About Us
About Princess Jade
The nephrite jade we use in our one-of-a-kind pieces is mined in northern British Columbia. It is loaded on massive off-road trucks and transported to our shop in Everson, WA.
Click here for more information on the mines in British Columbia.
Nephrite jade is among the most durable gemstones and has a rating of 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. For comparison, diamonds are rated a ten, quartz is seven, and gold is a three. Nephrite jade’s durability makes it virtually stain- and scratch-resistant.
Once at our shop, the rough jade is cut, polished, and shaped into tables, countertops, vases, mantles, urns, memorials, and fountains. We also use state-of-the-art cutting and polishing tools to craft custom orders for sculptors and artisans.
Learn More About Jade
Jade has two types: nephrite and jadeite. High grades of both are sought by collectors and used for jewelry and decoration.
Nephrite Jade
Nephrite is a carbon silicate with iron, magnesium, chrome, and calcium. It rarely breaks and is regarded as one of the toughest natural materials on Earth due to its interlocking fibrous structure. Some of its popular colors include green, white, and even black. The amount of iron within the rock determines its color, ranging from white (no iron) to green. The more iron is present, the deeper the green.
You can find nephrite jade in Australia, China, Russia, California, South America, and New Zealand. However, its largest deposits are found in British Columbia, making the Canadian province the world’s largest producer of nephrite. Nephrite mined from this area is globally recognized as the hardest, clearest, and greenest version of jade.
Jadeite
Jadeite is a silicate of sodium and aluminum, mined primarily in Myanmar (formerly Burma), Guatemala, and Russia. Its structure comprises interlocking crystals that make it less tough but harder than nephrite. While iron causes nephrite’s green color, it is chromium that does this for jadeite. However, aside from green, this mineral can be found in shades of white, brown, grey, blue, orange, red, black, and lavender.
Unusual Qualities of Jade
Jade is tough, translucent, smooth, and cold to the touch, making it a favorite among early civilizations for ceremonial adornments, weapons, and supernatural talismans. It has been credited with preventing and treating various diseases and bestowing good luck to those who give and own it. In addition, it is recognized as the gem of Alaska, the Yukon, and British Columbia and the symbolic stone marking a couple’s 35th wedding anniversary.
The Jade Cutting Process
Nephrite jade is an extremely tough material due to its fibrous structure, which is similar to a handful of human hair. It cannot be cut with chisels and has to be ground using very hard and sharp diamond abrasives. All the saw blades we use for our jade cutting process feature diamond embedded in a soft matrix. The matrix slowly wears away, exposing new diamonds. However, it is the hard diamond particles that do the cutting as they are dragged over the softer jade.
Jade in Eastern Cultures
The Chinese admire jade above gold, ivory, and other valuable materials because they believe it serves as a link between the physical and spiritual worlds. They also see it as the material form that most completely embodies the yin and yang qualities of heaven and earth. Thus, it is called “The Stone of Heaven.”
Jade in Mandarin Chinese is “yu,” and its corresponding character is similar to a capital “I” with a line across the middle. The top of the character represents heaven, the bottom earth, and the line in the middle mankind.
The following description of the “Eleven Virtues of Jade” is attributed to the philosopher Confucius (551-479 BCE): “The wise have likened jade to virtue. For them, its polish and brilliancy represent the whole of purity. Its perfect compactness and extreme hardness represent the sureness of intelligence. Its angles, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, represent justice. The pure and prolonged sound, which it gives forth when one strikes it, represents music. Its color represents loyalty. Its interior flaws, always showing themselves through transparency, call to mind sincerity. Its iridescent brightness represents heaven. Its admirable substance, born of mountain and of water, represents the earth. Used alone without ornamentation, it represents chastity. The price that the entire world attaches to it represents the truth. To support these comparisons, the Book of Verse says: ‘When I think of a wise man, his merits appear to be like jade.’”
Another Chinese saying states that “gold has value; jade is beyond value.”
The ancient Chinese believed that powdered jade, when taken internally, could cure any ailment and possibly bring about immortality if consumed in the right quantity. Jade is a non-conductor, so it feels cool to the touch. This coolness is said to elevate and purify a person’s thoughts, quiet the mind, and help induce a state of contemplation.
Jade worn as an accessory or adornment was believed to confer improved health and vitality while repelling bad luck and misfortune. One ancient text reads, “Jade cannot prevent the living from dying, but it can preserve the corpse from decaying.” Liu Sheng, the ruler of the Zhongshan State (113 BC), must have been a believer, as he was buried (as were other royalty) in a suit of 2,498 pieces of jade sewn together with several pounds of gold thread.
Our Founders
Princess Jade was established in 1995 by Dean and Kathy Briske as a company specializing in standardized and custom-made jade products. Some of our sought-after products include naturally edged coffee tables, dining room tables, and end tables.
Our company is committed to combining impeccable craftsmanship with the finest pieces of jade to bring your creative ideas to life. We have been fortunate enough to discover one of the only sources of olivine in the Great Northwest at the base of the Twin Sisters.