What gems are found in the Dominican Republic?

Larimar and amber are some of the most popular raw materials for handcrafted jewelry in the Dominican Republic.

What stone is the Dominican Republic known for?

larimar
The Dominican Republic is known for two major precious and semi-precious stones you will see polished and sold in jewelry stores around the country: amber and larimar.

What two precious stones can be found in the Dominican Republic?

The Dominican Republic is known for two major precious and semi-precious stones you will see polished and sold in jewelry stores around the country: amber and larimar.

Is larimar stone expensive?

Larimar stone value: Depending on its grade, natural larimar stone can be incredibly expensive. Green or red spots, brown splotches, or other colors due to chemical imperfections visible on the surface make it look incredibly beautiful. However, it’s the flawless sea-blue larimar stone that fetches the highest prices.

How can you spot a fake Larimar?

Genuine larimar stones are opaque, cloudy and hazy. Light does not pass through a real larimar stone. Lift the stone up to a light source — natural light is the best and most accurate one — and observe if light goes through the stone. If it does, that is an obvious sign that the stone is a fake.

Why is Larimar only found in the Dominican Republic?

First of all – it’s one of the most rare, too! LARIMAR is found in only one place in the world – one square kilometer (approximately ½ square mile!) in the mountains above Baoruco in the Dominican Republic! LARIMAR is a volcanic stone, the result of volcanic activity that occurred millions of years ago!

What is the name of the rare gemstone that is only found in the Dominican Republic?

Larimar
Larimar is a rare blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. Its coloration varies from white, light-blue, green-blue to deep blue.

Why is larimar only found in the Dominican Republic?

How can you spot a fake larimar?

Can Larimar stone get wet?

Pools and hot tubs are very damaging to jewelry because of the high chlorine content in the water. However, saltwater also tarnishes jewelry. For safety, always store larimar in a safe spot away from water. If your larimar happens to get wet, wash it off right away with soap and water.

Why is larimar so rare?

Larimar is a rare, sky-blue colored gemstone. It is a variety of the mineral pectolite. While pectolite is usually gray, blue Larimar gets its color from copper impurities. To date, blue Larimar has only been found in one location in the world: the Dominican Republic, and some other parts of the Caribbean.

Is Larimar still being mined?

He called the stone Larimar, naming it after his beautiful daughter LARissa and MAR, the Spanish word for sea, which it resembles so closely. For this reason, Larimar a blue-graded gem variant of pectolite, is mined today by the sons of the same villagers that discovered the source of the stone 30 years ago.

What is the green stone from Dominican Republic?

Here in the Dominican Republic, amber (Ambar) is usually yellow, reddish or green, and some rare specimens are blue. Blue Amber is a unique and natural phenomenon.

What is the name of the blue stone found in Dominican Republic?

Larimar, also called “Stefilia’s Stone”, is a rare blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. Its coloration varies from white, light-blue, green-blue to deep blue.

What is the National stone of the Dominican Republic?

Larimar: National Stone of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern most half of the island of Hispaniola , and is the only place in the world where Larimar is found. Larimar is a rare blue form of pectolite , which is composed of calcium and sodium.