Lapis Lazuli Genuine - Lapis Lazuli Véritable

Lapis lazuli has been prized for its beauty, mystical properties, and perfection as a pigment. Ancient civilizations believed that the veins of glittering pyrite found in the lapis were actual gold, driving up its value. The stone's expense today, as in the ancient world, results from its hardness, which makes extraction challenging.

Mined in the mountains of South America, this gem-quality pigment is a subtle blue-grey, with a classic colour that is light reflective (due to the irregular and angular shape of the pigment particles). A touch of golden pyrite as an inclusion adds a delightful shimmer. The result is an elegant, almost three-dimensional effect utterly different from the predictable blue of synthetic ultramarine pigments. Genuine Lapis Lazuli is at least 80% pure gem pigment suspended in a natural binder.

• Pigment names: Genuine Lapis Lazuli - Véritable Lapis Lazuli
• ASTM Lightfastness Rating: Excellent
• Transparency: Transparent
• Granulating: Yes
• Staining: Non-staining
• Series: 5

The DANIEL SMITH PrimaTeks are gorgeous watercolours that mix beautifully with other colours. Since their introduction, artists worldwide have been thrilled to paint with these unique mineral watercolours, and you will be, too!

What are PrimaTek Watercolours

DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek watercolours are unique paints made with mineral pigments. Many consist of semi-precious minerals mined from the earth, ground finely, and transformed into beautiful PrimaTek watercolours for artists everywhere!

There are 37 exclusive DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours made from minerals such as Amethyst, Bloodstone, and Jadeite. The raw mineral specimens that DANIEL SMITH finds worldwide are ground into pigments, mixed with gum arabic, and milled to create those gorgeous watercolour paints! Nearly all PrimaTeks have granulating properties, giving these watercolours wonderful texture and depth, which some artists have described as "magical."

People have been making paints with earth mineral pigments like ochre in yellows, reds, and browns for thousands of years. While many natural pigments run to the "earthy" colours like the ochres we know, some are unique to DANIEL SMITH, such as Hematite Genuine, Bloodstone Genuine, and Tiger's Eye Genuine. The "Genuine" after the mineral name for the watercolour usually means that the paint colour is made only from that particular mineral pigment. When made into paints, nearly all these minerals exhibit beautiful granulation, giving artists extra painting effects. A few have a hint of sparkle or sheen from the crushed crystals, such as Amethyst, Kyanite, Red Fuchsite, Sugilite, and both Bronzite and Burnt Bronzite Genuine watercolours.

Many DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours are made from minerals that produce vibrant, luminous colours, such as Genuine Amethyst, Serpentine, and Rhodonite. Most artists are surprised that "rocks" can create such brilliant colours in watercolours!

DANIEL SMITH has a mineralogist who, like Indiana Jones, searches the world, sometimes in remote locations, for minerals with the potential to become DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolour. Once he finds the raw mineral, the DANIEL SMITH chemist rigorously tests it for colour capacity and reliability, how the mineral performs as paint, its lightfastness, and more. Once a mineral proves itself to meet DANIEL SMITH's high standards and what artists expect, it is made into a watercolour that will delight artists everywhere.

To make the minerals into the watercolours, DANIEL SMITH breaks them down from large rocks called "massives" into smaller rocks, then continues breaking them down and removing impurities until the minerals are eventually ground into pigments. Once the pigments are ready, the DANIEL SMITH manufacturing team mixes them with gum arabic; the mixture is then put on a 3-roll mill and, after some time and tests, is made into DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek watercolours. The milling process for each watercolour is specific to that particular mineral pigment; mill (or grind) the minerals too small, and the colour becomes dull.

The key is to ensure that each mineral pigment's particle size is large enough to refract the most light for the best colour and small enough to paint as watercolour. Every batch of watercolour is tested to meet DANIEL SMITH's standards for that particular watercolour, and the tests are kept to ensure the colour consistency artists expect.