From time immemorial, mankind has been attracted by the mystery of precious and semiprecious stones. What properties of a magical and healing nature are not attributed to them. It seemed that all possible minerals were already known, but the planet does not cease to present new wonderful discoveries. So, in 1974, in the Dominican Republic, a new semiprecious stone, called larimar, was discovered.
Description
Since the end of the 20th century, the Dominican Republic has been supplying the world market with products from a beautiful mineral of the color of water in a blue lagoon. This stone is called Larimar. In addition to the official name, the people also call this mineral Haitian turquoise, Atlantis (since, according to legend, it is associated with the disappeared Atlantis), a dolphin stone; pectolite jade. In the Dominican Republic itself, Larimar bears a poetic name - a stone of love.
Locals used this stone for a long time, but officially blue pectolite was recognized only at the end of the last century.
According to unconfirmed reports, the first discovery of a blue mineral was discovered by a Peace Corps volunteer named Norman Rilling, but this fact was not documented. Subsequently, the honor of discovering a new ornamental stone was recorded for the jeweler Miguel Mendos from Santo Domingo. Initially, the blue variety of the pectolite Mendes called Travelina, but then decided to change the name.
Larimar got its trade name in honor of the jeweler’s daughter, Larisa, and for its color, reminiscent of the water surface of the Caribbean Sea with reflection of clouds near the shores of the Dominican Republic.
Larimar is a semiprecious ornamental mineral of volcanic origin, which is one of the varieties of pectolite. Compared to other types of pectolite, Larimar has a higher rating on the Mohs hardness scale. Its indicators range from 5.5 to 7 units. The density of the mineral is 2.74 to 2.90 g / cm³. Larimar is not a stone uniform in structure, but the cleavage of the layers is perfect.
Due to volcanic origin, various metal impurities are found in it, which ensures the uniqueness of layers and color. There are various shades of blue, from almost white to bright, turquoise, as well as gray and variscite-like green. The color of the mineral is caused by an admixture of copper and vanadium.
The chemical formula of Larimar is NaCa2 Si3 O8 (OH). In addition to sodium hydroxide and calcium silicate, inclusions of magnesium, aluminum and potassium are found in the mineral. Recently, samples of blue color with red veins formed by the germination of iron inside the stone have been found.
Unlike pectolite, which has lower hardness and forms sharp needles on the scrap, which are easily injured, Larimar is easy to process and has smoother, albeit uneven, fracture edges. During processing, the muddy stone acquires some transparency and a silky surface structure with iridescent colors.
Where and how is it mined?
The very first Larimar deposit was found in the Dominican Republic, in a place located 10 km north of the main road leading from Barahona to Bakhoruko. Today, the Filipinas mine Larimar, Los Chechez, Sierra de Baoruko in the southwestern province of Barahona is the only active company in the world for the extraction of unique stone. Larimar was found in small amounts in the Bahamas, Haiti, and Alaska. A small volume of larimar is mined in Italy.
The Larimar deposit was formed due to volcanic activity in the Miocene era. Over millions of years, gas pockets filled with various minerals have formed in the influxes of lava and ash at the site of burnt trees.
Larimar is one of these excipients. Mineral extraction, even under modern technology, is conducted in the old manner, manually. Going down into the mines, miners with hammers split lava strata, extracting the mineral. Then the stone is sorted. The best pieces are cleaned, polished and made from them various crafts, from pendants to figurines.
The properties
Like all natural stones, Larimar has healing and magical properties. Lithotherapists advise wearing Haitian turquoise products in the following cases:
- with problems with the respiratory system;
- with nervous disorders;
- if worried about high blood pressure;
- to get rid of inflammatory processes.
It is useful to have a dolphin stone for those who are prone to colds and cardiovascular diseases, and also often experience stress. Larimar will protect pregnant women from uterine bleeding, and if a stone is applied to wounds and postoperative sutures, this will help reduce the risk of complications associated with inflammation.
The most effective way to get the most out of Atlantis is to wear beads, necklaces or pendants., that is, everything that is in the neck and chest area. Brooches worn on the chest from the side of the heart or near the neck will also be useful for medicinal purposes. A good result will give a massage performed using pebbles from larimar.
