Treasure Chests of the Caribbean
By Paris Permenter & John Bigley

Spanish doubloons, pieces of eight, and jewels from many distant lands—a true Caribbean treasure chest overflows with such bounty. Like their historic counterparts, today’s tropical treasure troves are also the stuff of legend and found in the form of sparkly jewelry stores that tempt travelers in the region’s ports of call. They leave vacationers eager to walk the plank—the gangplank, that is—for a chance to shop for beautiful bling from around the world as well as unique Caribbean gemstones fashioned into stunning jewelry that captures a vacation memory.

Amber

One way to preserve that memory—and a moment in time as distant as 90 million years—is with amber jewelry. One of the most unique gems in the region, Caribbean amber is prehistoric resin mined from the hills of the Dominican Republic. When removed from the geologic layers on the mountainsides, amber looks like an unspectacular stone ranging in color from pale yellow to dark brown, depending on the properties of the surrounding minerals and soil. A rare blue-tinted amber is colored by volcanic gas.

Cutting and polishing, however, reveals its true nature—not a stone at all but translucent fossilized plant sap. Occasionally, amber will contain an inclusion, a leaf or even an insect that became trapped and preserved in the sap (remember the mosquito in  Jurassic Park?) Inclusions mean higher prices; the color of the amber affects the price as well.  Generally pale blonde amber is the least expensive.           

When shopping for amber, you’ll find many stores with ultraviolet lights for testing because amber, unlike man-made resins, glows under the light. That’s not its only unique quality; amber, when rubbed on a piece of cloth, attracts particles by static electricity. (Early Greeks, recognizing its electromagnetic properties, called amber elektron.) For many shoppers, though, amber’s attraction is its eye appeal, complementing both dressy and casual attire. Mounts range from gold to silver and styles vary from delicate bracelets to chunky necklaces.

Larimar

The Dominican Republic is also the origin of larimar, a stone the color of the Caribbean Sea  found only near the southwestern town of Barahona. While the stone is ancient, its modern day discovery dates to 1974 when a US Peace Corps member and a local resident,Miguel Méndez, discovered one of the colorful rocks on the beach. Méndez named the stone for his daughter, Larissa, and the Spanish word for the sea, mar.

First thought to come from the sea, the stones were traced back to the mountains and an ancient volcano. Today the Los Chupaderos mine, made up of over 2000 shafts into the mountainside, is the world’s only known source for the rare gem. For all its rarity, though, larimar is a favorite (and economical) purchase throughout the islands, often mounted in silver to complement its sea tones that can range in shade from the least expensive light blue to a darker blue reminiscent of deep Caribbean waters.

Both larimar and amber are sold in ports of call all around the Caribbean but one local stone—Caymanite—is difficult for travelers to find unless making a port call in the Cayman Islands. Mined only on the eastern end of Grand Cayman and the bluff on Cayman Brac, Caymanite is a semi-precious form of dolomite. The color ranges from light beige (the least expensive tint) to a beautiful caramel and is often mounted in a gold setting to showcase its earth tones.

Gemstones from Around the World

Of course the treasure chests of the Caribbean are filled not only with the local lovelies but also with gems from around the world. Portside shops await plundering by shoppers seeking everything from diamonds to emeralds, sapphires to rubies, all mounted in fashionable settings including the latest trendsetters. Many destinations are able to sell at duty free prices, offering travelers substantial savings over US retail prices.

Along with traditional gemstones, Caribbean jewelers feature rarities as well. Alexandrite, discovered in Russia in the 1800s and named for Alexander II, is one of the world’s rarest gems and is known for its unique color changing properties. This form of the mineral chrysoberyl reacts differently to various types of light, causing a color change. Wear it in the daytime and the stone is green or blue-green. Under night’s incandescent lights, alexandrite changes to raspberry tones.

One of the rarest gemstones sold in the Caribbean comes from only one location in Africa: the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanzanite, named by Tiffany & Co. for the stone’s native land, is a form of a mineral zoisite and ranges in color from a deep purple to a deep blue, the rarest and most expensive shade.

An uncommon gemstone sold throughout the Caribbean is ammolite, a multi-colored iridescent gem from Canada. Some of the most valuable pieces contain three or more colors, a brilliant display that once inspired a Blackfoot tribal legend that the stone was a gift from the gods.

Another legendary gift of the gods—this time in Mexico—was the fire opal. Called “stone of the bird of paradise” by the ancient Aztecs and used in their sacred rituals, the fire opal is now a fine jewelry favorite in Mexico’s ports of calls. Its fiery tones, ranging from orange to red, are usually accented with a gold setting, the perfect reminder of the smoldering tropical days and nights you enjoyed on vacation.

Whatever you’re seeking as a souvenir of your Caribbean getaway—a local gemstone or exotic bauble—you’ll find it in the treasure chests located in every port of call. The perfect piece of gemstone jewelry awaits, waiting to create a shiver me timbers sensation in lucky shoppers.