Ultramarine Blue History: Ultramarine blue is the world’s most expensive color, which is made from the rare ‘Lapis Lazuli’ gemstone from Afghanistan. Its price is more than Rs 80,000 per gram and it was historically more valuable than gold.
Ultramarine Blue Price: Throughout history, colors have not just been colors, but have also been symbols of power, confidence, and status. In this world of colors, there is a VIP whose value is much more than we think. The name of this color is ultramarine blue. You will be surprised to know that today the price of one gram of pure ultramarine blue in the market is more than Rs 80,000. This color is prepared from a very rare gemstone named ‘Lapis Lazuli’ which comes from the mines of Afghanistan.
The world’s oldest lapis lazuli mines are in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This stone is dark blue in color with gold particles scattered on it, which reminds of the night sky full of stars. More than five thousand years ago, this stone was exported to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. This ‘blue gold’ played an important role in the jewelery and seals of the Egyptian pharaohs (kings).
The name ‘Ultramarine’ is believed to come from the Latin word ‘Ultramarinus’, which means ‘coming from across the sea’. This color crossed the sea from Asia to Europe and in the medieval period it was even more valuable than gold. Great Renaissance painters like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Vermeer used this color in their masterpiece paintings. At that time, only ultramarine blue was used to color the clothes of the Virgin Mary. Because of its exorbitant cost, painters charged kings and other sponsors for using this color.
It is a very difficult task to grind Lapis Lazuli stone, remove dirt from it and get pure color. It is mixed with wax, gum and oil to form a paste and then washed several times to remove the blue color. It is this hard work and the rarity of this stone that makes it the most valuable color in the world even today.