Quick Specs
- Material: Larimar (blue pectolite)
- Quantity: 1 lb lot of tumbled chips
- Chip Size: 5-14mm (about 0.2 to 0.55 inches)
- Finish: Tumbled
- Color: Sky blue and aqua with white, grey-green and red-brown markings
- Mohs Hardness: 4.5 to 5
Larimar: Caribbean-Blue Pectolite in Small Chips
Larimar is a blue form of the mineral pectolite, a hydrous sodium calcium silicate, and copper replacing part of the calcium in its structure produces the color. Shades run from bluish white and pale sky blue to turquoise, deep blue and even purple or indigo, and white veining and swirls are common, so the blue is usually mottled with white. Some pieces turn green, and red spots or brown streaks from other minerals or from oxidation appear in many. On the Mohs scale larimar reaches only 4.5 to 5, which makes it a soft stone. Norman Rilling, a Peace Corps volunteer, and Miguel Méndez named it in 1974 by joining the name of Méndez’s daughter Larissa to mar, the Spanish word for sea. The name was meant to evoke the colors of Caribbean water, and a gem guide likens larimar’s swirling white bands to wave crests on those waters. Jewelers favor larimar for necklaces and earrings, where it is shielded from impact. Pieces range from partly see-through to fully opaque.
The chips in this lot run from 5 to 14mm, about 0.2 to 0.55 inches, so the pound mixes tiny grains with larger pieces about half an inch across. Their colors cover much of the larimar range: sky blue and aqua in the clearest pieces, milky white and pale blue-grey in others, and a muted grey-green in a few. Many chips carry red-brown spots or dark brown streaks that cut across the blue, and those markings are part of the stone. Surfaces are smooth and satiny, and the shapes are irregular, with rounded corners where tumbling wore the edges down. Several chips are almost solid sky blue, and others are mostly white with a single blue edge. Because larimar often shows white swirls through the blue, even a small chip can carry a miniature wave pattern if you hold it up to a window. Poured into a clear dish, the chips look like sea glass on a beach, in blues and whites with a scattering of rust-colored flecks that keep the pile from looking uniform.
Practical Ritual Applications
Crystal guides link larimar with the throat chakra and the heart chakra, and with calm and communication. Chips suit gentle, flexible work. Pour a small dish of them beside your journal and run your fingers through the chips as you draft a letter you keep postponing. Ring the base of a blue candle in its holder with a thin circle of chips, or add a few to a bowl of shells or sea glass on a water-themed altar. A pinch in a small pouch travels easily with your deck, and a jar holding a few chips and a note about a conversation you want to have makes a quiet reminder on a desk. Small stones in quantity have their own shelf in my stone and crystal chips collection.
How to Work With Larimar Tumbled Chips
Pour a dish, fill a jar, then keep the soft stone shaded and cushioned.
- Pour a Small Dish
Scoop a few spoonfuls onto a white plate and look at them under daylight before you decide what to make. Larimar chips mix pale sky blue, deeper aqua, milky white and red-brown marked pieces, and the plate shows how the mix falls. Move a handful into a small dish for display and keep the rest in a jar, so the pound stays together and the dish stays tidy.
- Fill a Jar in Layers
Choose a clear, lidded jar and add the chips in layers, with the paler white and grey-green pieces at the bottom and the bluest on top, so the color shows first. Set the jar on a shelf or altar that gets gentle light, and open it to run the chips through your fingers when you want a moment of calm before you speak or write. Scoop with a spoon when you need a pinch for a pouch or a grid.
- Keep Them Soft and Shaded
Larimar scratches easily. Store the chips in a cloth pouch or a lidded jar away from harder stones, and keep them off sunny windowsills. For a rinse, use warm soapy water and dry the chips thoroughly. Skip steamers and ultrasonic cleaners, and set the chips on a cloth to dry.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I carry these chips for people who love larimar’s Caribbean blue and want it in a form they can scoop, scatter and share. Chips make the stone easy to use in a dish, a jar or a pouch, and the red-brown markings mean no two scoops look the same. Throat chakra, heart chakra and calm are crystal-lore themes, offered as prompts for your own reflection. A pound of larimar chips is a generous supply, and a handful makes a gift tucked into a small bag. Other stones sold by weight are collected in my bulk tumbled stones collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it can. Larimar's blue is photosensitive and fades with time when the stone is exposed to too much light and heat, and prolonged strong sunlight is a specific warning. A shaded shelf is a better long-term home than a sunny windowsill, and keeping the chips in a lidded jar or a cloth pouch between uses helps the color last.
The only known major source of larimar is the Bahoruco mountain region of Barahona province in the Dominican Republic, where the blue variety of pectolite formed with copper in its structure. Pectolite itself occurs elsewhere, including in the United States and Canada, and the blue variety that carries the name larimar has one main source.
Crystal encyclopedias list larimar with the throat and heart chakras, and a gem guide adds the third eye and the crown. In the modern seven-chakra scheme the throat chakra, Vishuddhi in Sanskrit, is drawn in blue, which suits larimar's color, and calm and communication are the usual themes. The pairing with a stone is crystal lore, best taken as a prompt for reflection.
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