's tasbih. The best of it has come out of the Badakhshan mountains in Afghanistan for thousands of years, and it still reaches us through Peshawar and Quetta as rough blocks, slabs, polished cabochons and strands of beads. So there is no shortage of lapis lazuli in the market. What there is, is a very wide spread of quality, and prices that follow that spread.

Below we explain why one piece of lajward costs more than another, where to find our own current rates per stone, per carat and per ratti, and how to line up quotes from different sellers so that weight, wax and dye do not fool you.

Lapis is a rock, and that changes how it is priced

A sapphire or an emerald is a single crystal. Lapis is not. It is a rock made mostly of blue lazurite, with white calcite mixed through it, small golden specks of pyrite and sometimes grey diopside or other minerals. Because it is opaque, there is no clarity grade of the usual kind and no sparkle coming back from facets. Everything you are paying for is on the surface: how deep and even the blue is, how much gold there is and how it is spread, and how little white you can see.

Per carat, lapis is light on the pocket compared with neelam or zamurd, and it is often cut in big pieces. That means the per-carat figure can look small while the total for a large cabochon is not small at all. If you want the visual grading in more detail, our piece on grading lajward covers it. Here we stay with the money side: how each quality point shows up in the price.

Our own lapis lazuli prices

The table below is built from the lapis lazuli we actually have listed, and we refresh it every month. It shows the lowest, typical and highest price per stone, with the same figures worked out per carat and per ratti.

Our per-ratti figures use the gemstone ratti of 0.91 carat, which is the normal unit for stones in Pakistan. Some jewellers still work in the smaller sunari ratti, roughly 0.61 carat, so convert before you compare anything. The carat to ratti converter does it in a second, and the monthly gemstone price guide has the same kind of table for other stones.

What actually moves the price of lajward

1. The blue comes first

Colour does most of the work. The lapis everyone wants is an intense, even royal blue with a faint violet edge, the same blue that painters once ground down to make ultramarine. A medium blue sits in the middle. Pale, greyish, greenish or blotchy blue is at the bottom. Always judge it in daylight. Very dark lapis can look nearly black under a weak indoor bulb, and you will not see what you are paying for.

2. Pyrite: some gold, spread evenly

Fine pyrite flecks scattered evenly across the blue, like stars in a night sky, are what people traditionally admire, and they can push the price up. Big lumps of pyrite or thick gold veins pull it down, and so does pyrite that has gone dull or rusty. A stone with no pyrite at all can still be top grade if the blue is excellent, although some customers come in asking specifically for the gold.

3. Calcite: less white is better

White calcite streaks and patches thin out the blue, and they are the most common reason a piece is priced lower. The best stones look almost completely blue. Obvious white veins or cloudy grey-white areas put a stone in commercial grade.

4. Polish and surface

Good lapis takes a smooth polish with a slightly waxy glow and an even surface. A grainy, pitted or patchy finish tells you the material was lower grade or the work was hurried.

5. Treatment

A lot of lapis is dyed to strengthen a weak blue, and a lot is waxed or soaked in resin to improve the polish and hide calcite. These treatments are everywhere and are fine as long as the seller tells you. Untreated lapis with fine natural colour is still worth more, and a dyed stone should cost clearly less than a natural-colour one.

6. Cut, shape and size

For rings, lapis is usually cut as an oval or cushion cabochon, or as a flat tablet for a signet ring. A bigger stone costs more in total, but because good lapis comes in large pieces, the per-carat rate does not climb steeply with size the way it does for zamurd or neelam.

7. Where it was mined

Badakhshan lapis from Afghanistan is the yardstick: deep blue with fine pyrite. Chilean lapis is usually lighter, with more calcite and a greyish cast, and it normally sells for less. The Baikal region of Russia is another source. Lapis almost never comes with a certified origin, so judge the stone in front of you rather than the story attached to it.

