About Us

Lapis Lazuli House was founded in the early 1970s by Chilean–American artist Luciana Celis Santelices, who established Chile’s first dedicated lapis lazuli workshop.

After training in traditional stone cutting, lapidary arts, and jewelry fabrication in New York, she moved to South America to build her practice near the foothills of the Andes. There, she spent decades designing and crafting jewelry, carvings, and ornamental objects alongside skilled Latin American artisans, developing distinctive works in lapis and sterling silver.

Each piece begins with natural, ethically sourced Chilean lapis lazuli and is cut, polished, carved, or set entirely by hand using time-honored techniques. No mass production. No factory processes.

In her later years, she returned to the United States. Today, Lapis Lazuli House continues her original designs and longstanding artisan partnerships.