Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Hi everybody, just a quick note to tell you that we have decided to include in one of thelarimarshop.com sections a FAQ section to make it easier for our customers to have a reply to their questions at hand!

Nevertheless, we will always be happy to answer any special question that does not appear in this FAQ list.

1. Have your Larimar stones been treated in any way?

Our Larimar stones are pure, genuine, carefully selected at the mines in Bahoruco, southwest of the Dominican Republic, the only place on earth so far, where this unique, awesome stone is found and mined. In the Dominican Republic exists no dyeing stone practice.

2. What is a Larimar specimen stone?

A Larimar specimen stone is a stone where the Larimar has developed in different blue and blue green shades, mixed with other materials or inclusions such as hematite or red dendrites (like these earrings), white calcite, natrolite, fossilized wood, copper, etc. creating gorgeous, fabulous, nature designs. Every Larimar specimen stone is unique!

3. Where are you located?

We are located in Santo Domingo, main city of the Dominican Republic; The Dominican Republic shares the eastern side of the Hispaniola Island; Haiti is on the western side!

4. How is your jewelry made?

Our jewelry is made with top quality Larimar stone brought directly from the mines, to our workshop, where young, native artisans cut, shape, polish and mount this semi-precious gem in 925 silver or 14K gold bezel cups.

5. Why should I trust you?

We have been in the Larimar business for many years and we guarantee our jewelry! Our main goal has been and is to make our customers happy with each purchase. To treat each Larimar lover with top quality customer service and at the end gain a new friend.

6. Do I have to pay customs fee?

Customs regulations are different in every country. We recommend you to check with your customs official office. We are willing to assist you with any shipping instructions for customs purposes. We are not responsible for any customs fee or tax in any country.

7. Do you offer express shipping?

Yes, we offer express shipping with guaranteed delivery of 1 – 2 working days inside US and 1 – 4 working days outside US.

8. How do I receive my order?

All orders are beautifully gift wrapped, packed in a small white box, decorated with an aqua blue lace or a raffia lace, to create an exciting moment when you or that person you have gifted with your order receive your package! In the box we include card with a brief history of the Larimar stone and care tips! The Larimar jewel is placed in a white organza pull pouch.

9. Do you make more than one piece of each design featured in your store? 

Most of the Larimar jewelry we are offering are one of a kind, unique in its design, in its blue shade and pattern; if you see a piece that catches your eyes, don’t let it go! When we have more than one unit in stock of the Larimar jewelry displayed, we indicate quantity available, as well as the variety of blue shades and patterns.

10. How does your reversible Larimar and Amber reversible ring work?

This ring is our best seller, loved by all; the 925 silver bezel cup has on one side Larimar and on the other side Amber with two silver shanks to help turn the bezel cup to one of the two stones you want to wear.

11. How do I take care of my Larimar silver jewelry?

It is recommendable to clean your Larimar jewel after wearing it or from time to time, to avoid accumulation of body oil and dirt. Use a jewelry cleaning or polishing cloth to clean the stone and silver.

You can also wash your Larimar piece with clean fresh water and a few drops of mild soap, using a soft brush to clean dirt from the silver setting, rinse and dry with a soft cloth. The Larimar stone might turn more blue due to the water absorption of the stone.

Avoid long sun exposure, salt water and chemicals. When using household and any sort of chemicals, don’t wear your Larimar jewelry to stay away from any possible damage on the stone and/or silver setting. Treasure your Larimar jewelry for this is an awesome, unique stone and there is no reliable source in the Dominican Republic that can secure that we will still find/have Larimar stone for many years to come!!

“PECAO FRITO” in the Dominican Republic is a must!

When visiting the Dominican Republic, a piece of paradise in the Caribbean, eating fresh fried fish at the beach is a must, it’s part of our folclor; you will get in contact with our way of enjoying life in a healthy way!!!!!

From the Tainos we have inherited our love for fish, we have good fishermen, specially for fried fish or “pecao frito” (pescado frito) as pronounced by most Dominicans. Although we are an island, fish is much more expensive than meat. Dominican household does not often cook fish as they do with chicken, the number one meat; depending of the region, fish is prepared in different ways. However there is a way fish is prepared we all love and that is fried fish at the beach!!

