Amber & Larimar—The D.R.'s Indigenous Gems

Amber & Larimar—The D.R.'s Indigenous Gems

As attractive as precious gems—and increasingly popular for jewelry—both here and even in France, larimar is actually a mineral and looks particularly attractive when paired with silver.This semiprecious stone is mined in the mountains of the southwest, in Bahoruco. It's the only place that this Caribbean blue pectolite has been found.

The national gem, amber, on the other hand, is actually a fossil—petrified tree resin that has been fossilized over a million or so years. Most amber is a golden color with brown tones, but it can be yellow and even black. It may have oddities like spiders and flies trapped inside.

Fakes are everywhere, plastic being pawned off as amber (it will float in water), blue beads as Larimar. Stick to the better jewelry shops, especially the Euro-owned ones, which have classy pieces with artistic design. So much of what is sold in the local shops has cheapie settings, which ruin the beauty of it.