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Amazonite vs Larimar: Telling Two Blue-Green Stones Apart

By Digital Towns Crystals · Last reviewed October 8, 2026

Short answer: look at the pattern first. Amazonite, a potassium feldspar, is usually green to blue-green with straight white streaks and a woven, grid-like look, and its flat cleavage faces flash in the light. Larimar, a blue pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic, is sky blue to sea blue with white swirls and fibers that radiate from centers, and it has a silky sheen. Larimar is also softer (Mohs 4.5 to 5 against 6 to 6.5) and noticeably heavier for its size.

Why are amazonite and larimar confused at all?

Both sit in the same narrow color band between green and blue, both are opaque to translucent, and both are mostly sold as cabochons, tumbled stones and polished freeforms with white markings running through the color. In a bead bin or an unlabeled tray, a pale blue amazonite and a pale larimar can look like cousins.

They are not related. Amazonite is the blue-green variety of microcline, one of the feldspars that make up much of the Earth's crust. Larimar is a variety of pectolite, a sodium calcium silicate in the wollastonite group. The structures, hardness, density, formation and price are all different, which is why the tests below work well.

The price gap is what makes the question matter. Amazonite is a common, inexpensive stone. Larimar comes from a single country and costs more for comparable size, so it is the one that gets imitated and occasionally substituted.

How do you tell amazonite from larimar?

Six checks, from the quickest to the most decisive. None of them damages the stone.

1. Read the white pattern

This is the best single test. Geology.com's amazonite article notes that its color is often interrupted by streaks and inclusions of white quartz or feldspar, and its cabochons can show a cross-hatched pattern. Those white streaks tend to run in roughly parallel sets, sometimes crossing, so the stone looks combed or woven.

Larimar's white areas behave differently. Minerals.net describes its color as rarely solid, almost always blue with interconnecting white lines and rough circles, and says a radiating pattern of crystal needles can often be seen. Look for fans and starbursts of fibers and rounded, cell-like outlines rather than parallel bars.

2. Tilt it for cleavage flashes

Turn a polished amazonite under one light. Small flat areas often flash brightly and then go dark, because feldspar breaks along smooth cleavage planes. Geology.com notes two perfect cleavages meeting at or close to 90 degrees, and a pearly luster on some cleavage faces. Larimar, built of packed fibers, shows a soft chatoyant or silky sheen that moves with the fiber direction, not discrete mirror flashes.

3. Judge the color family

Amazonite runs from green through bluish green, rarely to greenish blue. Larimar runs from very light blue through greenish blue to deep sky blue, and its most valued pieces are the deepest blue with the least white. A stone that is clearly grass green or yellowish green is almost certainly not larimar. A strong, clear sky blue points toward larimar, though dyed and manufactured imitations copy that color (see below).

4. Weigh it in water

Larimar is heavier. Minerals.net gives amazonite a specific gravity of 2.56 to 2.58, while GIA's note on imitation larimar gives pectolite 2.81. That gap of about 9 percent is big enough to detect on a kitchen scale reading to 0.1 gram if the piece weighs 20 grams or more: weigh it dry, weigh it hanging in water, and divide the dry weight by the loss. Readings near 2.6 suggest amazonite, near 2.8 suggest larimar. A reading near 1.9 suggests the ceramic imitation described below.

5. Watch for scratches and wear

Larimar is the softer stone. Minerals.net lists larimar at 4.5 to 5 on the Mohs scale and amazonite at 6 to 6.5, and notes that larimar is easily scratched. Do not scratch a stone to test it; instead, look at the polish under a loupe. Older larimar often shows fine surface scratches and slightly rounded facet edges, while amazonite of the same age keeps a sharper polish but may show small chips along cleavage directions.

6. Use a UV lamp if you have one

Webmineral's pectolite data lists pectolite as fluorescent and triboluminescent, pink under shortwave UV and orange-pink under longwave. Webmineral's microcline data lists microcline as fluorescent cherry red under shortwave. Response varies from piece to piece, so treat UV as supporting evidence, not proof.

The two minerals in one table

Property Amazonite Larimar
Mineral Microcline (potassium feldspar) Pectolite (wollastonite group)
Formula KAlSi3O8 NaCa2Si3O8(OH)
Crystal system Triclinic Triclinic
Mohs hardness 6 to 6.5 4.5 to 5
Specific gravity 2.56 to 2.58 2.7 to 2.9 (about 2.81 typical)
Refractive index 1.52 to 1.53 1.599 to 1.628, spot reading about 1.60
Luster Vitreous; pearly on cleavage Silky
Color cause Trace lead Small amounts of copper (Cu2+)
Typical pattern Parallel or cross-hatched white streaks White swirls, rounded cells, radiating fibers
Sources Pegmatites worldwide; Colorado, Russia, Brazil, Madagascar and others Dominican Republic only

Data from Minerals.net's amazonite and larimar pages, Geology.com, and GIA. Note that both minerals happen to be triclinic, so the crystal system is no help in a polished piece.

How did each one form?

Amazonite in granite pegmatites

Amazonite grows from the last, water-rich stage of granite magma. Geology.com notes that well-formed crystals are usually found in pegmatites, veins and other cavities where crystals can grow without obstruction, often with albite, cleavelandite, quartz and black schorl tourmaline. The classic specimens come from Teller County, Colorado, where blue-green microcline crystals sit beside large prismatic crystals of smoky quartz. Minerals.net adds large deposits in Russia, Myanmar, India, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Brazil and Virginia. Our pegmatite guide explains why these bodies grow such large crystals.

