The Truth About Larimar Mining in the Dominican Republic

Practically all Larimar jewelry vendors in the internet start their website with the story of Larimar; some of these vendors have visited the mine in the Dominican Republic, but others just make their own story with the information of their colleagues, some adding spiritual and healing properties to the Larimar stone.

Larimar Pendants

The fact is that the first person to note this blue stone in the mountains of Bahoruco, in the province of Barahona, southwest of the Dominican Republic was a Spanish priest in the year 1916 by the name of Miguel Domingo Fuertes Loren who reported this discovery to the Archbishop Nouel in the city of Santo Domingo. No importance was given to this stone called by the locals “blue stone” at that time and had to wait 58 years for Miguel Mendez, Dominican citizen, andthe geologist Norman Rilling, an American Peace Corps Volunteer, to be found and analyzed.

We can imagine the excitement of these two men with the discovery of these small blue stone pieces found in the alluvial of the Bahoruco river. This time the necessary arrangements were made to have this new stone scientifically investigated. In November 1974 the first research was made by the scientist Dr. Paul E. Desautels, Chief of the Mineral Department of the Smithsonian Institute, followed by several other scientists. They came to the conclusion that this blue stone corresponds to the pectolite family for the gemological properties are consistent with those reported for pectolite, with the rarity that Larimar is the onlypectolite with blue colors discovered until now in the whole world. Larimar falls under the category of semi-precious stone.

Larimar Bangles

The deposits of Larimar are all located in an area known as los Chenchenes in the mountains of Bahoruco. All mineral rights in the Dominican Republic belong to the government and all mining is permitted only by the concession from the Dominican Bureau of Mines. By the suggestion of this Bureau, two cooperatives were created to avoid disputes among the miners. This gesture from the Dominican government was with the idea to help locals of that area, which wereat the beginning farmers, to make their living.

Working in the mines can be very dangerous as they are poorly constructed and reinforced and very few safety measures are taken. 

In the past some European countries offered to modernize the mining process of Larimar and Dominican Government has in various occasion promised to cooperate and help the miners with the extraction of Larimar. Until now, theDominican authorities have no control of the working conditions and safety of the miners and no action is under way. Mining is still being done in a primitivemethod, using only pick, shovel and hammer to break the weathered basalt in search of Larimar veins, always with the hope to find top qualities for the manufacture of Larimar Jewelry. The quality and color of the Larimar extracted can vary from one area to another.

Larimar Necklace

There are tunnels and pits or holes; a pit can be as deep as 200 ft or more and fresh air is pumped in with diesel generators that keep the lights on. When the generators are going to be turned off, they advise the miners in the holes and tunnels and it might take up to twenty minutes or more for them to get out.

Previously the generators were small and a number of miners died because of lack of oxygen. The tunnels can be deep without a safety structure, collapsing in several occasions burying a number of miners alive.

Every hole or pit and tunnel has different owners and everybody knows whose hole is whose, despite the apparent disorganization. As an attraction the miners allow visitors to go down their shaft.

Larimar Heart Pendant

During the rainy season, the mines become flooded and as a result no Larimar can be extracted until they have dried out. It is really not known exactly how much Larimar is in the mine and conceivably, some believe the mine could become exhausted of the precious gem at any time, others forecast there is Larimar for a long time. No scientific investigation has been made about the extension of the Larimar deposits.

This uncertainty and occasional rumors surrounding Larimar availability, as well as its high demand due to the fact that it has become more widely known causefluctuations in its price. There is a kind of monopoly controlled by some Larimar dealers who are located in the area of the mines; they buy practically all the extracted Larimar stone from the miners and put prices on the different Larimar qualities. The rough Larimar stones are sorted out and priced according to size, quality, color, purity, demand, etc.

Larimar Dangle Earring

There are times when the local artisans have difficulties to obtain this semi-precious stone in order to make their Larimar jewelry, specially because of this silent monopoly. At the beginning the Dominican Bureau of Mines prohibited the exportation of uncut rough Larimar, but after time has past by, large quantities of rough Larimar is exported mainly to China, India and Indonesia where some buyers from the USA have their own Larimar Jewelry produced.

The Beautiful Story of The Larimar Shop - Best Larimar Jewelry Online

Since several years my daughter Angie had been motivating me to start a retail business of Larimar products the two of us, I with my more than 17 years experience in Larimar whole sale business and she expert in business administration, including several technical areas with regard to online shopping… a perfect match!!!!

Between 1992 and 1993 a German tourist guide invited me to work spare hours in a tourist shop on commission basis because of my knowledge of different languages (Spanish, English, German, French and Dutch.) At the beginning I was reluctant to do so, but after she insisted, mentioning the urgent need of the owners of this gift shop to have somebody who could easily communicate with the tourists, I accepted and in that shop was the first time I noticed the Larimar stone and became fascinated with it… each piece was different, with a variety of blue, deep blue, blue green colors combined with white and/or grey, just like our beaches and sea with its blue sky and white clouds. Still today I enjoy every piece of our national Larimar stone.

A few years later I met a manufacturer of Larimar jewelry who asked me to work with him, promoting his jewelry abroad on wholesale basis. He, his wife and I have become very good friends and during all these years we have built up very good business relationship with many customers in many countries.

Angie and I want to reach and serve those who just want to buy one or just a few pieces of our Larimar 925 silver jewelry manufactured in the Dominican Republic by native artisans and at the same time we want to offer any other locally handcrafted jewelry mounted with any other stone mined in our country.

You cannot imagine how we enjoy every time we pack and ship a Larimar piece it means for us sharing this beauty with other people in the world offering the best we can at a price each pocket can afford according to their demand!!!!!!!

Greetings!

Cleo

Want to visit our website? Everything from Larimar Rings to Larimar Bracelets. Go to www.thelarimarshop.com

A Closer Look at Larimar Jewelry Workshops in the D.R.

Larimar Ring

In our country, the Dominican Republic, the only place in the whole world, so far, where the blue pectolite, named LARIMAR is mined, you will find a variety of small workshop formed by old and young artisans who handcraft Larimar rings, pendants, bracelets, as well as Larimar necklaces, also using different types of beads to obtain beautiful natural Larimar pieces.

Those workshops are all over the city of Santo Domingo and some have moved to small towns close to the Larimar mines where they can lower their production cost using less expensive workmanship and obtaining better prices and stone quality.

Larimar Earrrings

The designs of most Larimar bracelets and earrings are very simple and classic, mainly made with teardrop and oval shapes cabochons. One can find more variety in the Larimar rings and pendants, where more free form cabochons are used.

If the artisan wants to make the most of a Larimar slab, he will make only free form cabochons and cut the regular shapes from small stones.

Larimar Bracelet

You will also find the combination for example of Larimar bracelets and earrings with Dominican pink conch and amber. Only one or two artisans combine Larimar jewelry with mother of pearl.

Larimar Pendant

A few years ago many workshops used 14K gold to mount first quality Larimar stone, but nowadays, due to extremely high price of gold, they use mainly 925 silver, giving buyers the opportunity to have beautiful blue Larimar pendants, rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces for reasonable prices.

Larimar is a special semi-precious stone because it has a rich variety of deep blue, light blue and green blue colors like our Caribbean Sea and beaches, also with beautiful patterns making each piece unique.