Larimar

Larimar, “Stefilia's Stone”, Dolphin Stone is one of my favorite stones, the colors are stunning, like the Caribbean ocean! I love how each stone is so unique, the natural inclusions and unique patterns are gorgeous!
The first time I saw it years ago, I fell in love with it. I found a large stone set in a costume piece of jewellery from the 1970’s, I took the stone out and made a pendant with Sterling Silver and it has been one of my favorites for many years.
Larimar is so special, it can only be found in one place in the world, in the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. I am always searching for beautiful, good quality Larimar stones and I prefer old, pre-owned stones. I love the idea of them being found on the beach, the earth’s surface instead of mined.
Larimar has many names, it is also called “Stefilia's Stone” and “ Dolphin Stone”, the Atlantis stone. One of the early artisans working with Larimar “Miguel Mendez” named it after is daughter “Larissa” and he combined it with the Spanish word for ocean “Mar”.
Larimar is a rare, blue Silicate mineral Pectolite, a Fibrous Pectolite. The color can range from pale blue, deep blue to green blue, it can be Opaque to translucent. Larimar is a delicate stone comprised of Sodium Calcium Silicate, Manganese, and sometime Quartz and Hematite around the outside or in inclusions. Larimar is rated from 4 to 7 on Mohs hardness scale, so you must be careful to protect it from scratches.
The mineral PECTOLITE can be found in many places around the world, but, the blue can only be found in the Dominican Republic. Pectrolite is mainly colorless or grey, pale yellow, pink salmon pink or brownish.
Sometimes there is a little hematite creating a reddish brown around the edges of the stone and in some inclusions through the stone. When there is a large amount of Hematite it is called red Larimar. I love the reddish color in inclusions through the stones.
Some stones have a cat’s eye effect, but, usually you only see it in larger stones cut into cabochons, I see it in some of my larger round polished beads.
People used to believe the stones came from the Sea, hence the name Dolphin Stone, it could be found on the beach or on the land. It is believed to be forced up out of the earth by volcanic eruptions and then it has flowed downstream from rivers into the ocean.
Larimar is becoming rarer and more difficult to find, it used to be found on the surface of the earth, but now they must dig deep into the earth to mine it. No one know how much more is left so we should enjoy their beauty and respect these precious stone while we can still find them.