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We decided to create an Awareness Bracelet for Arthritis for my mom, who suffers with Arthritis daily.
She didn’t want a plain copper bracelet, so we went looking for a “healing stone” for our awareness bracelet. Azurite is the perfect stone; it already has copper in it.
Although folk lore abounds with stories of how the wearing of copper bracelets helps ease the pain and discomfort of arthritis, we wanted to add our own Girlie Girl touches to this handcrafted bracelet. The Azurite gemstones are grade “A”, and beautiful; you feel as if you have miniature “earth globes” around your wrist. We combined Azurite with copper and sterling silver beads and for a finishing touch we added a heart shaped copper clasp and copper awareness ribbon; there's nothing so special as a handcrafted bracelet.
The Awareness Bracelet for Arthritis would be a great gift for yourself or someone you know who suffers from this debilitating disease.
We will be donating 12% of the Awareness Bracelet for Arthritis' price to the Arthritis Foundation.
Please help us help them find solutions for all types arthritis. This beautiful handcrafted bracelet is a good place to start.
Physical Properties
Malachite and Azurite are both simple Copper carbonates.
They are chemical twins. The only difference is that Azurite holds less water than Malachite. The green patina on weathered copper roofs is a form of Malachite. Both Malachite and Azurite are formed when carbon dioxide and water, weather copper ore or when copper ore weathers the mineral calcite. Azurite is found in shades of deep blue and is much more rare then Malachite. The two can frequently be found in the same copper deposits as their cousin, turquoise.
History & Lore
Azurite owes its name, to its azure-blue color and from the Persian word "lazhward", meaning "blue." Malachite gets it's name from the Greek, word "moloche", meaning "mallow," a reference to the mineral's leaf-green color.
For eons, azurite was crushed and used as a dye for paints and fabrics. The process began in Fourth Dynasty Egypt, but didn't become common until the Middle Ages and Renaissance, when azurite was the most important pigment in European painting. It eventually was abandoned, as people realized that certain environments turned the azurite into malachite (and horrified artists saw their masterpiece skies and seas turning green!). In its solid form, azurite has long been known as a "stone of heaven" and was used in many ancient cultures to help contact divine consciousness. Native Americans considered it a sacred aid to journeys with their spirit guides. Azurite and Malachite have been carved into ornaments and worn as jewelry for thousands of years. In some ancient civilizations Malachite was thought to be a protection from evil if worn as jewelry.
Malachite was a popular decorative stone in Czarist Russia, and was used to make the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral in Leningrad. Malachite also adorned many walls and even whole rooms of other religious and public buildings.
Today, azurite is reputed to heighten one's insight and wisdom; enhance prophesy and divination; improve and control energy flow; fortify the memory and enhance intellectual receptivity. It is also thought to aid the power of healing, specifically for the liver, arthritis, joints, sinuses, and skin.
The copper deposits at Tsumeb, South-West Africa, have yielded some of the finest Azurite crystals in the world. The copper deposits in Arizona and Utah that yielded many fine specimens of Malachite also yielded outstanding specimens of Azurite. Fine Azurite crystals have also been found in the San Carlos Mine, Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico.
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