Gemstone Glossary

Larimar

Larimar is mined on one unique Caribbean mountain and found nowhere else in the world. High on the isolated mountaintop, miners use only picks and shovels to work the deposits. Discovered in the 1970's Larimar has an extraordinary blue appearance similar to the color of the ocean in tropical areas. The name "Larimar" was given by the Dominican who discovered the stone. It is a combination of Larissa (his daughter’s name) and Mar, the Spanish word for sea.


Larimar is actually a variety of Pectolite composed of NaCa2Si3O8(OH), Sodium Calcium Silicate Hydroxide. It ranks 5.0 on the Moh’s Scale of Hardness with a Specific Gravity of 2.7 - 2.9. The crystals are vitreous, transparent to translucent.

Pectolite occurs in white or colorless, gray, light yellow, light brown, light blue and light pink. Pectolite can be confused with several other similar appearing minerals. These include Okenite, Wollastonite, Artinite and a few others. However, it can be distinguished by the way it occurs in cavities of basalt in igneous environments and is almost always associated with Zeolites. Discovered in 1828 in Mont Baldo and Mont Monzoni, Italy, Pectolite was not all that well-regarded until the last few decades when its ocean blue variety, Larimar was discovered.

Larimar has enjoyed success in the semi-precious stone market. Its translucent, sky blue color is attractive and has a loyal following of admirers. It has been quite versatile in its applications to other jewelry varieties. Larimar offers a different color to those who like polished stone jewelry.