Larimar Stone Grades and Quality

According to all scientific studies, Larimar is a type of pectolite, or a rock composed largely of pectolite, an acid silicate 

Larimar Slab

hydrate of calcium and sodium. Although pectolite is found in many locations, none have the unique volcanic blue coloration of Larimar. This blue color, distinct from that of other pectolites, is the result of copper substitution for calcium Larimar is of volcanic origin, etc.

This stone will appear in different blue, blue green colors and there are also some that almost have a green jade color, but it is still Larimar! You also have the natural pattern varities, between light and deep blue, light blue and green, some with inclusions, such as hematite or red dendrites, with white to gray squarish patches, there are uncountable beautiful patterns Every time the Larimar rough stone is cut into slices or slabs, you will discover a new stunning one or two sided piece, it is just amazing; one can never get enough of this stone which mimicks so well our Caribbean sea waters and sky!

The hardness of this stone is between 5 to 8 in Moh´s scale; its hardness depends also of the light or deep blue colors, the darker stone is harder!

Marbel Larimar Pendant

Larimar Bracelet

Only 10 percent of the Larimar stone is suitable for jewelry after it has been cut and polished! This is one of the factors that makes this stone expensive

Larimar Double Stone Earrings

There is no standard specification for the different Larimar grades and all Larimar jewelry producers and vendors will clasify the grades according to their knowledge. However, not everybody knows this stone very good, believe me!! Even the Dominican artisans who have been working with Larimar for many, many years can be cheated by the miners if they buy uncut rough Larimar stone. Nowadays the Dominican artisans prefer to buy the Larimar in slabs and still they might be cheated with some cracked slabs!!

Lately many rough Larimar Stones are being exported to China and India, good and not good qualities Larimar, but the chinese and indians will use everything in order not to lose money!

For example: There is a Larimar Stone with an unstable blue color, which will change of color after mined because of lack of particular humidity and temperatur present in the área where it was found! Only if you are a connoisseur you will notice the difference of this Larimar Stone, which color will fade in short time due to lack of the humidity and temperature it needs.

Another data, most probably unknown, is that a transparent Larimar piece, very scarce indeed, belongs to gem quality! Many people ignore this, which is a pity because these pieces are rare, different and beautiful!

In order to secure good quality Larimar the Dominican artisans are now standing next to the pits waiting for the miners to appear with the Larimar stones they were able to find and they negotiate the price right there according, to the quality of the stone 

Marbel Larimar Pendant

It is important to avoid long sun exposure, salt water and chemicals to maintain the good quality of the Larimar Stone!

A Larimar stone which after years has kept its genuine color and/or became more blue, because of its location (cold or humid place), is a good quality Larimar no matter if it is deep or light blue, you did a good purchase!

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

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