Lapidary () is the practice of shaping

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s, or

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s into decorative items such as

cabochon A cabochon (; ) is a gemstone that has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse. Cabochon was the default method of preparing gemstones before gemstone cuttin ...

engraved gem An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major lux ...

s (including cameos), and

facet Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cu ...

ed designs. A person who practices lapidary techniques of cutting, grinding, and polishing is known as a lapidary or lapidarist.

Hardstone carving Hardstone carving, in art history and archaeology, is the artistic carving of semi-precious stones (and sometimes gemstones), such as jade, rock crystal (clear quartz), agate, onyx, jasper, serpentinite, or carnelian, and for objects made in this ...

requires specialized carving techniques. In modern contexts, a gemcutter is a person who specializes in cutting diamonds, but in older contexts the term refers to artists who produced hardstone carvings; engraved gems such as jade carvings, a branch of miniature

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

or ornament in gemstone. By extension, the term ''lapidary'' has sometimes been applied to collectors of and dealers in gems, or to anyone who is knowledgeable in precious stones.

Etymology

The etymological root of the word ''lapidary'' is the Latin word , meaning "stone".Douglas Harper (2014)
Lapidary
Online Etymology Dictionary In the 14th century, the term evolved from , meaning 'stonecutter' or 'working with stone', into the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th French, and later English language">English, the term is also used for a lapidary (text)">lapidary text, which was a treatise on precious stones that details their appearance, formation, and properties - particularly in terms of the powers believed to be held by some stones - as believed in medieval Europe. The beliefs about the powers of stones included their ability to prevent harm, heal ailments, or offer health benefits. ''Lapidary'' appeared as an English adjective in the 18th century.

History

The earliest known lapidary work likely occurred during the Stone Age. As people created tools from stone, they realized that some geological materials were harder than others. The next earliest documented examples of what could be considered lapidary arts came in the form of drilling stone and rock. The earliest roots of drilling rocks date back to approximately one million years ago. The early Egyptians developed cutting and jewelry fashioning methods for

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...

, and

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

. The art of lapidary was relatively well-developed in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

by the early 1st millennium CE. The surviving manuscripts of the 3rd century Buddhist text by Buddha Bhatta, and several Hindu texts of mid-1st millennium CE such as and , are

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

treatises on lapidary arts. They discuss sources of gems and diamonds, their origins, qualities, testing, cutting and polishing, and making jewelry from them. Several other Sanskrit texts on gems and lapidary arts have been dated to post-10th century, suggesting a continuous lapidary practice. According to Jason Hawkes and Stephanie Wynne-Jones, archaeological evidence suggests that trade in lapidary products between Africa and India was established in the 1st millennium CE. People of the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

region of India and those near the coast of

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

had innovated their own techniques for lapidary before the 10th century, as evidenced by excavations and Indian and non-Indian texts dated to that period. Lapidary was also a significant tradition in early

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

. The lapidary products were used as status symbols, for offerings, and during burials. They were made from

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

, and greenstones.

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

lapidarists used string saws and drills made of reed and bone as their lapidary tools.

Medieval lapidaries

The history of lapidaries can be traced back to the classical world, where writers like Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder laid the foundations for later medieval interpretations of gemstones. In his examination of ''lyngurium''—a mythical gemstone described by Theophrastus—Steven A. Walton discusses how classical knowledge was transmitted and adapted in medieval lapidary traditions. Despite the mythical nature of some of these stones, medieval lapidaries continued to draw on classical sources, blending scientific knowledge with magical beliefs. Walton highlights how these texts cataloged stones not only for their aesthetic and material properties but also for their purported magical and medicinal functions, making lapidaries sources essential for texts for both scholars and practitioners of natural philosophy during the medieval period. In Anglo-Saxon England, lapidaries became particularly significant as both medical and religious guides. Peter Kitson traces the transmission of lapidary knowledge into early medieval England, emphasizing how these texts informed by Lapidaries functioned as practical manuals for physicians, clergy, and scholars. The ''Old English Lapidary'', for instance, detailed the healing properties of stones, reflecting the belief that gemstones could cure illnesses and provide spiritual protection. Kitson argues that lapidaries in this period served a dual purpose: they were not only scientific texts that described natural phenomena but also moral and religious guides that connected material objects to divine forces. Medieval lapidaries were deeply embedded in the practice of lithotherapy, the belief in the healing properties of stones. John M. Riddle’s analysis of lithotherapy in the Middle Ages emphasizes the medical role lapidaries played, particularly in guiding the use of gemstones for healing. These texts described how different stones, often categorized by color, composition, and astrological associations, could be used to treat specific ailments. Riddle points out that medieval lapidaries were not merely collections of folklore; they were often considered legitimate medical texts, consulted by physicians and healers to guide treatment practices. The ''Peterborough Lapidary'' is another example of a medieval lapidary that reflects the blending of practical and mystical knowledge. As detailed in ''A Medieval Book of Magical Stones: The Peterborough Lapidary'', this text catalogs various gemstones and their magical properties, emphasizing the belief that stones could influence human behavior, protect against harm, and even cure diseases. The ''Peterborough Lapidary'' demonstrates how lapidaries were used not only for healing but also for magical and protective purposes, reflecting the medieval understanding that the natural world was imbued with supernatural power. Lapidaries also played an important role in medieval spirituality. Richard A. Beinert’s analysis of medieval piety and lapidary literature emphasizes how these texts reflected religious beliefs. Medieval Christians often associated gemstones with biblical figures, virtues, and divine forces. Lapidaries like the ''Peterborough Lapidary'' reinforced the idea that stones had sacred meanings, offering protection and spiritual benefits to those who used them correctly. Beinert suggests that these texts served as “windows on a medieval world” where natural objects were seen as manifestations of divine power, bridging the gap between the material and the spiritual. Several notable examples of medieval lapidaries highlight their widespread use and cultural significance. The ''Lapidary of Sydrac'', a 13th-century text, stands out for its inclusion of unusual lore about gemstones. William M. Holler notes that the ''Lapidary of Sydrac'' cataloged not only conventional healing properties of stones but also fantastical claims, such as stones that could grant invincibility or manipulate human emotions. This text reflects the broader medieval belief in the mystical powers of nature and the importance of lapidaries in transmitting both empirical knowledge and magical traditions. In literary contexts, lapidary traditions also made their way into poetry. Tony Davenport’s analysis of the medieval poem ''Pearl'' reveals how the symbolic meanings of gemstones, as described in lapidaries, informed the poem’s themes of loss, beauty, and spiritual transcendence. Davenport suggests that the portrayal of jewels in ''Pearl'' draws on lapidary traditions to convey deeper religious and moral messages, illustrating how lapidary knowledge permeated not only scientific and medical texts but also literary and artistic works.

Techniques

There are three broad categories of lapidary arts: tumbling, cabochon cutting, and

faceting Stella octangula as a faceting of the cube In geometry, faceting (also spelled facetting) is the process of removing parts of a polygon, polyhedron or polytope, without creating any new Vertex (geometry), vertices. New edges of a faceted po ...

. Among a modern gemcutter's work are the following activities: * Positioning rough stone in a holder, and holding the stone against the edge of a revolving saw or lapidary slitter impregnated with

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

dust to cut and slit stone. * Removing cut stone and placing it in lapidary stick. A gemcutter then selects the shaping wheel and applies abrasive compound. They hold a lapidary stick against the revolving shaping wheel and lapidary disk to further shape stone and grind facets. * Depositing stone within a barrel with both water and a grinding/polishing medium and either vibrating or rotating said barrel using friction to grind and polish the stones over time. * Examining stone for accuracy of cut, using a magnifying glass. A gemcutter polishes stone, using felt or canvas-covered polishing wheel, and polishing compounds, such as tripoli or

jeweler's rouge Iron(III) oxide or ferric oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . It occurs in nature as the mineral hematite, which serves as the primary source of iron for the steel industry. It is also known as red iron oxide, especially when use ...

