A lapidary (the word means "concerned with stones") is an artisan who practices the craft of working, forming and finishing stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials (amber, shell, jet, pearl, copal, coral, horn and bone, glass and other synthetics) into functional and/or decorative, even wearable, items (e. An artisan, also called a Craftsman, is a skilled manual worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly decorative including furniture clothing In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash Amber is Fossil tree Resin, which is appreciated for its color and beauty A seashell, also known as a sea shell, is the Common name for a hard protective outer layer a shell or in some cases a " test " that was created Jet is a geological material and is considered to be a minor gemstone A pearl is a hard roundish object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled Mollusk. Copal is a type of Resin produced from plant or tree secretions, often taken from members of the genus Copaifera. Precious coral or red coral is the common name given to Corallium rubrum and several related species of marine Coral. A horn is a pointed projection of the Skin on the head of various Mammals consisting of a covering of horn ( Keratin and other Proteins Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Glass in the common sense refers to a Hard, Brittle, transparent Solid, such as that used for Windows many g. cameos, cabochons, and more complex faceted designs). For the "brief appearance" see Cameo appearance. For the "chemical emergency software" see Computer-Aided Management of Emergency A cabochon or cabachon is a Gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to Facetted The resulting form is usually a convex top with a 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 The adjectival term is also extended to refer to such arts. Diamond cutters are generally not referred to as lapidaries, due to their highly specialized techniques which are required to work diamond successfully. Diamond cutting is the art skill and increasingly science of changing a diamond from a rough stone into a Faceted gem In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in The term Lapidist is used to describe the person who practices the art of lapidary, which may include cutting, carving,faceting or polishing rocks or gemstones.
The arts of a sculptor or stonemason are generally too broad in scale to fall within the definition, though chiseling inscriptions in stone, and preparing laboratory 'thin sections' may be considered lapidary arts. The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of Civilization - creating Buildings structures and Sculpture using stone from the earth The term is most commonly associated with jewelry and decorative household items (e. Jewellery (also spelled jewelry, see spelling differences) is a personal Ornament, such as a necklace ring or bracelet made from Gemstones g. bookends, clock faces, ornaments, etc. ) A specialized form of lapidary work is the inlaying of marble and gemstones into a marble matrix, known in English as "pietra dura" for the hard stones like onyx, jasper and carnelian that are used, but called in Florence and Naples, where the technique was developed in the 16th century, opere di commessi. Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of Onyx is a Cryptocrystalline form of Quartz. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color (save some shades such as purple or blue JasPer is a project to create a reference implementation of the codec specified in the JPEG-2000 Part-1 standard (ie Carnelian, sometimes spelled cornelian, is a red or reddish-brown variant of Chalcedony. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the The Medici Chapel at San Lorenzo in Florence is completely veneered with inlaid hard stones. The Basilica di San Lorenzo ( Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany A lapidary specialty developed from the late 18th century in Naples and Rome are the "micro-mosaics" assembled out of many minute slivers of stone to create still life, cityscape views and the like.
In China, lapidary work specializing in jade carving has been continuous since the Shang dynasty. Jade is an Ornamental stone. The term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different Silicate minerals. The Shang Dynasty ( Chinese: 商[[wiktionary 朝|朝]] or Yin Dynasty ( 殷[[wiktionary 代|代]] was according to traditional sources the
Categories
There exist three broad categories of lapidary arts. These are the procedures of tumbling, cabochon cutting, and faceting. Tumble polishing, or tumbling is a technique for smoothing and polishing a rough surface A cabochon or cabachon is a Gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to Facetted The resulting form is usually a convex top with a 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 The distinction is somewhat loose, and leaves a broad range within the term cabochon.
At present, most lapidary work is accomplished using motorized equipment and resin or metal bonded diamond tooling in successively decreasing particle sizes until a polish is achieved. Moonstone is typically a potassium aluminium silicate, with the chemical formula KAlSi3O8 Jewellery (also spelled jewelry, see spelling differences) is a personal Ornament, such as a necklace ring or bracelet made from Gemstones Often, the final polish will use a different medium, such as tin oxide, glasitite or cerium(IV) oxide. Cerium(IV oxide, ceric oxide, ceria, or sometimes simply cerium oxide or cerium dioxide, is a pale yellow-white powder CeO2 Older techniques, still popular with hobbyists, used bonded grinding wheels of silicon carbide, with only using a diamond tipped saw. Silicon carbide ( is a compound of Silicon and Carbon bonded together to form Ceramics but it also occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral Diamond cutting, because of the extreme hardness of diamonds, cannot be done with silicon carbide, and requires the use of diamond tools. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various Minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material
There are also many other forms of lapidary, not just cutting and polishing stones and gemstones. These include: casting, faceting, carving, jewellery, mosaics (eg. little slices of opal on potch, obsidian or another black stone and with a clear dome (glass or crystal quartz) on top. There are lapidary clubs through-out the world and in Australia there are numerous gemshows [1] including an annual gemshow, the Gemborree which is a nation-wide lapidary competition. Lapidary clubs promote popular interest and education in Lapidary, the craft of working forming and finishing stone minerals and gemstones There is a collection of gem and mineral shows held in Tucson, Arizona at the beginning of February each year. This group of shows constitutes the largest gem and mineral event in the world. The event was originally started with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society Show and has now grown to include dozens of other independent shows.
Secondary meaning
The secondary meaning of lapidary is pertaining to, about, "of inscriptions. " Since inscriptions were laboriously chiselled to stone, a "lapidary" writing style is crisp, accurate, formal, and condensed. Epigraphy (ἐπιγραφολογία from Greek ἐπιγραφή — "inscription" is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs engraved Only the most accomplished can express themselves verbally in a lapidary style: "Brevity is the soul of wit," as Polonius told Claudius. Polonius is a character from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet. The character is best known for uttering the immortal words "To thine own self be true" King Claudius is a Fictional character from William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet.
See also
A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific Naturalis Historia ( Latin for "Natural History" is an Encyclopedia written Circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient AuthorDictionary
lapidary
-noun
-adjective
- Pertaining to gems and precious stones, or the art of working them.
- Suitable for inscriptions; efficient, stately, concise.
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