Important! But although Larimar has a lot of positive properties for influencing the human body, you can not rely only on stone. It can be used as a pleasant addition to the main treatment prescribed by a specialist doctor.
As a talisman or amulet, Atlantis will be useful only to people. with a good heart and an open soul. A light, clean pebble is never suitable for use in dark affairs.But it can help cleanse the aura of a person from the accumulated negativity by bringing to the life of the holder of the amulet from the Larimar bright feelings and the joy of being. A figurine made of Haitian turquoise will help families to maintain coziness and harmonious relations in the house, and a lonely decoration or amulet from Atlantis will tell you where his soulmate is.
Shy, insecure people should also have an amulet of larimar with them, as it helps to find peace of mind and gives the necessary courage to do things. Dolphin stone helps creative people find inspiration. It is especially useful to singers in the form of a pendant or pendant on the neck.
But it is important to remember that only natural stone has healing and magical properties.
How to distinguish natural stone from fake?
Thanks to the layered structure, natural stone gives a unique combination of various colors and color transitions. In nature, it is impossible to find two layers of stone with the same arrangement. Even products made from one piece will differ in color transition, pattern and transparency. Therefore, choosing jewelry from Larimar, it is worth paying special attention to the patterns on the stone.
The presence of very similar stones in one batch suggests their artificial origin. Due to volcanic origin and mining methods, natural stone products may have small natural defects.
Of course, to a greater extent this refers to relatively cheap crafts made of low-grade stone, which does not affect its naturalness.
Another distinguishing feature of natural stone is the blurring of borders and the depth of color transitions. If the proposed stone has clear boundaries of the picture, located at the same level, this is a complete fake. Due to the fact that the volume of mined stone is small and mining is done manually, the price of the finished product is quite high. Therefore, tempted at a low price, there is a very big risk of running into a fake made of ceramic, glass or plastic. Chinese craftsmen are especially distinguished by this.
Larimar, put up for sale, is supplied with a document confirming its origin. In order to choose the original, it is worth paying attention to how the name of the stone is written. If it is in quotation marks or the word “pressed” is present in the description, then a fake lies in front of you. Another of the signs confirming the naturalness of the stone is the country of origin.
If this is not the Dominican Republic or, in extreme cases, Italy, then it is highly likely to acquire a useless little thing.
Who is it for?
When choosing a pebble, you need to hold it in your hand. If the mineral is suitable, then a feeling of warmth will come from it. This means that the larimar will be of maximum benefit, and not just a beautiful decoration. Having picked up the jewelry, it must be washed in running water before use in order to wash away other people's energy from the stone.
According to the signs of the zodiac, Larimar is most suitable for Crayfish, Pisces, Gemini, Libra, Aquarius and Taurus. The presence of a blue pectolite in their life will protect from family problems, negativity and nervous disorders. For Scorpio and Aries, larimar as a magical support is useless, as for magicians and clairvoyants, while others can use pebbles as amulets, talismans and amulets.
Larimar does no harm to anyone, only supports everything good and bright that is in a person.
Care Rules
When purchasing products from expensive beautiful stone, I want to preserve its useful properties and unique color. Since the larimar is quite hard, it should be protected from shock, because it will be impossible to restore the damaged place. Stone is very negative about the effects of chemical and abrasive substances. With the former, he can react, and the latter damage the polished surface of the stone, violating the beauty of the picture.
It is best to store products from larimar separately from other stones, so that the strong positive energy of the love stone does not mix and dissipate, while wrapping them in a soft cloth.
Although Atlantis is a light stone, but under the influence of direct sunlight, it burns out, losing the depth and beauty of the color. Therefore, products from blue pectolite are best placed where direct sunlight does not fall. From time to time, Larimaru is wet-cleaned using a warm aqueous solution based on baby soap, in which the product is washed. After that, you need to rinse it under running cold or melt water and pat it dry with a soft dry cloth.
Treat Larimar carefully, then he will repay you with many years of service.
About the properties of the stone, see the next video.
