008 Larimar Oval

Larimar or blue pectolite is an extremely rare gemstone. It has been found only in one location: a mountainous, relatively inaccessible area in the province of barahona in the dominican republic. The first mention of the stone is in a request to mine larimar in 1916, however it wasn’t until 1974 that the stone really made an appearance.
In 1974, norman rilling, a member of the u.s. Peace corps, and miguel méndez, a dominican found pieces of larimar on the seashore. The word larimar was created by mendez, who combined his daughter’s name larissa with the spanish world for sea, mar. Before mendez and rilling, local inhabitants of the region and their ancestors had long been aware of the stone. Early theories suggested larimar was produced by the sea, later by the earth’s volcanic movements. Island legends said that the stones could be collected easily on the beach, but one day there were no more blue larimar stones left. Locals explored upstream and found a rock formation, which appeared to be the source of the blue stone. This legend holds truth; mendez and rilling in 1974 would follow a river upstream and find sources of the blue stone.
Most small blocks of larimar are in situ, meaning they exist in the very place where they formed. However through soil erosion some pieces broke off and were moved by rainfall down the slopes of the hillsides to rivers.