Practically on all the coast of the Dominican Republic, along the beach and seaside towns,  you will find fresh fish, that is, the catch of the day! There are the typical small places, made of four strong wooden posts and a zinc or palm tree roof, along the beach with a few chairs and a small table! Originally all these chairs were made of “Guano”, but during the past few years, plastic chairs and tables are substituting these chairs.

Close to the beach you will normally find rows of food stands, with a large metal “basin” , locally made, with coal used as fuel, and a large frying pan, where different kind of whole fishes are fried after being rubbed with salt, oregano, coated in flour and then deep fried until crispy! 

Most of the time, the frying oil is reused, which many natives believe gives the fish a special tasty touch!
 

When you are at all these stands you get the feeling of a  Fried Fish Fair, here you are being offered delicious whole fried fish in different sizes/weight, by some guys whose job is to bring customers to the stand they work for! The price of the whole fish is between US$ 8.00 and US$ 10.00, but it will be determined by its size/weight and type! The most popular fishes are the Loro (Parrotfish) and the Chillo (Red Snapper). 

You can buy already fried fish or you can ask for the type of fish you want them to fry for you from the fresh variety they have available! The fish will be always served with lemon slices; to eat with the fish you have a variety of fried food such as plantain(tostones), sweet potato (batata), cassava rolls (bollo de yuca) and Johnny cake  (Yaniqueque), introduced by Afro-descendants coming from other Caribbean islands!

You can also go to a restaurant in town or close to the beach, for a more refined ambience, but you will miss the typical Dominican atmosphere! A beer, normally Presidente, is ordered, as well as, soft drinks for the children and at the rythm of a Bachata or a Merengue, which are the loudly played, you will eat your fried fish! Dominicans will prefer to eat their fish with the fingers; knives and forks (plastic ones) will be ignored, to fully enjoy every bit of their fish!

Dominican Republic has it all, awesome tropical sceneries, beautiful beaches,  mountains, rivers, our unique Larimar stone and friendly people who enjoy life in a simple way!!

Funerals in The Dominican Republic

Native Dominicans are a true mixture of African, European and Indian origin. Due to this, as you may understand, we are heirs of their customs and culture, making of us real special creatures!!

This heritage is present in our daily behaviour, attitude, beliefs, feelings, etc. and this is remarkable, for example, we are very noisy, the average Dominican, speak loudly, we are very outgoing, you ask a question no matter where you are to one person and you’ll have answers from all those who heard the question and feel the need to reply too!! Dominicans are always ready to celebrate whatever occasion with a party or a get together and everybody will happily  cooperate with drinks, snacks, ice, music, etc.!

In the Dominican Republic most people are Catholics, followed by Christian evangelists and many other believers of other religions! There is also the Dominican voodoo  introduced by the African slaves, and some influence of the Taino religion! All this mix of races and religions can be observed in different religious celebrations!

For example, in the rural area, when somebody dies, he will be buried in one of his favorite or best clothes, the family will hire women, who will be in charge of crying during the funeral to give the impression that the deceased was a good person!  A delicious cup of hot coffee, food and soft drinks will be served to visitors, who will be talking and telling stories, of the person who has passed away, remembering of course only the good side of his life.

 

There will be nine days of prayers in the house of the departed soul; a table with a white cloth, with pictures of some saints and flowers, is placed in a room, where family and friends will gather to pray and enjoy some snacks, coffee and beverage. This ritual is meant to help the soul leave the house where he lived forever and on the ninth day, the altar is removed from the room. This ritual is also made in towns and cities.

Normally, in the cities, a funeral house is used, where families and friends will come to give their condolences to the mourners and it will be a come and go of people; a religious service will be held and thereafter the burial.

But lately, in the suburbs a new way to bury the dead person, has been introduced.  If the deceased was a drug dealer,  lived a criminal lifestyle or died by any kind of accident, rum and beer will be served or bought, loud music of songs (merengue, bachata, Dominican reggaeton and dembow), loved by the deceased will be played and danced, the cufin will be kept open so that the dead person can be touched by the mourners, family and friends attending the funeral and maybe to have the feeling that he is participating of his farewell party!! Of course there will be crying, shouts, and other sorrow manifestations among the loud music, all of which will accompany the funeral to the cemetery.

Pictures by Listin Diario and sobraodeflow.com 

We finally made it with 14K Gold

Introducing our first Larimar and 14K gold collection!

There is no standard quality guide for our Larimar stone in the Dominican Republic, so far the only place on earth where this unique blue semi-precious stone is mined.

With its ample variety of blue, as well as, blue green shades and patterns the Larimar stone is undoubtedly an awesome art of nature, pleasing the blue tone preference of every admirer.

However, the truth is that the deep blue shades, similar to the azure shade, are considered the top quality, for they are rare and scarce!

Several years ago, before gold price started to climb, many Dominican artisans could afford producing both 925 silver and 14K gold Larimar jewelry and to this end they only used the deep blue Larimar stones for 14K gold and the lighter blue colors for 925 silver!

Larimar Happy Hour Rings

But all this changed when the gold price became unreachable for the average local artisans, who decided to use all blue Larimar quality type they can get and buy for 925 silver jewelry.

The Larimar Shop was born after the gold price reached its highest peak and in view of that people were inclined toward buying silver instead of gold! So we decided to only sell 925 silver Larimar jewelry, but during all this time we were kind of tempted to do also some 14K gold items! 

There are three foreign gold companies exploiting the gold mines in the Dominican Republic (has it all) so we finally, very timidly, took a step forward and decided to complete the beauty of our Larimar stone with 14K gold frame, a perfect combination honoring both stone and metal mined in the Dominican Republic!

Larimar and 14K Gold Pendant

We have been excited with this new challenge, producing some of our best sellers the reversible “happy hour” rings, the Dominican classic teardrop pendants and earrings, as well as, gorgeous stone pendants with 14K gold. Of course, the prices for these items are for wealthy pockets, as you might understand, but we have to give those gold and Larimar lovers their privilege to pay the price!! 

We did a humble 14K gold Larimar jewelry start, firmly looking forward to making other 14K gold designs according to the support we receive from our dear customers!

Birth of The Larimar Shop Collections

The story behind our Collections

We confess that we are deeply in love with our share of the eastern side of the Hispaniola Island, the Dominican Republic, its land, mountains, rivers, beaches, flora and fauna, and the authenticity of our people.

When we started knowing our unique Larimar stone, which mimics our Caribbean blue sea waters and clear blue sky, also frequently adorned with white clouds, so well, we fell in love with this Dominican national stone and decided to share this beauty, in our Dominican style, with the world!

The reasons that encouraged us to move forward with our Larimar project was the fact that our Larimar stone is offered many times abroad, omitting the truth that this stone is found and mined only in the Dominican Republic and at the same time the publicity of some well known Larimar designers/vendors, telling that they get the best quality of Larimar so that the low grade quality is left in the Dominican Republic for us to use! Also they have underestimated the Dominican craftsmanship and creativity to expose the beauty of Larimar with jewelry that makes it shine!

Contrary to the jewelry artisans, for example, of Mexico, Indonesia, India who learned their skills through many, many generations, our Dominican jewelry artisans hopped into this art approx. end of the sixties, and in the eighties a jewelry school was established in the city of  Puerto Plata, with the aid of the Dominican Development Agency, “Fundacion Dominicana de Desarrollo”, as well as the efforts made by Miguel Mendez (the rediscoverer of the Larimar stone and who named it ) to prepare  jewelers and traders of this unique stone. Nowadays there are several schools and projects to teach jewelry art, which has resulted in better prepared and skilled jewelry artisans. During the visit last year of our actual Dominican president Danilo Medina to the Larimar mines, it was decided to give the Larimar miners and artisans financial and technical assistance to improve their work 

In view of the above exposure, we decided to create our own Larimar collection to make clear that we count with excellent craftsmanship and creative jewelry artisans who can design and make wonderful pieces to display the uniqueness of our Larimar stone and please the different preferences!

To honor the regions and surroundings of the mountain range Bahoruco in the Province of Barahona, where the Larimar stone is mined, we have decided to use the names of the different towns and places therein.

MENA Collection, named after Mena town, located in the province of Bahoruco (or Baoruco), southwest of the Province of Barahona!

The MENA Collection was created to obtain a fresh and modern appearance to exalt the beauty of the blue Larimar stone in stylish 925 silver settings!

The MENA pendant, MENA earrings and MENA bracelet will add a “something” special, a delightful touch to women’s look!

UVILLA Collection, named after Uvilla town, located in the province of Bahoruco (or Baoruco), southwest of the province of Barahona

The UVILLA Collection is an exquisite, elegant design that gives a flash of blue bling to those women who love to wear eye-catching pieces to enhance their femininity!

We are also creating within this collection a variety of UVILLA pendants, necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets to allow our customers to acquire their UVILLA piece with more or less Larimar stones!

MONSERRAT Collection, named after Monserrat, a small town also located in the province of Bahoruco (or Baoruco), southwest of the province of Barahona

The MONSERRAT Collection aims to give the Larimar beads its full glance, combined with Mother of Pearl, creating pristine designs for an appealing, natural touch to womens final outfit!

These collections are the beginning of a new challenge for our strive to place our Dominican Larimar jewelry in a higher position, showing the world that Dominican jewelry artisans and designers have learned the art of making stunning pieces, letting our national Larimar stone shine by its own!  

Larimar, the mine and the miners

Working in the mines...

When people all over the world get to know about the unique blue pectolite, the Dominican blue Larimar stone, they click on the word Larimar and the same story about this stone will show up! Who discovered the Larimar stone, when and where, as well as a few characteristics of this special blue semi-precious stone.

But what about the people who make it possible for us to wear and enjoy of the jewel of the Caribbean, the Larimar stone? We want to talk a little bit about their struggle at the Larimar mines!

Larimar slabs

The peasants, who planted “yautia” (yams) in the surroundings of the area of the Larimar mine, were the first people to get involved with “the blue stone” as they called it. They collected this “blue stone” before Miguel Mendez followed the trail of the “blue stone” until he reached the peak of the mountain and revealed this best secret to the world!

These peasants turned into miners, as they understood they could make more money at the mine than with agriculture. The Dominican government gave them the concession to exploit the mine of Larimar. All mineral rights in the Dominican Republic belong to the government. In 1985 approx. 100 miners were working at the mine and by recommendation of the government a first cooperative was formed, nowadays there are two cooperatives.

Las Filipinas

The mine is located in the highest mountain of “Las Filipinas” in the community of Bahoruco, where you will find hundreds of men, naked from the waist up, who are going every day into the deepness of what you could call “hell” searching for Larimar, some have been doing this since over thirty year ago, exposing their lives, to make some money! There is no life insurance, no emergency aid, and no 911!

Every morning when the clock strikes nine, approx. 20 men in group of five, like ant rows, introduce themselves in narrow holes, leading to underground galleries, reinforced with wood to avoid collapsing, it feels like being buried alive. To go down most of them use the wood that serves as ladder and as reinforcement of the pit walls, some use pulley, but other are afraid it might break and they will hurt themselves.

Men of all ages work with rudimentary tools, like shovel, pick and hammer, although lately some have an electric “pick-hammer” tool. Once these miners start working they will start a sort percussion sound, which will be played during eight hours, only interrupted by meal break of one hour! 

To be able to work in these infernal holes, air is pumped into the pits at eight o’clock in the morning one hour before the miners start going down.

An image of one of the many pits high in the mountain.

Actually there are about 40 holes or pits that are up to 200 meters deep. Once they find a Larimar vein they start working their way through corridors, reinforced with wooden frames, which many time become home for many cockroaches; these holes can be productive during several years. To open a new pit can cost approx. US$15,000, and not always Larimar veins are found in new holes!

Cables carrying electricity produced by the generator are introduced into different holes and 220 Volts cables are used in the pits where an electric “pick-hammer” tool is available, exposing their lives to electric shocks.

The president of the Dominican Republic visited the Larimar recently and promised to have ventilated tunnels made to enable the miners to extract this semi-precious stone in a safer way, he promised to technify the whole mining process and to make of this Larimar area a touristic attraction. Also he promised to give the local Larimar artisans the opportunity to learn the art and skill to make professional quality Larimar jewelry.  We welcome this initiative of our president and hope he will abide by his promise!!!

In rainy seasons these pit are filled with water and it takes some time before the miners can start working again.

If you want to experience their working day, no problem just take your trip to Bahoruco and the miners will be more than happy to show how they do their living!

What do you really get when mining Larimar stones?

Here we'll give you the shocking reality!