Cheaper stones sold as lapis

The costliest mistake with lajward is paying a lapis price for something that is not lapis. These are the usual stand-ins:

• Sodalite. A natural blue stone, often with white veins and little or no pyrite. Worth less.
• Dyed jasper or howlite. Sometimes sold as "Swiss lapis". The colour is usually too uniform, there is no pyrite, and dye can pool in the cracks.
• Reconstituted lapis. Lapis powder bound together with resin. It tends to look speckled and a bit artificial.
• Glass and plastic. You may see bubbles, and the gold "flecks" often look like glitter.

Ask for the invoice to say natural lapis lazuli, with any dye, wax or resin written down.

How per-ratti quotes work for lajward

In the bazaar, lajward for rings is usually quoted per ratti, while beads and bigger pieces go per piece or per strand. A per-ratti quote is just a rate multiplied by weight, so a thick stone with a heavy base can end up costing more than a better, slimmer one. Three habits help:

1. Find out which ratti the seller means, gemstone or sunari. The gap between them is about a third.
2. Get the weight in carats, taken on a digital scale.
3. Ask to see the side. Lapis cabochons are sometimes cut very deep to add weight that does nothing for the look once the stone is set.

Comparing quotes properly

• Bring everything to one unit. Price per carat is the cleanest.
• Compare like with like. A deep blue Afghan stone with fine pyrite and no white is a different product from a pale stone with calcite veins, even if they weigh the same.
• Ask about treatment. Natural colour and dyed colour should not be priced alike.
• Split the stone from the setting. If a ring is included, ask for the stone price and the silver weight separately.
• Check the terms. Can you see it before paying, and send it back if it is not as described?

Why two shops can quote so differently

You will often find a big gap between two shops in the same bazaar, and the reasons are usually ordinary ones. One shop sells commercial material by weight, while the shop next door has already picked out the deeper blue pieces. One quotes the loose stone, the other a stone already set in silver. One works in gemstone ratti, the other in sunari ratti. And one may be selling dyed or waxed lapis without mentioning it. Before you decide a quote is high or low, put the stones next to each other in daylight, convert both weights to carats and ask both sellers the same questions about treatment. What gap remains is the real difference, and it should show in the blue.

Budget tiers through our shop filters

Our shop's budget filters are the fastest way to see what each level gets you across every stone we stock:

• The lowest price band: entry-level stones and smaller cabochons.
• The second band: everyday ring stones with good colour.
• The third band: bigger stones with deeper blue and finer pyrite.
• The top band: stones with exceptional colour, size or finish.

The table above tells you where our current lapis really sits. Not every tier will have lapis in it at any given time.

How wear and care affect value

Lapis is only 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale and slightly porous. Wear it as a daily ring for a few years and the polish will go. Perfume, soap, chlorine and acids can dull or stain it. That matters for value, because a stone that has been looked after keeps its face, while a worn one needs repolishing. Pendants, earrings and rings kept for occasions are the kindest uses. Wipe it with a damp cloth, never put it in an ultrasonic cleaner, and store it away from harder stones. If you do want it as a ring, a bezel setting protects the edges; our stone setting service page explains the options.

Lajward tasbih and beads

Lapis tasbih and beaded pieces are priced as a set. Check that the blue is even across all the beads, that the sizes match, that the drilling is clean and that the thread is strong. Mixed strands, where a few beads are really sodalite or dyed stone, are a known trick, so turn each bead over in daylight. Our gemstone tasbih page and the guide to choosing a tasbih stone go through the choices.

Where to begin

Each stone in our lapis lazuli collection has its own price and its own photographs, so the blue and gold on the screen are what arrives. Try putting the 12.55 carat lapis lazuli next to the 14.25 carat lapis lazuli and you will see that colour and pyrite count for as much as weight. You can also look through all our blue gemstones, or see how lajward compares with feroza and tanzanite in the December stones guide.

We send stones across Pakistan on Cash on Delivery. In Karachi a parcel usually arrives in 1 to 2 working days; Lahore, Islamabad and the other big cities usually take 2 to 4. Open it in front of the rider, look at the stone in daylight and pay only if you are happy. Delivery is a flat Rs. 500 per order, and unused stones can be returned within 7 days under our returns policy.

Shop the stones: lapis lazuli.