. * Possibly using a mechanical facet-cutting device. A gemcutter may cut and polish diamonds for industrial purposes, and be designated as an industrial diamond polisher. * The Mohs hardness scale is a commonly used tool in lapidary to help measure a mineral's scratch hardness. A mineral's scratch hardness is measured by seeing how easily scratched it is, and what other minerals on the Mohs hardness scale can scratch it. This tool is helpful in indicating what different lapidary methods should be used on the material.

Cutting

Cutting of harder stones is done with a diamond-edged saw. For softer materials, a medium other than diamond can be used, such as

silicon carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder a ...

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

, emery, or

corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium. It is a rock (geology), rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparency and translucency, transparent material, but ...

Diamond cutting Diamond cutting is the practice of shaping a Diamond (gemstone), diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. Cutting diamonds requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment, and techniques because of its extreme difficulty. The first guild ...

requires the use of diamond tools because of the extreme hardness of diamonds. The cutting, grinding, and polishing operations are usually lubricated with water, oil, or other liquids. Beyond these broader categories, there are other specialized forms of lapidary techniques, such as casting, carving, jewelry, and

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s. While the gemstone in the rough state may be trimmed to remove undesirable material or to separate it on a cleavage line with a

diamond blade A diamond blade is a saw blade which has diamonds fixed on its edge for cutting hard or abrasive materials. There are many types of diamond blade, and they have many uses, including cutting stone, concrete, asphalt, bricks, coal balls, glass, an ...

d saw, accurately described as cutting and once done by the use of a

chisel A chisel is a hand tool with a characteristic Wedge, wedge-shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade. A chisel is useful for carving or cutting a hard material such as woodworking, wood, lapidary, stone, or metalworking, metal. Using a chi ...

or similar tool to simply break off pieces that were usable as single gemstones, the actual shaping and polishing of a gemstone is a grinding or

sanding file:Schleifpapier verschiedene Sorten.jpg, upright=1.35, Sheets of sandpaper with different grit sizes (40 (coarse), 80, 150, 240, 600 (fine)) Sandpaper, also known as coated abrasive or emery paper, is a type of material that consists of sheet ...

process. This grinding and sanding is done using a lap, a precision metal plate embedded with grit similar to the more familiar embedding of grit on paper the lap is of high precision particularly for flatness and turned by a motor. The grit material is normally diamond and sometimes corundum for their hardness. Only diamond is hard enough on the

Mohs scale The Mohs scale ( ) of mineral hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale, from 1 to 10, characterizing scratch resistance of minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. The scale was introduced in 1812 by the Ger ...

to shape and polish a diamond.

Faceting

Faceting requires equipment allowing for very precise adjustment of angle and location around the gemstone for facet-placement, a process sometimes referred to as indexing. The design may be computer-generated or left up to the skill and expertise of the individual cutting the gemstone. During the process of grinding, faceting, and lapping, the gemstone is usually affixed ("dopped") to a rod (frequently referred to as a "dop" or "dopstick") made of wood, or perhaps brass or steel, with dopping cement, a specialized thermal adhesive. The dopstick can be hand-held or inserted into the indexing equipment for more precise faceting. A

coolant A coolant is a substance, typically liquid, that is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a system. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, chemically inert and neither causes nor promotes corr ...

then needs to be constantly applied to prevent softening of the cement. Diamonds, however, are held mechanically, or with low-

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...

tin-lead solder, since the resultant heat generated by friction can be extreme, thus preventing the use of thermal adhesives. Cabochons - smooth-shaped gemstones without facets such as

, and indeed most gemstones - are instead shaped and polished in much the same manner. They are usually left up to the skill and expertise of the individual cutting the gemstone and to similar equipment such as the

lapping Lapping is a machining process in which two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between them, by hand movement or using a machine. Lapping often follows other subtractive processes with more aggressive material removal as a first ste ...

equipment.