Larimar rough or Larimar bruto

This miner has small Larimar rough stones in his hands just coming from the pits; sometimes very big stones up to 60 lbs are mined. These stones are cut in slabs and it is in that moment that you really know the quality of the LARIMAR and find out if the stone is cracked or broken. In the process of preparing Larimar stone for jewelry there is a high waste of material and at the end practically only 10 % is left!, causing this semi-precious stone to be quoted at high prices. For example of 100 lbs of Larimar rough stone you obtain 30 lbs of slabs, from 30 lbs of slabs you get 10 lbs of cabs and only 1lb is first quality material.

Larimar slabs or Chapas de Larimar

Aquí les exponemos la cruda verdad!

Este es un minero con piedras brutas de Larimar acabadas de ser extraidas de los hoyos en la mina; estas son de las mas pequeñas ya que a veces sacan tamaños de piedras que pueden pesar hasta 60 libras. Estas piedras son cortadas en lajas o chapas y es en ese momento que se sabe verdaderamente la calidad del Larimar y si la piedra no esta cuarteada o rota!! En el proceso para preparar el Larimar para joyeria se pierde mucho material y practicamente viene quedando solo un 10%! por lo que esta piedra semi-preciosa se cotiza a precios altos. Por ejemplo, de 100 lbs Larimar en bruto se sacan 30 lbs de chapas, de 30 lbs de chapas se sacan 10 lbs de cabuchones* y de estos solo 1 Lb es de primera calidad!!

Larimar Stone the Blue Jewel of the Caribbean and its Synonyms

Human beings tend to love phantasy, mystery and all sort of things that will arise curiosity, encountered feelings, hidden emotions, etc. involved in a person, in a place, in a subject, in a religion, in a movement, in stones be it precious or not!

Our Larimar stone is not an exception to this fact and so, "PIedra Azul", meaning Blue Stone, is the first name this unique blue pectolite received from the locals of Barahona, southwest of the Dominican Republic, who found small pieces of this blue stone ocassionally.

Larimar stone ring

When finally this blue pectolite, semi-precious stone, was rediscovered by Miguel Mendez, from the Dominican Republic, and Norman Rilling, a Peace Corps Volunteer from USA, in 1974 it is given the new name of Larimar, a combination of the name of Mendez's daughter Larissa and the word Mar, meaning sea!.

Once this stone starts becoming known abroad, its blue intriguing beauty strikes many hearts and interests, many strategies are used to promote our awesome #Larimar with all its variety of blue hues, mimicking our Caribbean sea waters, gorgeous patterns, which also can include some white, grey shades and inclusion such as red dendrites, copper, calcite, resulting many times in impressing Larimar specimens!!

And so we find that our Larimar stone has  been baptized with different names for different purposes or reasons!

Caribbean Turquoise

To our understanding this given  name is for commercial purposes!

Lorimar

Somebody must have misspelled the name Larimar and decided to keep the name Lorimar, maybe because there was already money invested and any correction would involve more money!

Stefilia's Stone

Who or what gave birth to this name is still unknown to us.

Dolphin Stone

Handcrafted Larimar Bracelet

This name is connected with metaphysical beliefs, attributing healing & spiritual properties to this stone

"Some believe that Larimar is the blue stone with extraordinary healing powers that Edgard Cayce predicted would be discovered in the Caribbean, where he said part of Atlantis could be found"

"Larimar has excellent energy for working with sea creatures of all kind. It is particularly good for communicating with dolphins."

"as dolhpins were associated with Atlantis and Larimar was used as a tool to enhance communicaction with them"

Atlantis Stone

This is the most powerful name used for Larimar to exalt its long list of healing and spiritual powers according to the New Age and Metaphysical philosophies

Edgard Cayce, called the sleeping prophet, (1877-1945), mentioned that a blue stone of Atlantean origin, would be found in a Caribbean island, which was part of the lost continent of Atlantis!

The blue beauty of Larimar stone is very appealing to people all over the world and its demand has grown enormously and increasing its cost constantly.

If in the #Dominican Republic locals would know the healing and spiritual properties attributed to our Larimar stone, we are sure, everybody would be wearing a Larimar piece, with or without silver, but unfortunately very few even know the existence of this marvelous stone!!

Is it maybe that the volcanic origin of this stone has a chemical reaction when in contact with our skin that benefits us positively?