5 Pieces Natural Larimar 9.01ct 7mm Round Cabochon

Five 7mm round cabochons showing how differently larimar can present within a single set. One is a teal-blue with a grey-white zone along its edge and fine dark specks through the body; beside it, the most even stone of the five holds a steady medium sky-blue almost free of patterning. A third is pale aqua with a broad white swirl and a few small black inclusions towards the lower left, and the fourth is a creamy blue-white with the faintest mint cast. The last is the most graphic, a white body broken up by patches of clear blue that sit like islands across the dome. Each is cut as a smooth, well-rounded cabochon.

All larimar comes from a single deposit, worked at Los Chupaderos in the mountains behind Barahona in the Dominican Republic. Copper in the pectolite is what turns the normally white mineral blue, and the depth of that blue varies from pocket to pocket, which is why a set like this covers several tones. Nothing here has been treated or dyed. Larimar's hardness of 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale places it among the softer jewelry stones, best in earrings, pendants and bezel settings. Five rounds at 7mm are useful for anyone building a matched piece or wanting spares for a repeat design.

Natural larimar, blue pectolite, set of 5 round cabochons, sold together.