The color is chemistry plus radiation. Geology.com and Minerals.net both describe amazonite's color as linked to trace lead; the full mechanism is covered on the amazonite page.

Larimar in altered basalt

Larimar forms in a completely different setting: at low temperature in volcanic rock. GIA's 1989 study, Blue Pectolite from the Dominican Republic, reports that large quantities were found in cavities and veins of altered basalt, and attributes the blue to small amounts of Cu2+. Pectolite in general is a secondary mineral of basaltic rocks; Minerals.net's pectolite page points to fine white to pink specimens from the traprock quarries of northeastern New Jersey. Only the Dominican material is blue. Minerals.net names the source as the Filipinas Mine in Los Checheses, and records that Norman Rilling, a Peace Corps volunteer, located the deposit in 1974 with Miguel Méndez, a Dominican native. The two coined the name from Méndez's daughter's name and "mar," the Spanish word for sea.

Which imitations and treatments should you know about?

Amazonite has few. Minerals.net lists it as untreated, and its main nuisance is a name: Geology.com flags "Amazon jade" as a misnomer that implies a more valuable identity.

Larimar draws more imitation because of its price and single source. Minerals.net warns that inexpensive white stones are sometimes dyed blue to look like larimar; dye collects in cracks and pores, so look for color concentrated along fractures. GIA documented a ceramic imitation bought in India that showed white gas bubbles and dark blue color concentrations under magnification, with a spot refractive index of 1.53 and a specific gravity of 1.87, both well below real larimar. The same note says microscopy, refractive index and specific gravity should be enough to separate it.

A pale, streaky amazonite sold as "larimar" is a possible substitution in mixed lots. The pattern and density tests above catch it.

Does larimar fade in sunlight?

The sources do not fully agree, so it is worth stating both. Minerals.net says larimar's color may fade on prolonged exposure to strong sunlight. GIA's 1989 study reported that the color appeared stable to light but reacted to irradiation and to the heat of a jeweler's torch. The cautious course is to store larimar out of direct sun and keep it away from heat during jewelry repair. For amazonite, the bigger handling risk is mechanical: like all feldspar, it can split along cleavage if knocked.

Which one should you buy for what?

For everyday wear, amazonite is the tougher choice by hardness, but its perfect cleavage means a ring stone can split on impact; a bezel setting or a pendant is safer. Larimar is best in pendants and earrings, where it avoids abrasion. For a display piece, amazonite towers and freeforms give size for little money, while larimar's value lies in color depth and pattern, so a small piece with saturated blue beats a large pale one.

In crystal traditions, amazonite is associated with communication and larimar with the sea and calm water, an association the name itself suggests. These are customs, not mineral properties.

Choosing amazonite or larimar from our stock

Price per gram tells you a lot here. If a "larimar" is priced like amazonite, test it. If an "amazonite" shows radiating fibers and feels heavy, it deserves a second look too. For larimar, favor deep, even blue with crisp white patterning; for amazonite, favor saturated color and white streaks that add pattern without dominating the face.

  • Larimar: in stock as a medium polished piece, tumbles, and spheres of 27 mm and 49 mm. The 49 mm sphere is the best of the set for reading larimar's radiating fiber pattern in the round.
  • Bulk Rough Larimar Slabs: 100 gram and 250 gram lots of unpolished slabs, ideal for running the specific gravity test and seeing natural color zoning before polish.
  • Amazonite palm stones and tumbles: a 2.25 to 2.5 inch palm stone and inexpensive tumbles, good for spotting cleavage flashes on curved polished faces.
  • Amazonite freeforms and towers: freeforms around 2.5 to 2.75 inches and towers up to 6 inches, large enough to show the parallel white streaking of microcline clearly.

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Amazonite and larimar in stock

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Frequently asked questions

Is larimar a type of amazonite?

No. Larimar is a blue variety of pectolite, a sodium calcium silicate, while amazonite is the blue-green variety of microcline, a potassium feldspar. They share a color range but have different structures, hardness and density. Larimar is about 4.5 to 5 on the Mohs scale; amazonite is about 6 to 6.5.

Which is rarer, amazonite or larimar?

Larimar. Blue pectolite of gem quality is known only from the Dominican Republic, where Minerals.net places the source at the Filipinas Mine in Los Checheses. Amazonite occurs in pegmatites on several continents, including Colorado, Russia, Brazil, Madagascar and Ethiopia, and is an inexpensive stone in most qualities.

How can I check whether my larimar is real?

Look for radiating needle patterns and rounded white cells under a loupe, then check specific gravity: natural larimar reads around 2.7 to 2.9. A ceramic imitation documented by GIA read 1.87 and showed gas bubbles under magnification. Dyed white stones show color concentrated in cracks. A refractometer reading near 1.60 supports pectolite.

Why does my amazonite flash when I turn it?

Amazonite is a feldspar with two perfect cleavages at close to right angles. Tiny cleavage surfaces inside and on the stone reflect light like small mirrors as you rotate it, and some show a pearly luster. Larimar, made of packed fibers, gives a silky sheen instead of separate flashes.

Can amazonite and larimar go in water?

Brief contact with plain water is fine for both. Avoid acids: Minerals.net notes pectolite is soluble in hydrochloric acid, so household cleaners with acid can etch larimar. Avoid soaking either stone for long periods, and dry them right away, since cracks and cleavage planes can hold water.

Sources