Opalite Sterling Silver Ring

Inspired by the eternal beauty of the sea and sky, Gem Inspirations offers you elegant jewellery designs in sterling silver and featuring the wonderful colours and shimmer of blue gemstones, including larimar, druzy, blue topaz, aquamarine, pearls and lapis.

First discovered in 1916 by a priest, but ignored out of disbelief, gorgeous Larimar was rediscovered in 1974 when Miguel Mendez stopped to investigate a flash of blue he found on the beach sand in the Dominican Republic, the only place in the world this rare gem is to be found. Simply called "blue stone" by indigenous peoples, Mendez renamed the stone "Larimar", fromhis daughter's name Larissa, and the Spanish word "mar", or sea. As it turned out, the stones they found had been washed into the sea by the Bahoruco River, and the Los Chupaderos mine was founded upstream, tapping the only known larimar outcrop in the world. This marvelous gemstone is a variety of the mineral "pectolite" with unique volcanic blue coloration. Jewellery quality gemstones are generally in the sky blue to volcanic blue range. Please note that larimar is photosensitive, meaning it can lose its blue colouring with exposure to light over the years.