Hey Folks! I just finished these three bead-pendants out of some of the very last of the genuine lavender purple jadeite jade rough that I have! These two beads were made from the very last of a high quality chunk I got about 15 years ago....
and I made this large shield bead out of a random chunk that I found for sale at the Quartzite gem show in February of 2010....
I really like the patterning in this piece although it's not as purple as the stuff I had before.
The majority of the nearly 2,000 items listed on eBay and labeled as "lavender jade" are neither lavender, nor jade! The same goes for the nearly 5,000 items listed as "purple jade". Maybe 5% of the nearly 5,000 listings are jade that is lavender or purple in color and is actual jade. This is one of the RAREST GEMSTONES I CUT. There wont' be many more. I heard that the mine in Turkey has stopped producing and the rough wasn't making it to the U.S. anyway, it all went to China. Here's what my last piece of rough looks like and it's the rough I used to make the big shield bead....
When in Tucson this last February I saw two dealers, out of thousands, who had strands of genuine lavender jade and a few cut pieces, but NO rough! Very rare stuff!
I went to a gem show about 15 years ago and found some of this great material from which I cut the teardrop and the smaller shield with the better color. This one dealer at the show had about 40 kilos of this marvelous lavender Jadeite. It turns out that his synthetic opal supplier in Hong Kong is the only importer and primary buyer for this rare material. I was told that he has a contract with the mine in Turkey for 5 tons monthly to be shipped to Hong Kong for the bead and carving industry. Evidently that is pretty much the mine's maximum production and thus cutting rough rarely shows up in North America. Because of this dealer's contacts he was able to get 50 kilos of rough. I high graded through the 40 kilos left and picked out a wonderful one kilo piece, which I've slowly been cutting down over the years and those two beads above are from the very LAST of that chunk. Didn't see ANY rough in Tucson the last three years although this year in 2010 I DID get the one small chunk of the more gray colored material in Quartzite that was just sitting there, orphaned in a rock pile (see image above)! The only other major location for lavender jadeite is in Burma (now Myanmar and politically unstable under a Military Dictatorship). Other locations for different colors of jadeite are in Guatemala (source of Olmec, Aztec, and Mayan jadeite) and in California.
Here is some of what June Culp Zeitner of Lapidary Journal has to say about Jadeite in her book, Gem and Lapidary Materials, "There are two minerals correctly called Jade: jadeite and nephrite. Of the two, jadeite is harder than nephrite and the color range is brighter and more varied.... A tough member of the pyroxene group, good jadeite is as scarce as it is desirable. It has a crystalline structure, a granular texture, and a vitreous lustre. Jadeite is found in highly metamorphosed serpentines in masses and veins, and as alluvial boulders.... When pure, jadeite is white; however, the colors include tints and shades of green, mauve, lavender, red, blue, brown, orange, and yellow.... Aztecs considered jade a material more precious than gold.... Jadeite is selected for color, grain, and translucency. It is one of the best carving materials and is also used extensively for high-fashion jewelry, especially the more intense greens and mauves. Much of the imperial jade, and other superb colors of translucent jade, is cut in Hong Kong, or marketed through Hong Kong.... Good jadeite has become so expensive that rough material once used for remarkable carvings, like the Smithsonian's 22 inch lavender jade vase, is now being cut into cabochons. "
In Chinese tradition, jade symbolized the five virtues of humanity: wisdom, compassion, justice, modesty and courage. Symbols of these virtues were often carved into jade.
If you are interested in the mystical properties of jade, here is some info I found on the Shimmerlings website "Jade is a gemstone of much history, it has been part of Asian philosophy for centuries. It is often called the "dream stone" for its ability to help one access the non-physical spirit realms. It is a protective stone, and acts as a ward against negative energies. This is a stone that can help you to attain your goals and dreams, instilling resourcefulness, and allowing you to see past your self imposed limitations and manifest your ideas into the physical world. Jade, considered a very lucky stone, facilitates peace and harmony between the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of ones life. When all of these aspects operate in harmony and balance, goals become easier to reach. It is said to promote courage, compassion, justice, generosity, humility, wealth and longevity, to lead a richer more fulfilling life."
Here is what they say about the healing properties of jade, "Jade is said to be a stone of the heart, strengthening it as well as the kidneys, nervous system and immune system and to promote health in the organs that purify the blood. Jade of all types and colors are very protective and particularly strong for children against illness." They refer specifically to lavender jade when they say it "is known to assist with fresh ideas and creativity. It is said to bring psychic understanding of ones dreams, and to aid in recovering form any negative love situation."
Thanks for giving me a forum in which to share my work and information about the stones!
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