gems, jade, Fischer-Book, nephrite, jadeite, fei cui

In 1875, Leopold Heinrich Fischer (b. 1817; d. 1886) published an extraordinary work on jade, Nephrit und Jadeit, by far the most comprehensive ever to appear. Fischer examined jade not just from China, but from around the world. Fischer’s book was the first ever to appear in a Western language entirely devoted to jade as we know it today. As you thumb through the pages that follow, the depth of Fischer’s work will amaze. There is an astonishing amount of detail here. That this could be the product of a single author is simply beyond belief. Fischer goes on and on, as he tracks virtually every Western (and some Oriental) source. One senses an obsession, days in cold museums and libraries examining dusty texts, sleepless nights poring over a candle-lit desk scratching out sentences with a quill, condensing this enormous body of human history into a book of just a few hundred pages. It is truly astounding and a book that will delight those who open its pages.

gems, jade, amphibole jade, nephrite, Khotan, Hetian, China, Xinjiang, Chinese jade carving, Chinese jade master carver, Wu Desheng

gems, jade, pyroxene jade, jadeite, fei cui, omphacite, kosmochlor, nephrite, geology, Broken Bangle

gems, gemology, ruby, sapphire, jade, inclusions.5, corundum, garnet, quartz, China, Tibet, Thailand, Burma, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Inner Mongolia, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, East Africa, Greenland

From the dawn of time, precious stones have both attracted and fascinated humans in ways that few other items could. For while objects of desire are found throughout the natural world, physical beauty is too often ephemeral. From the allure of a man, woman, flower or butterfly, through the fleeting moments of a sunset, there is little that lasts and practically nothing that can be passed down to our descendants. The exception is precious stones. Not only are they the most durable creations of Mother Nature, but their visual splendor is truly eternal. This book presents a completely fresh approach to the subject. Dubbing it humanistic gemology, the authors take readers around the world, showing the places they have explored in their search for gems, along with the people and cultures encountered along the way. Within this volume, remarkable photographs of the human world are interwoven with images of the microscopic realm of the gems themselves. In a lifetime beset by time control, where living is broken into ever smaller bits, as you browse through these pages suddenly you plunge into a domain of frozen time, one that affords vistas of millions or even billions of years. For jewels offer not just superficial beauty, but a window on the primordial forces that birthed both our planet and universe. Inside Out – Gemology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses represents a fascinating new direction for gemology, linking the external and internal worlds of precious stones for the first time.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Burma, Myanmar, nephrite, China, Xinjiang, Hetian, Khotan, Hpakan, New Zealand, Guatemala, Russia

A personal account of a lifelong fascination with jade, tracing Hughes’s encounters with the gem across Asia and his efforts to understand its history, sources, identification and cultural significance. The article explores the extraordinary importance of jade in China while distinguishing the different materials that have carried the name, particularly nephrite and jadeite. Drawing on decades of travel, research and experience in the gem trade, Hughes discusses important producing areas, the qualities prized by connoisseurs and the challenges involved in evaluating jade. Blending gemology, history and personal reminiscence, the article portrays jade not simply as a gemstone, but as a material whose enduring appeal is inseparable from the cultures and traditions that have treasured it.

gems, jade, nephrite, China, Chinese jade carving, Hetian jade

The word jade" often evokes the green jadeite used in jewellery. However, some of the most valuable jade in China is not this green jadeite, but in the creamy "mutton fat" carved nephrite from Hetian, Xinjiang province. In the past, many carvings touched upon familiar motifs like dragons or religious symbols, while in recent decades there has been a revolution of carving, with artists incorporating modern themes and styles into their work. Lin Tze-Chuan, an influential collector and patron of many jade carvers, is considered by many to be the father of Chinese contemporary jade carving. Here he discusses the changing world of jade carving and what he looks for when commissioning new work."

jade, nephrite, China, Xinjiang, Khotan, Hotan, gems

An investigation into nephrite and imitation nephrite pebbles purchased in Guangzhou, China's Hualin Street jade market.

jade, jadeite, fei cui, Russia, Polar Urals, Khakassia, gems

Up until recently, gem-quality imperial jadeite was found only in Upper Burma. But starting in the early 1970's, jadeite was found at Itmurundy in Kazakhstan. A few years later, fine jadeite was found in the Polar Urals at Pusyerka, and in 1992, in Khakassia, about 100 km. outside of the capital of Abakan. This article is the first extensive description ever published in English on the Russian jadeite deposits and is based upon visits by Nickolai Kouznetsov to these deposits in the early 1990's and both authors' visit to the Polar Urals and Khakassia mines in August, 2000.

jade, jadeite, fei cui, Burma, gems

In 1996, several gemologists set off for Burma's remote jade mines, the first visit by foreigners since the early 1960's. This is the story of their epic journey.

Burma, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Hpakan, gems

In a remote corner of Upper Burma, thousands are busy, seeking, searching, clawing at a mountain, prying loose boulders from the compact brown soil. Jack hammers pound out a rat-a-tat beat, punctuated by the occasional cymbal crash of pick and shovel, while a choir of coolies stand behind with baskets to carry the debris out of this earthen tomb. As each boulder is turned over, it is quickly examined, then discarded, along with the mounds of dirt that surround it. So the process is repeated. Over and over, again and again, hour after hour, day after day. The operation is a study in patience. Patience, patience – those who hurry lose, they make mistakes, they miss the prize, they don't go to heaven. The construction of the Great Pyramids in Egypt was a study in patience; that in Upper Burma today is on no less a scale, but involves deconstruction, the dismantling of entire mountains, step by step, bit by bit, stone by stone, one pebble at a time. Like the builders of pyramids, all involved share a single-minded devotion to the task. Patience, patience – those who hurry lose, they miss something, they don't go to heaven. Those who hurry don't find jade.