Larimar , also called "Stefilia's Stone", is a rare blue variety of silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. The colors vary from white, light blue, green-blue to dark blue.
Video Larimar
Histori
The records of the Dominican Republic Mining Department indicate that Father Miguel Domingo Fuertes Loren of Barahona parish asked permission on November 23, 1916 to explore and exploit a certain blue rock mine he found. Pectolite is unknown in the Dominican Republic, and the request was rejected.
Miguel MÃÆ'Â © ndez and Peace Corps volunteers Norman Rilling rediscovered Larimar in 1974 on a beach at the foot of the Bahoruco Mountains, the coastal province of Barahona. The indigenous people believed that the stone came from the sea, and they called the gem the Blue Stone . Miguel carries the name of his daughter, Larissa, and the Spanish word for sea ( mar ) and forms Larimar , to show the color of the Caribbean Sea where it was found. Some of the stones they found were alluvial deposits, washed into the sea by the Bahoruco River. The upstream search reveals an in situ outcrop within the range and soon the Los Chupaderos mine is formed.
Maps Larimar
Geology
Larimar is a pectolite or rock type consisting mostly of pectolites, calcium and sodium silicate acids. Pectolites are found in many locations, but Larimar has a unique color of blue volcanic, which is the result of copper substitution for calcium.
Miocene, andesite and basal volcanic rocks, erupted inside the limestone from the south coast of the island. These rocks contain cavities or holes that are then filled with various minerals, including the blue pektolit. These pectolitic cavity patches are secondary events in volcanic flows, embankments, and plugs. When these stones erode, the pectolite patch is brought down the slope to end up at alluvium and beach gravel. The Bahoruco River carries pectolite sediments to the sea. The tumbling action along the streambed provides a natural polishing to the blue larimar, which makes them stand out in contrast to the dark pebbles of the streambed.
Los Chupaderos
The most important outcrop of the blue pectolite is located at Los Chupaderos in the Los Checheses section, about 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of the town of Barahona in the southwest of the Dominican Republic. It is a single mountain now hollowed with about 2,000 vertical tunnels, surrounded by rainforest vegetation and blue mine tailings deposits.
Jewelry
Larimar jewelry is offered to the public in the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere in the Caribbean as a local specialty. Most of the jewelry produced is arranged in silver, but sometimes high-grade larimar is also arranged in gold.
Grading quality in accordance with the staining and configuration of typical mineral crystals in stone. Larimar also comes in green and even with red spots, brown strikes, etc., due to the presence of minerals and/or other oxidation. But the stronger the blue and the contrast on the stone, the higher and the rarer is the quality. The blue color is photosensitive and fades over time if exposed to too much light and heat.
See also
- Mineral list
- List of minerals named after people
References
External links
- Larimar/Lorimar Gallery mineral data
- Mineral Pectolit Gallery data
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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