Pectolite

Pectolite is quite a popular semi-precious stone. It occurs in white or colorless, gray, light yellow, light brown, light blue and light pink. Pectolite was first discovered in 1828 in Mont Baldo and Mont Monzoni, Italy. The name comes from the Greek ‘Pectos’ meaning “well put together”, in allusion to the groupings usually formed by its crystals. However Pectolite was not all that well-regarded until the last few decades when an ocean blue variety was discovered in the Dominican Republic. It has been given the trade name Larimar and has enjoyed success in the semi-precious stone market.

Larimar is mined on one unique Caribbean mountain and found nowhere else in the world. High on the isolated mountaintop, miners use only picks and shovels to work the deposits. Discovered in the 1970's Larimar has an extraordinary blue appearance similar to the color of the ocean in tropical areas. The name "Larimar" was given by the Dominican who discovered the stone. It is a combination of Larissa (his daughter’s name) and Mar, the Spanish word for sea.

Pectolite is composed of NaCa2Si3O8(OH), Sodium Calcium Silicate Hydroxide, sometimes with some manganese. Pectolite ranks 4.5 - 5 on the Moh’s Scale of Hardness with a Specific Gravity of 2.7 - 2.9. Its crystals are vitreous, transparent to translucent and occur in fibrous tufts, globular masses and in radiating veins. Pectolite occurrence has been reported in Lake Country, California and Paterson and Franklin, New Jersey, USA; The Bahamas; Dominican Republic; Italy and England.

Pectolite can be confused with several other similar appearing minerals. These include Okenite, Wollastonite, Artinite and a few others. However, Pectolite can be distinguished by the way it occurs in cavities of basalt in igneous environments and is almost always associated with Zeolites. Most of the minerals similar in appearance to Pectolite do not form with Zeolites.

Larimar, the famous pale blue to sky blue variety of Pectrolite is only found in the Bahamas and Dominican Republic. Its translucent, sky blue color is attractive and is quite popular among those who like polished stone jewelry. Larimar is similar to Turquoise in appearance, although its color is distinctly bluer. Larimar has been used in the same manner as Turquoise and is even seen in contemporary Native American jewelry.