Jade

A Brief Note About Jade

In 1962, Richard Gump of San Francisco, a noted collector, retailer and scholar of Oriental Jade, wrote a text: Jade, The Stone of Heaven. It is an excellent introduction to a stone desired and shaped by humankind for untold millennia. He quotes an excerpt from Nobel Prize winning novelist, Pearl S. Buck, who in an essay said, “…jade is a possession to be cherished by anyone who can find it or buy it or steal it.” It was thought by ancient Chinese to be thrown down from heaven to be carved into weapons to combat the mythical monsters of that time.

There’s more to ‘the stone of heaven’ than weaponry. I speak as one who has felt the cool attraction of holding fine jade and not wanting to separate myself from the sensation. I speak as one who has cut and ground the stone into cabochons and never has been satisfied with the final polish or shape. I speak as a collector who is incapable of understanding why others cannot perceive the essence of the stone. It is the most addictive mineral I have experienced.

Jadeite and Nephrite are both jade. Whoever disagrees is ignorant. Though chemical properties between the two are different, Asian nephrite was the jade Confucius compared to the qualities of human virtue. It is the traditional Chinese Jade. Introduced into China in the late 1700’s, Jadeite, especially the ‘imperial green’ variety has in many cases confused western understanding of what is ‘true jade.’ Most of the jade in my collection has been mined from deposits in British Columbia. It is nephrite of varying quality. Most of it is green, and none of it is treated. I have a few pieces of jadeite from Guatemala. Mayan, Aztec, Olmec and Inca peoples thought jadeite gems more precious than gold and were amazed that Conquistadors prized yellow metal over the multi colors of their jade. As the saying goes, “to each their own.”