This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Necessary'. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Other. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Functional'. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Analytics'. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Its extraordinary greenish-grey colour looks wonderful with our gold, and one day someone will wear this wonderful pendant with pride. No one is sure exactly what it was used for originally, but this Jade Pendant is very old, certainly, and the general feeling is that it might have been a scale on an armoured breastplate. вЂChicken bone jadeвЂ™ is as the hame suggests вЂ“ a bit sort of greyish but actually quite muted and beautiful.ДЄs with most minerals, treated jade is becoming more and more common so itвЂ™s a bit вЂbuyer bewareвЂ™, when it comes to buying jade, but Polly has used jade in her work and has one piece that we know is the real deal. вЂMutton fatвЂ™ jade, for instance, is sort of opaque white and quite valuable. Ranging from dark green (mostly Russian and Canadian) to translucent white, jade comes in quite a wide variety of colours and has some wonderful names. TheyвЂ™re different minerals, in fact, but both come under the jade umbrella.

Sometimes jade is called nephrite and sometimes jadeite.

For a long period the value of jade in Asia was equivalent to the value of gold and gems in the west, and even today in China, jade is apparently more precious than gold. Amazingly, they used to make jade nails before metal arrived on the islands through European contact.Д¬entral American countries вЂ“ Guatemala and Costa Rica particularly вЂ“ have a long history of jade use, primarily in trade and ornamentation. Jade was, and is, a sacred stone to the Maori who have used it throughout history. I was interested to read about the Maori history with jade because they have never featured in any of my articles. Jade is predominantly an Asian mineral with historical significance in China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar (from whence comes the highest quality jade, apparently) and right down to New Zealand. Chinese jade has been mined since 6000 BC and has been an integral part of Chinese culture for all time, and stone-age axe heads have been found as well. Jade, too, has its value in the collectorsвЂ™ world, but for different reasons. Other picture jasper is mined in Oregon in the Biggs Triangle вЂ“ thus the name Biggs Picture Jasper вЂ“ and itвЂ™s no wonder that some of these pieces are highly sought after collectorвЂ™s items. Mined in Idaho, this Bruneau jasper forms in extraordinary patterns which, when cut carefully and polished well, are quite wonderful little pieces of art in themselves. We have jasper beads in all colours and patterns too, and it works beautifully with our gold in any form, because, unsurprisingly has an ancient look and feel to it.Д«ut thereвЂ™s a secret side to this common and mostly inexpensive stone and thatвЂ™s вЂpicture jasperвЂ™. This Jasper ring is highly polished and facet cut jasper with little gold flecks in it. Jasper carves beautifully, and it takes on a high shine, and Polly has used it to great effect in different forms. Arrowheads and scrapers from the Neanderthal period have also been found made in red, green and yellow jasper, so itвЂ™s been around and utilised forever. It is well documented that jasper was a favourite of the ancient civilisations, and bow drills made out of green jasper have been dated to between the 4th and 5th millennium BC, found in what is now Pakistan. The most common is red, but every other colour, except true blue, can be found. ItвЂ™s an opaque form of chalcedony that comes in the most astonishing array of colours and patterns and is mined all over the world. Jasper is one of the most common and one of the oldest known gems. The third one is Jet which I wrote about a while ago, and I thought I should look at these two as well. Jasper and Jade arenвЂ™t named for Jim and JudyвЂ™s twins in this instance but are two of the three gems in the directory of gems that begin with J.

Green jasper