larimar at Dreams?

[xrayvin]

Hello everyone!

 

We will be going to La Romana in a few weeks. I have heard that there is a semi precious stone called Larimar. I was told I needed to look for it. We have a Dreams day pass. Does anyone know if they sell Larimar at the resort? Or maybe somewhere close that I might be able to walk to prior to getting back to the ship or around the resort?

 

Thank you!

[JUST TRIPPIN']

Hi, I am Bob and my wife and I are sailing with you on the Miracle and in fact, going to Dreams Resort too. Our good friend Patricia better known as Kaki, is the destination expert for La Romana. We will actually be meeting her there and if you like, we could introduce you to her.

 

This is what she had to say about larimar:

 

. Re: Larimar jewelry questions (for Kaki or anyone!!)

05 May 2005, 1:30

Destination Expert

for La Romana, Bayahibe

Hey bd'!

 

I love jewellery! Expensive is better, but cheap is what I can afford so then I want the nice cheap stuff.

 

As long as you feel you get a good price for whatever you buy that you like, don't worry if it's real or if you were taken. In some cases we may not be able to tell a real from a fake, and it's harder when you are buying from a table on the beach. I am still trying to ascertain if the amber necklace I bought is real. They say that the fakes are very good. I heard that a test of true amber is that it will be phosphorescent under a black light. This, with it not being the 70s, has been hard for me to prove. But I like to pretend right now that it's real, it's otherwise a lovely necklace and if I paid the price I allocated for it, it would be a good price for a special piece of costume jewellery here in Canada.

 

The real vs. fake larimar test is that a lighter held up to it will not mar it any way (no melting). When holding the lighter up to the piece, watch that you don't end up torching the string it is strung on. Unless they are telling you it is something else, that may well be a regular cotton-type string or a plastic fishing line type thing. Most necklaces either use a pendant in a sterling casing, or with 3 or 5 pieces of larimar set into the bottom portion of a chain. The colour should be a pale blue (like the box to the right of this box I am typing in!), with lots of white marbling. You can see a light through it, but it isn't all that common that it is set in such a way that you can hold a light up behind it, so that test is of limited use. Flaws in the stone are relatively common and shouldn't signify it's a problem unless you see an apparent crack or if it mars the overall appearance of the piece. Larimar is never a deep rich turquoise colour (from what I have seen in real life and on the internet), nor does polishing give it a cat's eye appearance which I have seen sold. The brilliant hued love bead necklaces that the vendors will use to lure you in are NOT larimar. They may or may not tell you that.

 

Very few pieces have the required "SS" or "925" markings that we are familiar with. That is a requirement of the country that items are sold in. It would appear that the DR doesn't have that requirement or it is not enforced. That was my Mom's job with the Canadian government for 15 years. She taught me how to best discern if something is or isn't with or without the mark. I have said before on these forums that the sterling will usually look hand tooled while the stainless steel looks very machined. You can also get an example of the real stuff by looking in the hotel's gift shop. At Casa del Mar they had amber and larimar set in silver and gold. The gold was very expensive and I don't think it flatters the larimar, but it will give you an idea of what's out there and what a real piece of larimar looks like, as well as the tone of the silver. Like gold from India looks a different colour from our Canadian gold, there may be disparities to the silver as well. Casa del Mar has another all-jewellery store. I was looking there at the other semi-precious stones they sold, but there may have been more larimar and that may be in other places as well. Lots of opportunity to compare and contrast.

 

Price wise you will get the best deal if you buy a lot of things. Last year I bought a pendant, a larger necklace, a ring, a bracelet and two pairs of earrings. This year I bought 8 small pendants (gifts), the amber necklace and a larimar necklace set in stainless steel, as well as 5 pounds of coffee. Both years, the price we settled on based on the items I selected, adding some and removing some, came to a price of about 1/3 to 1/2 the price that they said it was all worth. Normally the way it plays out is that you will pick 4 things and they will say it's $200. You say no way and offer $70. They say they can't do it and say, take this extra pair of earrings and how about $150. You say I didn't want the earrings but I'll offer you $100 to switch the earrings for the ring instead. Ultimately, you should never pay more than 1/2 of what they offer. If you are set on one particular piece and think in your mind that you would pay $30 for it if you found it at home or on eBay, and they tell you the price is $90, you can just cut to the chase and say $30 take it or leave it. If they say no, you can walk away. If it's a reasonable price they'll call you back. If not, they'll let you walk. Don't look at something and just offer a price (unless it's really low $5, say). Always let them start. If you are a real rookie then you may think something is worth a whole lot more than they could give it to you for.

