Larimar Workshops in the Dominican Republic | The Larimar Shop Blog

Unique Larimar

More than 40 years ago, Larimar, the hidden blue treasure of the Caribbean, was rediscovered and exposed to the world. Larimar stone was classified as a rare blue pectolite; this semi-precious rock is only found and mined in the Dominican Republic.

The Firsts Workshops

With the demand for this beautiful Dominican stone, a variety of small Larimar workshops in the Dominican Republic appeared. In the beginning, local artisans learned the art of handcrafting Larimar jewelry in a rudimentary way. Nowadays, there are schools for unskilled artisans to learn the art of making skilled handcrafted Larimar jewelry.

The simplicity and beauty of their designs make of every jewel, be it a Larimar necklace, a ring, a bracelet, or a pair of earrings, a timeless piece. Nothing beats the magic of artisan jewelry.

Dominican mood at the Larimar workshops

A radio playing merengue and bachata music is almost a must in the Larimar workshops to keep the workers in a good mood. Between jokes and some few words, they cut the Larimar slabs into cabochons, melt the 925 silver metal and shape it into the selected designs. Most of the Larimar workshops are in the middle of Santo Domingo, and a few are in smaller towns. To lower their production costs, some artisans move closer to the Larimar mines, where they can find better Larimar stone quality at reasonable prices.

Local artisans usually make free form cabochons so they can use the whole Larimar slab. The small rough Larimar stones are used mostly for regular shape cabochons. To make their products cost more attractive, most Dominican artisans like to produce bigger and heavier Larimar jewelry than smaller pieces such as Larimar earrings.

Are there any Larimar Standard Quality?

In the Dominican Republic, there are no official standards guide to classify the different Larimar qualities; miners, artisans, and vendors have their own definition for Larimar quality. At first, only the deeper blue Larimar color was set in gold until the gold price reached its highest peak. Now you might find gold quality Larimar set in 925 silver.

Larimar Hues, Patterns and more

The Larimar stone has a wide range of blue colors from dark to light blue, reflecting the Caribbean blue sky and warm seawaters. Every piece of Larimar has a unique pattern with awesome nature designs to be treasured. Inclusions such as calcite, hematite, copper, volcanic residue create wonderful one of a kind specimens. Some people attribute Metaphysical properties and even healing properties to Larimar, but there's no proof of this has been proven.

Larimar stone is also known as: