Judging quality
Grade by blue depth and pattern: deep 'volcanic blue' with clean white webbing is top grade, pale grey-blue is common. There is no other source, so provenance claims elsewhere are false.
Pectolite
Larimar
Blue pectolite found in exactly one place on earth: a single mountainside in the Dominican Republic. Volcanic in origin, its patterning looks like sunlight on shallow Caribbean water.
Care
Fades in prolonged sunlight and is relatively soft. Store in the dark; clean with a damp cloth.
History & lore
Known to locals for generations, it was formally identified in 1974 and named for the discoverer's daughter Larissa and the Spanish word for sea, mar.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Larimar
- What is Larimar?
- Blue pectolite found in exactly one place on earth: a single mountainside in the Dominican Republic. Volcanic in origin, its patterning looks like sunlight on shallow Caribbean water.
- How hard is Larimar and what is it made of?
- Larimar is a Pectolite-family mineral with the composition NaCa2Si3O8(OH). It crystallizes in the triclinic system and rates 4.5-5 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in sky blue, white.
- Where does Larimar come from?
- Notable localities for Larimar include Dominican Republic (Barahona).
- How do you tell good Larimar from filler?
- Grade by blue depth and pattern: deep 'volcanic blue' with clean white webbing is top grade, pale grey-blue is common. There is no other source, so provenance claims elsewhere are false.
- How do you care for Larimar?
- Fades in prolonged sunlight and is relatively soft. Store in the dark; clean with a damp cloth.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.