Asal - Lapis Lazuli Silver Necklace
From the Mehr collection by Orah Jewels and Crafts, Asal is a lapis lazuli pendant necklace that combines two distinct geometric forms in a single piece. A rectangular element and a circular element, both set with lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, sit together on a sterling silver chain — the relationship between the two shapes creating a rhythm in the design that a single stone alone would not produce.
Lapis lazuli from Badakhshan, Afghanistan is one of the most historically significant gemstone materials ever extracted from the earth. Worked continuously for over six thousand years from the same mountain deposits in the Hindu Kush, it traveled ancient trade routes to supply Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Rome, civilizations that had no other contact with each other but shared this stone. The deep blue is produced by lazurite, a sulfur-bearing silicate mineral that forms under metamorphic conditions and generates a color so dense and so specific that no synthetic material has been able to fully replicate it. It does not sit on the surface of the stone. It comes from within the mineral itself. The pyrite inclusions threading through the lapis in Asal appear as fine gold across the blue, the geological record of iron sulfide crystallizing alongside the lazurite under heat and pressure, and they are kept intact as part of what makes the stone what it is.
The decision to use two different shapes rather than one larger stone was made to let the design carry movement. The rectangular form reads with structural clarity, the circular form softens it, and the two together create a pendant that changes slightly depending on how it falls. The 9.7 inch chain length positions the pendant at the collarbone, where both forms register clearly without requiring the piece to be large. The silver work throughout is done at the Orah Jewels facility in Lahore, with the stones sourced directly from Afghanistan through Orah's gemstone network. One piece.
Stone: Natural Lapis Lazuli (Badakhshan, Afghanistan)
Metal: Sterling Silver
Chain Length: 9.7"