{"product_id":"lapis-bead-cord-bracelet","title":"Lapis Bead Cord Bracelet","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor most of history this blue cost more than gold, and there was only one place to get it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLapis lazuli came out of a single valley in Afghanistan and was traded across the entire ancient world from there. Ground down it became ultramarine, the pigment Renaissance painters reserved for the Virgin's robe because it was too expensive to use anywhere else. Tutankhamun's mask uses it. So do the murals in the Mogao caves (莫高窟).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn Tibetan Buddhism the Medicine Buddha (薬師佛) is depicted the colour of lapis, which is about the highest compliment a tradition can pay a stone.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeliberately minimal here: a few beads and a lot of cord, so the blue has room around it. Look closely and you will find gold flecks of pyrite scattered through the stone, which is how lapis has always been recognised.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who buys stones for the history. \u003cstrong\u003eLapis has one of the longest trading stories of any stone on earth.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after lapis\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLapis is relatively soft as stones go and doesn't like prolonged water, so take it off for swimming and long showers. The pyrite flecking varies bead to bead, which is the mark of the real material.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlue is rare in Chinese jewellery, which is most of why this reads differently against anything else you wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lapis lazuli beads on braided cotton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSizing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adjustable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tassel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNote:\u003c\/strong\u003e Natural stone, colour and flecking vary bead to bead\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Earth Tibet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52407388012846,"sku":"200001034:5740#A","price":44.79,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/4807\/7102\/files\/lapis-bead-cord-bracelet-2.webp?v=1787652536","url":"https:\/\/www.earthtibet.com\/products\/lapis-bead-cord-bracelet","provider":"Earth Tibet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}