 

If you buy any of the cabuchon style larimar, watch it the first time you wear it. You may even want to put a bit of a tug on the stones. I lost 2 from my bracelet the first time I wore it but I caught them right away. I used crazy glue to do the repairs and appear to have solved the problem.

 

If you want to e-mail me (kaki.ulan@sasktel.net) I could take digital pictures of what I have and show you a sample of what you will find on every table. Some sterling and some stainless steel and some chunky pieces and some smaller. Then you'll have a leg up when you are standing there looking at their wares.

 

Through all of this, did I answer any of your questions?!

 

Kaki

[xrayvin]

Thanks Bob!

 

That was very informative! It almost makes me scared to look for Larimar!:eek:

 

Here is my deal, On all my cruises I hate the "shopping" aspect. Anything I buy ends up being something I have "stumbled" on. Not alot of effort, but I have loved everything I have bought. My favorite thing were some necklaces I bought when we were in Cozumel at Playa Uvas. A lady came in, set up a table and I was taking a brake from snorkeling so I went to look while I was enjoying a drink...:rolleyes: Her necklaces were just glass but they were BEAUTIFUL and very inexpensive. That is my kind of shopping.

 

Not sure how the Dreams thing is going to work. We have never done an AI resort before. With the questionable transportation, and the cost of everything, I dont think we will be doing anything except the AI. That makes me think the chance of "stumbling" into a great deal is very unlikely.

 

I have read many of your posts on the roll call and others. I am looking forward to meeting you both. My parents are cruising with us and my dad's name is Bob so I should be able to remember your name!

 

Thanks again and see you in 24 days!!

 

Dawn

[JUST TRIPPIN']

If you like snorkelling you will love Dreams Resort. Right off the end of the pier at the far side of the beach there is some great snorkelling.

[lakelover13]

Hello everyone!

 

We will be going to La Romana in a few weeks. I have heard that there is a semi precious stone called Larimar. I was told I needed to look for it. We have a Dreams day pass. Does anyone know if they sell Larimar at the resort? Or maybe somewhere close that I might be able to walk to prior to getting back to the ship or around the resort?

 

Thank you!

 

Hello, Can you please tell me how to book a Dreams day pass?

 

Thanks Deanna

[JUST TRIPPIN']

From another post. How to book Dreams for a day pass.

 

econcierge.drelr@dreamsresorts.com

[onebzemom]

Hello past cruise mate! Surprised to see you here. Just booked our next cruise. Almost joined you, but instead we are heading out on the Freedom 1-12-13. Only Mom and Dad joining us this time. Just started looking into activities. Can't even decide what I want to do. Hopefully I can stay up later than our last cruise. I was pretty exhausted before getting on that ship. I want to enjoy more this time.

Happy sailing on your cruises!

[JUST TRIPPIN']

Hello past cruise mate! Surprised to see you here. Just booked our next cruise. Almost joined you, but instead we are heading out on the Freedom 1-12-13. Only Mom and Dad joining us this time. Just started looking into activities. Can't even decide what I want to do. Hopefully I can stay up later than our last cruise. I was pretty exhausted before getting on that ship. I want to enjoy more this time.

Happy sailing on your cruises!

 

Well hello. How are our favourite Oregonians doing these days? Hopefully you have slowed down your life just a little. That's too bad about us not all seeing each other again. So close too. Are you going anywhere this year? A lot of us are heading in different directions this year and then getting back together next year. Sue and I are actually heading to Aruba in 2 weeks on the Miracle and can't wait. Now I have to check your cruise to see where you are headed. Take care and stay in touch.

Bob

[pattycake08]

Hi Bob,

 

We will be going to Dreams in August 2012, but I am not sure how we are getting there, taxi, bus, etc. Have heard mixed stories with prices. When you get back from your cruise can you post and let us know what the cheapest route is to get to Dreams, there will only be two in my group. Thanks

[JUST TRIPPIN']

Regarding getting to Dreams, we just read on another post somewhere that they have vans lined up that hold 11 people each. Supposedly $10 per person. I would assume that is each way, so $40 a couple round trip. That would seem fair for that length of trip ( approximately 25-30 minutes ). If it is less, bonus. Dreams is such a nice resort. The staff were wonderful. Great pizza right by the sports pool bar at midday. Great snorkelling down by the pier. Great beach. So on, so on. We head there Feb. 1st for the day and yes, we will report back. It may be just as a review in the review section, but I will try to remember to come back here too.