A blue stone found almost nowhere else on Earth just got a new champion. Santo Domingo's mayor, Carolina Mejía, has been named honorary ambassador of Dominican larimar by the Association of Handicraft Producers of Santo Domingo, and crowned Queen of Larimar 2026-2027, during National Artisan Day celebrations at the city's town hall.
The appointment matters beyond the ceremony itself, because larimar is one of the country's most distinctive souvenirs and a genuine point of national pride. The pectolite gemstone, with its swirls of sea-blue and pale turquoise, is mined in only one place in the world: the Bahoruco region in the country's southwest. Artisans cut and polish it into rings, pendants and earrings that fill workshops and stalls across Santo Domingo and tourist hubs like Puerto Plata.
Mejía accepted the title as both honour and obligation, promising to keep promoting what she called a national treasure — "this blue that identifies us as a Caribbean people" — and to strengthen larimar's role in the Dominican Republic's international image. Association president Pedro Francisco Morrobel said the recognition reflects her work in promoting and raising the visibility of the stone and the artisans who work with it.
For travellers, the news is a nudge to look beyond the beach resale stalls and take larimar seriously. Buying from established artisan workshops or licensed jewellery stores in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone means better quality stones and money that actually reaches local craftspeople, an issue the artisan association has long championed. Prices vary widely depending on the depth of the blue — the most saturated stones command the highest prices — so it pays to compare a few shops before buying. Getting a certificate of authenticity is standard practice at reputable dealers and worth insisting on for anything beyond a small trinket.
The timing also fits a broader push by the Dominican Republic to showcase crafts alongside its resorts and golf courses. With the capital's mayor now fronting the gemstone internationally until 2027, expect larimar to feature more prominently in official tourism promotion — and possibly in more museum-quality artisan displays in Santo Domingo itself.
If a shopping trip is on your itinerary, pair it with the Colonial Zone's historic streets and the Museo de las Casas Reales nearby, then consider the day trip west to see where the stone comes from. Either way, you'll leave with a souvenir that genuinely couldn't have come from anywhere else.
Reported by Dominican Today.
