Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper carbonate, often found beside green malachite. It scratches easily and slowly changes with time and air, so it's usually kept for gentle wear or display.
Carbonate
Azurite
Azurita
- Palette
- Blue
- Mined in
- United States, France, Namibia, Mexico, Russia, Greece, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Chile, Peru
- Hardness
- Mohs 3.5–4.0 ?
- See-through
- translucent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Persian lazhward, meaning blue.
- Also sold as
- mountain blue, Armenian stone, chessylite
- Intention
- Calm Strength
- Looking for
- Focus and clarity Communication Rest and meditation
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- Azurite beads are natural, but we found no bead-trade statement on whether they are dyed or stabilized. Ask the seller; its surface is soft and fades or blackens with heat.
Not in our pieces now
10 INCHES
The finest azurite crystals come from Tsumeb, Namibia, where they grow up to 10 inches (250 mm) long.
CHESSYLITE
In the early 1800s azurite was called chessylite, after Chessy near Lyon, France, where it was found.
ANNE LOVELL
The woman in Holbein's squirrel-and-starling portrait, painted around 1526 to 1528 on an azurite blue ground, has been identified as Anne Lovell.
What it is
Azurite is a deep azure-blue copper carbonate, glassy to dull, usually in rounded nodules or crusts. It often grows beside green malachite, and polished pieces can show both colors swirled together.
What gives it its color
Azurite is blue because it is a copper carbonate; the copper gives it its deep blue.
Where it comes from
The best crystals come from Tsumeb in Namibia, fine clusters from Bisbee in Arizona, and the type locality is Chessy in France; it also comes from Morenci in Arizona, Mexico, Chile, Australia, Russia and Morocco.
In history
Ancient Egyptians used azurite as a pigment, and a shell used as a palette at Meidum from the Fourth Dynasty (2613-2494 BC) held it. For centuries after, it was the main blue in European painting, and Hans Holbein the Younger used it for the background of his Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling. Its use faded after Prussian blue arrived in the 1700s.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, azurite is the stone of intuition. It's said to help people look at the bigger picture and say what they mean.
In ancient Egypt azurite was ground into a blue pigment. It has also been called mountain blue and Armenian stone.
People keep it in a meditation space, carry it in a cloth pouch, or wear it as earrings or a pendant away from knocks and water.
How people wear or keep it: In a meditation space, in a cloth pouch, as earrings or a pendant, or held in the non-dominant hand.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, azurite is paired with the throat and third eye chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: in a meditation space, in a cloth pouch, as earrings or a pendant. People reach for it when they want focus and clarity, communication, rest and meditation, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraThroat, Third Eye
ZodiacSagittarius
ElementAir
Also calledmountain blue, Armenian stone, chessylite
Care
- Soft and brittle: it scratches easily and can crack or chip, so wear it where it will not get knocked.
- Keep it away from water, sweat, perfume, and acids; azurite is a carbonate and reacts with acid.
- It slowly changes in air, light and heat over the long term, so store it in a cloth pouch away from sun and heat.
- Wipe only with a dry, soft cloth; do not soak or use cleaners.
How to tell what you have
- Real azurite is a deep blue copper carbonate that fizzes in acid; heat turns it black, which separates it from ultramarine pigment.
- Azurite is soft, so beads with a very even, glossy blue and no green patches or crusts deserve a closer look. Copper dust is not something to breathe, so wet-polish any cutting.
Questions people ask at our table
What is azurite?
Azurite is a copper carbonate mineral that forms in the weathered upper part of copper deposits. Its name comes from its azure color.
How does azurite differ from lapis lazuli and sodalite?
Lapis and sodalite are harder, more stable blue stones, while azurite is much softer and a purer, more saturated blue. Lapis often has gold-colored pyrite flecks and sodalite white veins.
Why is it so fragile?
It sits at only 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale and breaks easily. It also reacts with acids and changes slowly over time, so it suits careful wear or display more than rough use.
Does azurite come with green?
Often. Azurite and malachite form in the same places, and the blend of blue and green is sold as azurite-malachite. A beautiful stone, but a different mineral mix from pure azurite.
Do you carry azurite?
Not at the moment. Sodalite and blue apatite give a nearby deep-blue look in harder, easier-to-wear stones.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
Stay in the loop
Sign up to hear about new product drops, upcoming events, and the latest from Peritik. No spam, just the good stuff.