Jade

Jade is a name correctly given to two different minerals, Jadeite and Nephrite. Both occur in a variety of colors from purple to black to green. Jadeite is the more valuable of the two and can fetch extremely high prices when used in jewelry or carvings. Nephrite is less expensive and also harder than jadeite, however its colors tend to be more muted. Ancient Native societies utilized both forms of the jade in China, New Zealand, Central American (Aztecs and Mayans). The Latin name for jade derives from ‘stone of the pain in the side’ as Spanish explorers witnessed natives holding the stone to their side for aches and pains.

The Chinese associate the stone with clarity of mind and spirit, success, prosperity and luck.