larimar business

dddavid

Member
Aug 3, 2011
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Hi
I'm thinking about start selling larimar jewelry on line. Anyone here have experiences in this kind of business?
Especially about laws, shipping costs and possibility of profits and want to share thoughts?
Also i'm looking for some people that lives in the barahona/bahoruco that can help me with suppliers.
I'm a web designer and have a friend that worked in the states with jewelry for many years and have contacts of stores to begin.
Also any opinion is really appreciated...
 
May 29, 2006
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I did larimar for a while and I don't think there is any money in the low-end jewelry. There was a run on larimar about 10 years ago which flooded the US and European markets, but it didn't catch on as much as was expected. At the same time the costs for getting larimar out of the ground went up in the DR. There have been times when it's been cheaper to buy larimar in Europe than in the DR. The tourist market has dramatically lowered the standards for larimar in the DR and the workmanship is often very poor.

Larimar is a difficult stone to work with since the quality varies so much. If you do an Ebay search for AAA larimar, you will get tourist grade stones in your search. It also doesn't photograph well for the bettter stones since the chatoyancy is lost.

Where I did do well with larimar was selling finished high grade cabs. But you have to normally look at 100 stones to find one that is worth more than $5/gram and you'll be lucky to get something over 10 grams. Someone who will want to pay $5/gram will want to actually see the stone and not just an online photo.

I also tried slabs to be cut into stones. But it's a crap shoot for someone cutting because larimar is prone to breaking and you can find flaws that are not apparent in the slabs.

Amber is much easier to buy and sell since there is an existing market, it's readily available in the DR, and it's uniform enough that grading isn't a problem. The hippy market also attributes mystical properties to it which makes it a quick sell. Just learn how to spot counterfeits and stay clear of anything with bugs in it.

Bottom line: try selling ambar cabs and jewelry instead.
 

dddavid

Member
Aug 3, 2011
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thank you very much for the advice.
I really believed there were more profit opportunities with larimar, as i always saw it sold pricely in stores respect the prices i was told i could get from suppliers. Probably there's difference in the quality.
For some reason i believed that the amber market was already saturated but I'm close to Puerto Plata where are located many mines and stores and will take a tour soon.
 
May 29, 2006
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The main problem with amber is that it is so easily counterfeited and my guess is about half of what I've seen is fake. I've been quite surprised to find out how much fake stones are out there. I'm more surprised now when I see real turquoise than the fake stuff, which is made from dyed Howlite and is always the same TidyBowl Blue.

Dominican amber also has the advantage in that the color spectrum ranges more, from light honey to molasses. I had thought that the lighter colors would sell better than the darker ones, but the darker cabs sold just as well.

The other tip I can say is that pendants are easier than ear rings and ear ring as much easier than rings, which have to be the right size. Amber "marbles" set in silver pendants are the quickest sellers.

Dominican amber also comes in "Blue" which has some interesting properties in the right light. It doesn't look blue in daylight, but flouresces blue under certain conditions.

Blue Amber - Ambarazul.com - Dominican Blue Amber
 

Jenny429

New member
Oct 10, 2005
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I am in the Barahona area, and was searching for information for a friend in Germany who wants to also start a Larimar business. The cheapest I got for the best quality stonees is .85 pesos a gram and that included the silver for the jewelery. For JUST the stones it?s like .30 I believe..

Jen
 

expatsooner

Bronze
Aug 7, 2004
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The main problem with amber is that it is so easily counterfeited and my guess is about half of what I've seen is fake. I've been quite surprised to find out how much fake stones are out there. I'm more surprised now when I see real turquoise than the fake stuff, which is made from dyed Howlite and is always the same TidyBowl Blue.

Dominican amber also has the advantage in that the color spectrum ranges more, from light honey to molasses. I had thought that the lighter colors would sell better than the darker ones, but the darker cabs sold just as well.

The other tip I can say is that pendants are easier than ear rings and ear ring as much easier than rings, which have to be the right size. Amber "marbles" set in silver pendants are the quickest sellers.

Dominican amber also comes in "Blue" which has some interesting properties in the right light. It doesn't look blue in daylight, but flouresces blue under certain conditions.

Blue Amber - Ambarazul.com - Dominican Blue Amber

Amber is a very soft gemstone so it is not good for rings. When I was in Poland last summer I thought that they had a greater range of colors than what I found in the DR. Of course fakes and also copal are often advertised as amber so it really is an educated consumer that has the edge.