Since time man has had desired precious and strikingly beautiful stones. Larimar stone is one such magnificent work of nature. Found only in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean this semi-precious gem has invited many visitors and tourists since its discovery. Now there is a large market for Larimar jewelry all around the world and it is available in the form of pendants, bracelets and necklaces.



Incidentally, this bright and delicate gem is the result of violent processes at extremely high temperatures. Larimar stone is found only in the volcanoes of Dominican Republic and geologists suggest that as the molten lava got pushed to the edge of the chimneys of the volcano, exposure to outer atmosphere caused crystallization. Over a period of thousand years the crystallized rocks started to unwrap due to erosion and as these reached the beaches of Bahoruco River the polishing invigorated. After undergoing this gradual natural process of refinement, this strikingly beautiful stone has evolved as we see it today.

Although, this stone was known and used by the primitive natives of these Caribbean islands much earlier but its discovery in the modern era was made by a Spanish trader Miguel Mendez in 1974. The local fisherman and traders used to find and trade beautiful Larimar stones on the beaches of the Bahoruco River and assumed that its source was the sea. But in 1974 Miguel took some local guides and tried to trace the origin of Larimar stones as he dismissed this theory. They tracked the river upstream for a few days but were unsuccessful until one day while returning from a fruitless errand; they took another track that led to the original location of the larimar stone. Since then, this location in the Dominic Republic has been found as the only source of larimar gems in the world.

Miguel Mendez named the stone after his daughter ?Larissa?, while ?Mar?, Spanish word for ?sea? was added due to its spectacular color resembling with the sea. After the discovery of the larimar deposit, the samples of the larimar gem were sent to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, where after careful analysis it was concluded that the samples belonged to the pectolite family. Although various forms of pectolite stones have been found in various corners of the globe, yet a pectolite with this brilliant blue color, mainly because of copper, is only specific to the mountain ranges of Dominic Republic.

Gemstones are broadly categorized by experts either as precious stones or semi-precious stones. There are only a few stones that have been classified as precious stones and have immense demand in the gems market. But semi-precious stones like Larimar gem also attract great demand mainly because of their beauty and relatively affordable price. Larimar gemstone due to its color resemblance with the sea, is believed to give its wearer mysterious ability to communicate and transmit messages. It is also firmly believed that the use of Larimar stone enables people to overcome their inner barriers and overcome self-imposed restrictions.

Larimar gemstones are mainly available in different shades and mixtures of blue and green. Due to Larimar gemstone's breathtaking beauty and its metaphysical features this magnificent work of nature has inelastic demand throughout the world and it is being sold by jewelers in different forms and shapes that appeal to the buyers.