Polishing

Most modern lapidary work is done using motorized equipment. Polishing is done with resin- or metal-bonded emery,

(carborundum),

aluminium oxide Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several Aluminium oxide (compounds), aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as alum ...

(

), or diamond dust in successively decreasing particle sizes until a polish is achieved. In older systems, the grinding and polishing powders were applied separately to the grinding or buffing wheel. Often, the final polish will use a different medium such as tin oxide or

cerium(IV) oxide Cerium(IV) oxide, also known as ceric oxide, ceric dioxide, ceria, cerium oxide or cerium dioxide, is an oxide of the rare-earth metal cerium. It is a pale yellow-white powder with the chemical formula CeO2. It is an important commercial produc ...

. The initial shaping and facet placement may be done using laps with grits of 220, 600, 1200. The polishing step, however, requires grits of a much higher grade, such as 8,000, 14,000, 50,000 and even 100,000. This grit is also embedded into a metal lap, but sometimes applied manually to the lap during polishing.

Inlaying

Another specialized form of lapidary work is the

inlay Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the ...

ing of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and gemstones into a marble matrix. This technique is known in English as ''

pietra dura ''Pietra dura'' (), ''pietre dure'' () or intarsia lapidary ( see below), called ''parchin kari'' or ''parchinkari'' () in the Indian subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to c ...

'', for the hardstones that are used, like

onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

and

carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...

. In

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where the technique was developed in the 16th century, it is called . The Medici Chapel at San Lorenzo in Florence is completely veneered with inlaid hard stones. The specialty of ''

micromosaic Micromosaics (or micro mosaics, micro-mosaics) are a special form of mosaic that uses unusually small mosaic pieces (tesserae) of glass, or in later Italian pieces an Vitreous enamel, enamel-like material, to make small figurative images. Survivi ...

s'', which developed in the late-18th century in Naples and Rome, is sometimes covered under the umbrella term of lapidary work. In this technique, minute slivers of glass are assembled to create still life, cityscape views, and other images. In

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, lapidary work specializing in

carving has been continuous since at least the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

Safety

Stones can contain asbestos, silica, lead, talc, and other hazardous ingredients. The dust produced by lapidary techniques on such stones can cause health issues if inhaled.

Copper(II) oxide Copper(II) oxide or cupric oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CuO. A black solid, it is one of the two stable oxides of copper, the other being Cu2O or copper(I) oxide (cuprous oxide). As a mineral, it is known as tenorite, or so ...

, which is common in colorful minerals such as turquoise and malachite, can damage the

endocrine The endocrine system is a messenger system in an organism comprising feedback loops of hormones that are released by internal glands directly into the circulatory system and that target and regulate distant organs. In vertebrates, the hypotha ...

and central nervous systems. The most common minerals are

silicate A silicate is any member of a family of polyatomic anions consisting of silicon and oxygen, usually with the general formula , where . The family includes orthosilicate (), metasilicate (), and pyrosilicate (, ). The name is also used ...

s, and the dust from these rocks can result in

silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...

. Fossil rocks can be

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

. For lapidary work, safety precautions include wearing a

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the List of United States federal agencies, United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related occ ...

approved respirator with replaceable cartridges and dust filters; using a local exhaust ventilation system or working outside; using proper lubricants; wearing protective clothing; showering and shampooing immediately afterward; and using a wet mop to clean the workshop.

Societies and clubs

There are lapidary clubs throughout the world. In Australia, there are numerous gem shows, including an annual gem show called the GEMBOREE, which is a nationwide lapidary competition. There is a collection of gem and mineral shows held in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, at the beginning of February each year. The event began with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society Show and has now grown to include dozens of other independent shows. In 2012, this concurrent group of shows constituted the largest gem and mineral event in the world. In the United States, societies include the American Gem Society.

References

{{Authority control Hardstone carving Jewellery making