Highly regarded by ancient civilizations for its unique aqua coloring, turquoise is a rare phosphate of copper that only forms in the earth's most dry and barren regions. The name turquoise derives from the fact that this gemstone was brought to Europe from eastern Mediterranean traders, known as Turks. Colors can range from green and greenish blue to sky blue. Turquoise is a birthstone for December.
Intensely deep blue in color, lapis lazuli, or lapis, has been valued as an ornamental stone since the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome—which valued it more highly than sapphires and turquoise. A rock composed of three different minerals, the finest lapis still comes from a remote mountain valley in northern Afghanistan, where it has been continuously mined for more than 6,000 years.