The Rarest Pigment in the World | Colour the Spectrum of Science | BBC Science

Lapis blue rocks are equivalent to the price of gold and can mainly be in the mountains of Afghanistan. The unique combination of sulphur with other elements produces this deep rich blue we call ultramarine.
Best of Earth Science: bit.ly/EarthLabOriginals
Best of BBC Earth: bit.ly/TheBestOfBBCEarthVideos
Taken from Colour the Spectrum of Science.
This is a channel from BBC Studios who help fund new BBC programmes. Service information and feedback: bbcworldwide.com/vod-feedback-...

[@troygaspard6732]

This is why that blue room unearthed at Pompie is such a discovery.

[@TaLeng2023]

Wasn't that Egyptian blue rather than lapiz lazuli on that wall? From what I remember Egyptian blue was a copper compound, which makes sense since Egypt was a major copper producer.

[@bsvenss2]

@@TaLeng2023 Yes it was Egyptian blue, i.e. _Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate or cuprorivaite, is a pigment that was used in ancient Egypt for thousands of years._

[@laurelsilberman5705]

I know, the existence of the room being blue is such a flex in and of itself

[@trninfan]

You have a device that is connected to the internet, yet you didn't bother looking up how to spell "Pompeii"

[@laurelsilberman5705]

@@trninfan dude relax we all knew what they were saying

[@malafanai1357]

He is so calm and it must be so nice to just chat with him. He has a peaceful aura

[@dubsar]

His aura must be blue. But I can't see it on KZbin.

[@akhilchalil1585]

Similar to David Attenborough

[@sevendegrees]

I disagree. I find his voice labored and phony. Like Austin Butler in Elvis.

[@chrisgrill6302]

​@@dubsarWhat a crock.

[@dubsar]

@@chrisgrill6302 His crocks may also be blue. And his crocs too.

[@vsikifi]

Ultramarine pigment was not just ground up lapis lazuli. After grinding the pure mineral lazurite was separated from the other minerals making up the rock and that's how ultramarine pigment was made. That separation is not easy so the pigment was way more expensive then lapis lazuli and also bluer than lapis lazuli. Nowadays that mineral can be created with chemical reactions so it isn't that expensive any more.

[@helldad4689]

And now it can be produced synthetically, at 100% purity, and had for dirt cheap, relatively speaking. The expensive new blue kid on the block is YInMn Blue, which is also synthetic, but I believe the cost is because of intellectual property (patents on synthetic methods or something). It's also the bluest looking stuff you've ever seen. Cameras really don't do it justice.

[@nerdnam]

The rock she had looks like it was pure lapis Lazuli, so maybe there was no other minerals to separate out. It certainly looked blue enough.

[@josephwirtz8352]

You could see the pyrite in her sample.

[@leslieparker3914]

Right, the different minerals were evident in the make up of the whole rock visually and, of course, we know it’s a composite.

[@emptymannull]

One could acquire actual Lazurite crystals, some of which can be very pure, and grind those up.

[@antayhalder]

Ultramarine, such a beautiful word.

[@Selanium]

Praise the emperor!

[@formeolosuslasvenators1777]

Semper fidelis

[@joaodejesuscostaesteves4656]

Ultramarino em Português

[@daniellevinson6975]

The color's name reflects the reason why the derivative pigment was so costly in ages past: merchants carried overseas from such long distances.

[@user-mr1ie1vf9c]

@@Selanium "And they shall know, no fear."

[@ShannansShenanigans]

Lapis is one of my favorite stones to wire wrap for jewelry. I love the flecks of iron pyrite within, it's absolutely beautiful! 💙

[@JosefinaCL]

We have lapis in Chile as well, is not exclusive from the middle east, it’s actually our national stone.

[@neilreynolds3858]

I've got another blue mineral called covellite from Chile. It's beautiful.

[@Persefonecrea]

The best Lapis lazuli of the world in therms of grade or quality comes from Afghanistan

[@Godhelpus62]

Yes I have bought several pieces of lapis jewelry in Chile on my trips there. It’s great to see the sculptures made of lapis there as well.

[@ryshellso526]

Spray painted rocks... nice try...

[@imtisaltalha.jewelers]

But the purer more vibrant lapis is from the region of Afghanistan and Pakistan some areas of Tajikistan

[@annsidbrant7616]

Blue is my hands-down favorite color. Blue is magical. And so rare in nature.

[@NickPorter-ui7st]

Rare?

[@otmargreb6110]

It's everywhere! Even the Oceans, especially the oceans!

[@B30pt87]

Well, except for... the SKY.

