Lapis Lazuli
Ultramarine Watercolour
The deepest lapis blue — glazes from a soft translucent sky to a saturated midnight as you layer.
Palette di Pietra Watercolour — Genuine Gemstone Watercolour Set
- Regular price
- ¥38,300
- Sale price
- ¥38,300
- Regular price
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19 in Stock
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Handmade In Small Batches
The Palette di Pietra watercolour set is a collection of six genuine gemstone watercolours, each ground by hand in our studio from real semi-precious stone, never dyed, never imitated. Three blues come from a single lapis lazuli, a cool green from malachite, and two warm earths from red and yellow jasper.
Because the pigment is genuine stone, the colour behaves as no synthetic can. It lays down transparent and luminous, the light passing through the pigment and reflecting off the paper, and it granulates as it dries, settling into the paper's texture for a living, tactile depth. Glaze thin layers for glowing washes, or charge the brush with water to bring the granulation forward.
Every colour is bound in gum arabic and nothing else. The set is exceptionally lightfast, re-wets cleanly from the pan, and is entirely non-toxic, with no fillers or chalk.
The six colours in the set:
- Ultramarine — the deepest lapis lazuli blue
- Azure Blue — a luminous, airy sky-blue
- Charcoal Blue — the darkest, smokiest grade of lapis
- Malachite — a cool, granulating green
- Red Jasper (Jasper Rosso) — a warm, earthen brick-red
- Yellow Jasper (Jasper Sunlit) — a soft ochre-gold
Palette di Pietra is also available in gouache, with oil paint and loose pigment to follow, the same genuine gemstone colours in every form.
A palette of stone, in watercolour
Palette
Palette
di Pietra
The same six gemstone colours, now made to flow — luminous, transparent washes ground from genuine stone in our own studio.
Luminous washUltramarine
Luminous washAzure Blue
Luminous washCharcoal Blue
Luminous washMalachite
Luminous washJasper Rosso
Luminous washJasper Sunlit
Transparent and luminous. Glaze thin layers for depth, or charge with water and watch the pigment granulate into the paper.
Six stones
Colour that breathes with the water.
The same three lapis blues, malachite green and two jasper earths — reground for watercolour, where the light passes through the stone rather than sitting on it.
Lapis Lazuli
Azure Blue Watercolour
A luminous, airy blue that floods the paper with light in a single thin wash.
Lapis Lazuli
Charcoal Blue Watercolour
The darkest grade of lapis — granulates into smoky, textured shadow with real depth.
Malachite
Malachite Watercolour
A cool, living green that granulates beautifully, settling into the grain of the paper.
Red Jasper · Jasper Rosso
Red Jasper Watercolour
An earthen brick-red that washes warm and lays down with natural, tactile granulation.
Yellow Jasper · Jasper Sunlit
Yellow Jasper Watercolour
A soft ochre-gold that glazes like captured sunlight over the colours beneath.
Made by hand
What you can expect from the paint.
i
Genuine gemstone
Every colour is ground from real semi-precious stone in our own studio — never dyed, never imitated.
ii
Bound in gum arabic
The only binder is gum arabic. The pans re-wet cleanly, so nothing goes to waste.
iii
Transparent & luminous
Light passes through the pigment and reflects back off the paper, for a glow synthetic colours can't match.
iv
Natural granulation
Real stone settles into the paper's texture, giving washes a living, tactile depth.
v
Excellent lightfastness
Genuine mineral pigments hold their brilliance for generations and resist fading.
vi
Genuine and non-toxic
Safe to work with — natural ground stone and gum arabic, with no fillers or synthetics.
The De Mairo studio
The same stones that lit the great paintings of the Renaissance, ground in small batches by hand — now made to flow across your paper.
De Mairo · Genuine Gemstone Colours · Made in Canada
One palette, four forms
The collection grows.
Palette di Pietra is now available in both watercolour and gouache. The same six gemstone colours will follow in oil and as loose pigment.
Available now
Watercolour
Luminous, granulating washes.
Coming next
Oil Paint
Gemstone colour in a classic medium.
Coming next
Pigment Jars
Loose pigment to bind your own way.
Good to know
Questions, answered.
What is gemstone watercolour?+
Gemstone watercolour is a transparent, water-based paint made by grinding genuine semi-precious stones — lapis lazuli, malachite and jasper — into fine pigment and binding it in gum arabic. Because the pigment is real stone, the colour is luminous and granulates naturally on the paper.
Do these watercolours granulate?+
Yes. Real ground gemstone settles into the texture of the paper as a wash dries, giving a tactile, living depth that flat synthetic colours don't have. Charging the wash with more water brings out the effect.
How do they differ from the gouache set?+
Same six gemstone colours, different behaviour. The watercolours are transparent and luminous, made for layered washes and glazing; the gouache is opaque, made for flat, solid coverage. Many painters keep both.
Are they lightfast and non-toxic?+
Yes on both counts. Genuine gemstone pigments are exceptionally lightfast and resist fading, and every colour is non-toxic — natural ground stone bound in gum arabic, with no fillers or synthetics.
Do the pans re-wet?+
Yes. Bound in gum arabic, the colours re-wet cleanly with a damp brush, so a set lasts a long time.
Will these colours come in other forms?+
They already come in watercolour and gouache. The same six gemstone colours will follow in oil paint, and will also be offered as loose pigment in jars.
Palette di Pietra Watercolour
Let the stone flow.
Six genuine gemstone watercolours, handmade in small batches — luminous, granulating, and drawn from the earth.
Acquire the set
Non-Toxic
No harmful synthetic additives
100% Mineral Pigment
From mineral sources
Artist Tested
Used by professional artists worldwide
Free Returns
If unused — see policy
EU Import Ready
Clear customs documentation provided