Few stones occupy as deep and storied a place in human history as Jade. The name Jade originates from the Spanish "piedra de la ijada", which early explorers used to describe the stones revered by Central American peoples. However, peoples' relationship with Jade is far older than its name. For thousands of years, cultures in the Americas and Asia have marveled at the beauty, toughness and rarity of Jade.
The term Jade is used to describe several stones with similar properties. The two most important are Jadeite and Nephrite. Nephrite is a relatively common amphibole rock composed of felted, interwoven mineral fibers. It's very tough, but somewhat soft. In better qualities it is in demand as a carving medium. Jadeite is the rarer of the two, only found in a handful of deposits globally. Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral composed of interlocking granular crystals. Like Nephrite, it's a very tough stone but is harder. The combination of toughness, hardness and rarity make it one of the most coveted gems.
Jadeite comes in a wide range of quality and color. Fine Jadeite is gemmy, translucent and fine-grained. It cuts and carves beautifully and takes a high polish. Colors include green, yellow, orange, brown, white, black, lavender and perhaps the rarest, blue. Initially blue jade was known only from artifacts collected from the Olmec culture in Central America. Later, the source of blue Jadeite was discovered in the mountains of Guatemala. First, most of the material was not of gem quality and only useful for sculptures and ornamental carvings. However, recent production has revealed a limited amount of very fine Jadeite. Highly translucent, fine grained and gemmy, these stones are blue to sea green. Much of the material is sold into the Chinese market where it fetches prices comparable to fine Myanmar Jadeites.
We have a variety of slabs and faced rough for sale. Thanks to the dense, tight grain these stones cut and polish easily - similar to working agate. However, they are unique in their beauty, toughness and rarity. While agate is a form of Quartz, the most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust, Jadeite is in turn one of the rarest.
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