[@grannyplants1764]

True blue flowers are the rarest color in a garden…Meconopsis, the Himalayan blue poppy, is an example. 🟦🌱

[@thealaris]

​@@otmargreb6110Oceans are not that blue, and there is no blue pigment in them, there are few species of insects and plants that actually blue, and not just refracted light

[@chanvalentine8283]

I've loved Lapis Lazuli since going to the Treasures of Tutankhamun tour in the 1970s as a small child.

[@1BobsYourUncle]

I went to that around 73-74 or so in London, it was fantastic. ✌🏻

[@just_kos99]

Lapis lazuli is one of my very favorites, along with azurite (blue)-malachite (green), which often form together.

[@c.jishnu378]

It would be better if you say among which set is this the favourite, or the top 2 and top 3 could be blue crystal meth and the sky.

[@grannyplants1764]

Azurite and malachite are found together in rocks from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, gorgeous!

[@dragonfox2.058]

I used to cut that into gemstones for jewelry. I can't imagine crushing Grade A+ Lapis into powder....Horrors!

[@MurderBong]

DID YOU SAVE YOUR CUTTING DUST?? 😅

[@kayekaye251]

Really can relate to that! Lapis is wonderful.

[@kathleenstoin671]

If you're an artist, it makes perfect sense. Ultramarine blue is a staple color for most artists. It can now be made synthetically.

[@ben_r_]

Where can one purchase a legitimate raw stone of Lapis?

[@CrocoArt]

While lapis (lazurite) does have sulphur in its formula, the sulphur smell will be coming from the crushed pyrite which is embedded in the rock. The chemical bonding in the lapis won't release the sulphur.

[@josephwirtz8352]

I concur.

[@FIRTHDESIGN]

Apparently you’ve never mulled synthetic ultramarine into a medium and been hit in the face with the smell of rotten eggs. I can assure you pure synthetic ultramarine stinks of sulfur when mixed with oil or gum Arabic. It’s from the ultramarine.

[@nulllex0099]

Enchanting. It's so beautiful, and it makes you appreciate things you'd never think of, like how to handle materials and the process it takes to transform all of this.

[@simoontempest8691]

As an artist myself I am in awe of this stunning color, and I like to think perhaps almost to the same extent as Yves Klein: International Klein Blue (IKB) was developed by Yves Klein in collaboration with Edouard Adam, a Parisian art paint supplier whose shop is still in business on the Boulevard Edgar-Quinet in Montparnasse.

[@thislostdimension]

This is amazing, would love to see those blue mountains

[@elementeight8]

This sparks my curiosity for further research on Lapis. Thank you.

[@ericswain4177]

Some say Tyrian purple was more valuable than Lapis Blue in antiquity.

[@magesalmanac6424]

I may be wrong but I think tyrian purple was used in fabric dye and lapis was for paintings

[@williamwilson6499]

@@magesalmanac6424Tyrianian purple (πορφύρα) was used as a dye for expensive fabrics, and also as a base for various drugs.

[@leighwallis5782]

It was. It was worn by emperors only hence "born to the purple"

[@claytonwoods5603]

it still very much is. 10g of highest quality Lapis pigment is about $390, whereas 250 mg (1/40 the amount) of Tyrian Purple is $1015. It would be over $40k to get 10g of Tyrian purple, if there even is that much to be bought at once.

[@oLevLovesLove]

You can't wear lapis blue, only tyrian purple binds to fabric because it's an organic compound from sea snails.

[@zoickn]

I once saw it in a market before. I regret not buying it.

[@SweetSunrising]

KZbin’s algorithm, I swear. I had JUST watched the cable TV show Unearthed on the Sci Channel about blue being a rare, expensive pigment and used exclusively for royalty during egyptian pyramid times.

[@fierceperedur]

Best video I've seen in a while. Thank you!

[@jeremiesaillant247]

They should’ve called that video “the true Minecraft lapis lazuli”

[@thealchimi1990]

Even that music similar to in game music was used too

[@Red.Rabbit.Resistance]

arguably the most precious. I would argue that "mummy brown" made from real Egyptian mummies was probably more... "limited" than a rock that occurred naturally. The rock is rare, but rocks are not rare. Weve made paint out of Kings before. Literally dead kings. That will never happen again ever on this planet. That rock could form again.

[@zachcrawford5]

I have a 250 ml jar of ultramarine paint, it is the "bluest" thing I own, it's thick almost like pudding so a little goes a long way. I only use it for things that glow when I paint with it, like the sky or on the very fine edges of an intense white light source to make it look even more intense, like an extra bright star in a starfield or an electric/plasma arc.

[@jasonsummit1885]

Quite a few more steps than grinding it up to make true ultramarine blue.

[@danielroher3605]

Well i subscribed and am watching this a second time. This is beautiful, excellent :)

[@alank616]

As the saying goes, "You learn something new every day." Well, I learnt something new today thanks to your video .

