Directly from the mine in Barahona, Dominican Republic
The only place on earth where is found this extremely rare stone.

We bring to you a personally selected pieces directly from the mines in Dominican Republic to ensure an incomparable quality and the best prices in genuine (no lab created) LARIMAR stones.
We constantly travel to Barahona (south-western region of the Dominican Republic) buying personally from the mines and miners. We are your direct link to get THE BEST OF THE BEST LARIMAR stones!! We buy directly at the location to have best prices for best quality. We purchased them directly from a LARIMAR mine owner in BARAHONA!!

LARIMAR History

On 22 November 1916 Father Miguel Domingo Fuertes Loren of the Barahona Parish requested permission at the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Mining to explore and exploit the mine of a certain blue rock he had discovered. Since nobody knew what the priest was talking about the request fell through and the blue stone discovery was delayed.

It was not until 1974 when at the foot of the Bahoruco Range, the coastal province of Barahona, a flash of blue in the beach sand caught the attention of Miguel Méndez and Peace Corps volunteer Norman Rilling and they scooped down to rediscover larimar. Natives, who believed the stone came from the sea, called the gem Blue Stone. Miguel promptly took his young daughter's name Larissa and the Spanish word for the sea (mar) and formed Larimar, by the colors of the water of the Caribbean Sea, where it was found. As it turns out, the few stones they found were alluvial sediment, washed into the sea by the Bahoruco River. An upstream search revealed the in situ outcrops in the range and before long the Los Chupaderos mine tapped the only known larimar outcropping in the world.

LARIMAR Geology

Larimar is a variety of pectolite, or a rock composed largely of pectolite, an acid silicate 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 cobalt substitution for calcium.

Miocene volcanic rocks, andesites and basalts, erupted within the limestones of the south coast of the island. These rocks contained cavities or vugs which were later filled with a variety of minerals including the blue pectolite. These pectolite cavity fillings are a secondary occurrence within the volcanic flows, dikes and plugs. When these rocks erode the pectolite fillings are carried downslope to end up in the alluvium and the beach gravels. The Bahoruco River carried the pectolite bearing sediments to the sea. The tumbling action along the streambed provided the natural polishing to the blue larimar which makes them stand out in contrast to the dark gravels of the streambed.

Los Chupaderos

The most important outcrop of blue pectolite is located at Los Chupaderos, in the section of Los Checheses, about 10 kilometers southwest of the city of Barahona, in the south-western region of the Dominican Republic. It is a single mountainside now perforated with approximately 2,000 vertical shafts, surrounded by rainforest vegetation and deposits of blue-colored mine tailings.

LARIMAR Jewelry

Larimar jewelry is available in the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Most jewelry produced is set in silver, but high grade stones are often set in gold.

Quality grading is according to coloration: white is low quality, volcanic blue high quality. High quality jewelry utilizes stones between sky-blue and volcanic blue, often in combinations of both. Greenish colorations are also known but not well regarded, unless the green is intense. Red colored inclusions in Larimar indicate traces of iron. It should be noted that pectolites are photosensitive, which causes the larimar to lose its blue coloration over the years.

AMBER

Mythology

There are many myths surrounding the origin of amber. Ovid wrote that when Phaethon, a son of Helios, the sun, convinced his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the sun through the heavens for a day, he erred too close to the earth, scorching it. To save the earth, Zeus struck Phaethon with a thunderbolt and he died, plunging out of the sky. His mother and sister turned into trees in their grief but still mourned him. Their tears, dried by the sun, are amber.
The Greeks called amber 'elektron', sun-made, perhaps because of this story, or perhaps because it becomes electrically charged when rubbed with a cloth and can attract small particles. Homer mentions amber jewelry - earrings and a necklace of amber beads - as a princely gift in the Odyssey
Another ancient writer, Nicias, said that amber was the juice or essence of the setting sun congealed in the sea and cast up on the shore.
The Romans sent armies to conquer and control amber-producing areas. The Emperor Nero was a great connoisseur of amber. During his time, according to the Roman historian Pliny, the price of an amber figurine, no matter how small, exceeded the price of a healthy slave.
The ancient Germans burned amber as incense, so they called it 'bernstein', or 'burn stone'. Clear colorless amber was considered the best material for rosary beads in the Middle Ages on account of its smooth silky feel. Certain orders of knights controlled the trade, and unauthorized possession of raw amber was illegal in most of Europe by the year 1400.

Metaphysical Lore

(Astrological Sign of Leo & Aquarius)
Vibrates to the number 3
Amber is believed to have metaphysical properties that provide health, good luck and spiritual healing. It is said to be one of the stones in the Breastplate of The High Priest.
Amber is further related to the Archangel Uriel, whose name means "God is Light". Uriel heals away resentment and unforgiveness. Uriel's aura glows a pale yellow.
It has been used as a symbol for renewal of marriage vows and to assure promises. It has been said to bring good luck to warriors - mentioned as a possible stone in the Brisling necklace worn by Freya, Goddess of the Valkyries, in Norse mythology.
It is a sacred stone to both Native American and Eastern Indians, used in the fire ceremonies of ancient tribal healers. It has been burned, since medieval days, as a fumigant and incense to clear negativity.

Medicinal Lore

Amber allows the body to heal itself by absorbing and transmuting negative energy into positive energy. It emits a sunny ad bright soothing energy which helps to calm nerves and enliven disposition.
It has been used in the treatment of goiter and other dis-eases of the throat, as well as kidney and bladder maladies. In ancient times, it was used as a penicillin-type remedy, being ground and ingested.

Causes of coloration

When natural light strikes Blue Amber on a white surface, the light particles pass right through, and then are refracted off the white surface. Result: the Blue Amber has a slight blue hue. When the same natural light particles strike the Amber on a black surface, the light particles don't refract off the black surface, thus refracting off the actual Amber. Hydrocarbons in the Blue Amber turn the sun's ultraviolet light into blue light particles, resulting in the glow of Blue Amber.
This effect is only possible in the Dominican Republic Blue Amber category and in some Mexican amber . Any other Amber (such as Baltic Amber) will not display this phenomenon, because its original resin is not from the Hymenaea protera tree.
The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, produced through a thermal polymerization process initiated via irradiation, relax to their ground state, absorb high-energy ultraviolet photons and re-emit them as lower-energy visible photons, according to the absorbance curve of the particular fluorophore.
Recently, optical absorption, fluorescence and time-resolved fluorescence measurements in Dominican ambers have been reported. These studies show that the "blue" variety reveals an intense fluorescence emission in the visible wavelength region, between 430 and 530 nm, with spectral features which are typical of aromatic hydrocarbons. On the contrary, the Dominican "red" and "yellow" amber varieties have a much weaker and featureless emission, although still do have a certain fluorescence. The process in Blue Amber is surprisingly similar to phosphor. The difference between fluorescence and phosphorescence is basically only the amount of time that the glowing element glows.
Although there are several theories about the origin of Dominican blue amber, there is a great probability that it owes its existence to elements such as anthracene as a result of 'incomplete combustion' due to forest fires among the extinct species Hymenaea protera trees about 25 to 40 million years ago.