Boghossian, the Geneva-based jeweller known for its coloured gemstone expertise, and with a history of trading along the Silk Route from China, has created a jade necklace that reimagines the styles worn by high-ranking officials of the Qing dynasty. “We’re trying to disrupt an industry.”Īnna Hu jadeite, gold, diamond and tsavorite Celestial Lotus Jade ring, and Asprey jadeite Twisted Spiral bangle © Ivona ChrzastekĮuropean brands and maisons are adding impetus to jade’s journey. “We want to set a new, western-based standard for jade, an enhanced level of expertise to bring security and confidence,” says Rigas. Each of the jadeite jewels comes with a comprehensive certificate, identifying and describing the material. To bring transparency to a notoriously opaque market and to standardise evaluation, Asprey has joined forces with University of Oxford earth sciences department, using the most advanced equipment to instigate the brand’s own expert certification system. Rigas is on a mission to establish jadeite as a rare and storied resource for collectors globally. Today, jadeite is still thought to bring good fortune and prosperity. Once seen as a link between heaven and earth, the stone was believed to soothe the path into the next world and embody Confucian virtues of wisdom, justice, compassion, purity and modesty. Jewellery throughout, all POA © Ivona ChrzastekĬool to the touch, sometimes with electromagnetic properties, and a musical resonance when struck, jade is thought to be infused with spiritual power. The finest specimens, with their mesmerising emerald-green hue, were the prerogative of the emperor and his royal court, resulting in the term “imperial jadeite”.Īsprey white-gold, diamond and jadeite Tube pendant necklace. It took until 1863 to be recognised as a separate mineral, designated jadeite. Jadeite, which is far rarer and lustrously translucent, only arrived in China in the 18th century, making its way there from the mines of Burma (now Myanmar). About 5,000 years ago, nephrite, the more common and more opaque variety, was used for tools, weapons, ritualistic objects and burial ornaments.

They are among the toughest, strongest minerals on earth. Jade is a generic cover-all term for two distinct minerals: jadeite and nephrite. Now the Stone of Heaven is making its presence felt in western jewellery. Jade has been treasured in China for millennia, both as a rare gem considered more precious than gold or diamonds and as a store of wealth believed to possess powerful talismanic properties.

Criminal destiny