[@robertsimpson2167]

Why has no-one mentioned how lovely Helen is, i could listen to her all day. 😊

[@LVXMagick]

Lapis Lazuli and Labradorite are my favorite gems, partly because of the beautiful blue hues. 💙 Great video. Thanks!🙏

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

I wondered where Helen had gone . . . I hadn't seen her much on The Fully Charged Show lately. More Helen please.

[@glynislailann9056]

For anyone who is interested in the history of colour, read Victoria Finlay's book 'Colour: Travels through a Paintbox'. It is a fascinating read.

[@johnpothala3449]

damn it actually is eye catching even all these steps away thru the camera and my monitor. impressed .

[@kkolxasram]

That was insightful that comment of the girl when she said that this is the first time this piece of rock that she just broke became blue! Its true, only the surface in contact with light has a colour, inside is all pure black. Kind of obvious once you think about it, but its easy to take it for granted that the rock is blue throughout !

[@karhukivi]

Azurite and sodalite are two other blue minerals, azurite was used in jewellery and as inlays in furniture. Prussian blue, cerulean blue and cobalt blue were also pigments used in the 18th century. At approx $500/kg for lapis lazuli, gold is about 80x more expensive.

[@rodrezi]

Nowadays, dear

[@JoseGonzalez-wq5jd]

Those are all used to make watercolors today, how odd. I like my synthetic ultramarine blue just fine though. Daniel Smith carries a lot of genuine mineral paints like sodalite and some brands carry azurite, lapis, vivianite, etc.

[@henrychaikin]

that color is heavenly! so fascinating!

[@adventurecreations3214]

Fascinating. How does the pyrite within the lapis affect the paint?

[@user-vx9ur4tm2d]

I too love blue! And I especially love lapis lazuli. I have a ring with lapis and there is a tiny bit of gold that reminds me of a star in a dark blue sky. cheers

[@vondahe]

Very interesting. The first time I saw lapis azuli was in a gift shop just outside the Atacama desert in northern Chile. The area is extremely rich in copper and sulphur, so with a recollection of making copper sulphate in my chemistry classes, I always assumed this was the main component of lapis azuli. Thanks for enlightening me! 😊

[@ant-1382]

Wow just happen to have a chunk of this rock on my shelf. Was thinking lapidary, but now maybe painting.

[@orangetee5]

gorgeous

[@c.l.9344]

Such a royal hue of blue. Just beautiful. 💙

[@ZionistWorldOrder]

when i hear Lapis Lazuli i think of the Annunaki giving it as most valuable gifts to eachother

[@escargotomy]

1.4 million subs I'm guessing means that by tomorrow morning the market price of Lapis will have doubled from last week. Thanks BBC.

[@neilreynolds3858]

People have driven the price of crystals up to unaffordability by thinking they have mystical powers. Grrrrrrrrr.

[@huascar66]

My favorite colour, in any shade or tone.

[@100Wilbur999]

Omg why hasn't this guy made an asmr channel he'd become a billionaire

[@nunyabitnezz2802]

I was in a great mood when I started learning about this. But then I started feeling Blue.

[@JoseGonzalez-wq5jd]

Not sure that translates beyond English, but haha very funny.

[@grannyplants1764]

Show yourself out 😂

[@michaelgask]

Such an amazing pure colour.

[@jamespisano1164]

Very cool!

[@elimcfly350]

If I saw one of these before watching this video, I would probably think it's a spray painted rock and walk right past it lol. The color doesn't even look natural. Very cool.

[@user-zt5xz5fz4q]

❤. Very interesting history.

[@daezjn]

Amazing!

[@jonathanstrauss8194]

His voice matches the beauty of the stone

[@JakeM240]

Golf R colour and a grand extra !

[@gabriell1943]

I always think of Maggie Nelson's Bluets anytime I observe these wondrous obsessions with the colour blue

[@sjwilloughby-greene8214]

So interesting. Thank you for sharing. 💙💙💙

[@Honda-wf6qj]

I have a small unlabeled vial filled with a blue sand like material. Found in a clean out....no idea what it is but i liked the color so i picked it up and saved it ...kinda looks like this stuff....but could be something else. Who knows? 😮

[@jmo2104]

Really good video

[@Looii5]

What sort of oil is the blue pigment mixed with to make paint? The answer is linseed oil.

[@user-ft3lk5zx2d]

Fun fact: the first oil painting was done by afghans in the mountains of banyan used this color as base color of their all paintings

[@_Joy_Unleashed]

Thanks for whispering it to me.

[@SoNoFTheMoSt]

I love lapis lazuli!

[@thisismyusername6717]

New subscriber👍

[@jamisedenari2449]

I love lapis

[@davidgriego549]

I love the color blue it's my favorite color i like this shade very much

[@leward]

I bought quite a bit of this while in Afghanistan. They sold it at just about every bazaar I’ve been to out there.

