China's Stone of Heaven. Two materials with one name - a grand 5,000-year-history as China's most revered material - and gems often priced higher than diamonds. Jade is all this and more. It has a well-documented history longer than almost any other gemstone. And it has value throughout Asia beyond what most Westerners can appreciate.

Many exciting nephrite objects are made from the newly discovered unprecedented deposits in Canada's British Columbia, now the world's largest jade supplier. Much of the nephrite becomes beads and cabochons for inexpensive jewelry. But there are numerous exciting possibilities, such as jade tables (right), bookends, and other very large objects. Single-piece jade tables are ideal: beautiful, hard, tough, and trouble-free, each with multicolored patterns that resemble NASA satellite imagery. Contact Fred Ward for more details.

Jadeite is a relative newcomer to the world's jewelry scene, but is almost universally what people think of when they hear the word "jade." Historically, Mesoamerican cultures, Mayan, Olmec, Aztec, Toltec, and Zapotec, regarded jadeite as their most precious material. They fashioned their finest masks and elaborate stone carvings from jadeite. In the late 18th century the Burmese discovered jadeite and introduced it to China, and thus to the world. China's imperial court was enthralled with jadeite's brilliant colors and superb polish. Almost instantly jadeite, which was used for both carvings and for jewelry, surpassed all other things as objects of desire.