[@imtisaltalha.jewelers]

I deal in lapis lazuli, have been for years now, and made this paint with fine madani 4 mine material, it truly is an amazing pigment. Its not rare as in emeralds or other gemstones, but processing it and shipping it makes it a bit of a nightmare, we crush it with hammer and have to replace the grinder every few months, I’ve broken through so many grinders, and it’s toxic so u have to wear protection and face masks when grinding.

[@tpop3723]

Well colour me blue!

[@xjAlbert]

Sounds like he's trying to speak for the first time in 40 years. Hopefully with use, his voice will revive.

[@patrickmcdaniel8123]

I heard he got better. Now he's walking and talking and eating with a spoon and everything!

[@sarahbaartmansrevenge]

there’s lapis in mexico too

[@ashtonvandermyde5424]

Imagine asking this guy what his favorite color is.

[@imtisaltalha.jewelers]

The problem with lapis lazuli is the more finer u make the powder it starts to lose its color, so u need to grind it enough but not mull it too much.

[@timetreasures557]

Vermeer’s blue?? Beautiful

[@juanmanuelmartinezchavez431]

Y quien tiene el mérito por la variedades de los colores y tener la capacidad para crear combinaciones únicas que emocionan a otros? BCN

[@Delcaniner]

Ah yes, Lapis Lazuli... Minecraft flashbacks back then. :D

[@danielreed5199]

I knew what rock they were talking about just by reading the title due to my extensive Minecraft knowledge.

[@Dev1nci]

1:10 No, no they definitely did not believe that but it’s a nice metaphor.

[@neilreynolds3858]

They say that you would start grinding pigments for your grandkids.

[@jonobester5817]

Minimal info here. What about the chemistry? What about azurite? What color-name doe it produce?

[@vakudibeardefender3953]

Inventing a blue colour LED also turned out to be super hard. Scientists won Nobel prize for inventing blue colour LED. Without which we wouldn't have LED TVs and LED mobile phone screens.

[@pirobot668beta]

YInMn Blue, or Oregon Blue, a recently discovered pigment, is comparable to Ultramarine.

[@mailing2adeel]

Perhaps the Pharaoh of Egypt was accustomed to it in the early days as a sign of pride

[@1caseyk]

Pigment is a color in and of itself (3:05). She opens the rock up and it's blue; it's integral. Your sight, the light, and perception do not enter into the equation. Tell me, what cast and lumen of light does it need to be blue?

[@pratikkhara5167]

They say he has the rarest of pigments and then show a window like that.

[@jamesraymond1158]

I am worried that thieves will use the video to target the pigment collection. I suggest editing it to remove all indications of the location.

[@robertsaca3512]

There's a stone called, wait for it, bluestone, which is available in abundance.

[@imtisaltalha.jewelers]

So interms of the location u actually get it from more areas than just that one mountain he is referring to. Pakistan for example have mines of lapis lazuli, Tajikistan even (equally as beautiful I would argue but getting it is more difficult due to the location of the mines being so high up in the himilayan mountain ranges, but then u have less quality of lapis from chile and other localities

[@emilandersenaudio]

how did they get it into my computer screen??

[@azarkaiwaanzia]

We call it in the local language "Lajward" and its only in our Badakhshan mountains

[@justmeonthebeach]

Lapis ... my ancestors ..

[@imtisaltalha.jewelers]

The more purer lapis lazuli and expensive the less u have to process it…

[@walterulasinksi7031]

Lapis lazuli was imported into the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

[@AlaskaJiuJitsu]

I baught my wife some lapis at the local markets, have polished eggs and raw rocks!

[@fireaza]

If this guy's ringtone isn't "‎Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65, I'll be very disappointed.

[@julianaylor4351]

Until the invention of modern chemical dyes like Prussian Blue, Lapis Lazuli was the only way to get a real blue blue. It was also used as a jewellery item by various ancient cultures.

[@Clyde-o]

I have 1 of these stones here in South Africa 🇿🇦. I remember tasting it when I was a kid. It tasted like lime powder / batteries. 😬

[@Mamtakumari-qn1oh]

It is similar to anhydrous copper ( CuSO4) 5:03 sulphate… similar shine …

[@rizendell]

Chemically made the ferrocyanide and nitric acid

[@VitalityMassage]

10g purest Lapis $ 390.00

[@enviosinterdimencionales8612]

"lapiz lasuri is the bomb". gilgamesh.

[@RichardDoker-op6py]

I would love to be this stone like in the Dream of the red chamber.

[@user-zt5xz5fz4q]

Soon one short video about the YELLOW.

[@user-wc1zb5fx8n]

Now I understand the head piece On the egyptian pharaohs The blue and gold stipes Royalty Divine My ancestors Persian royalty lineage