Beijing Olympic Makes China Jade Popular

In Chinese, "jade"(yu) refers to a fine, beautiful stone with a warm color and rich luster that is skillfully carved. In Chinese culture, jade symbolizes nobility, perfection, constancy, and immortality. For ages, jade has been an intimate part of the lives of all Chinese people. It is considered the most valuable of all precious stones. Jade is found in mountains and riverbeds, and Chinese consider jade to be "the essence of heaven and earth."

Cutting of Jade is vital
Jade is an essence produced through the natural forces of rivers and mountains over eons. However, if it is not skillfully cut and polished, there is no way for the potential richness and luster that people prize to be expressed. The Chinese have a saying that goes. "If jade is not properly cut, it cannot be made into a useful utensil." Cutting is an important step in the process of producing jade articles.

Add special beauty for the Olympic medals
The medals for the 2008 Olympic games will be made in parts with Kunlun jade, which are found in the Kunlun Mountains in Qinghai Province. These will be the first Olympic medals to use non-metal material. How did Kunlun jade stand out from its competitors and become the material for making Olympic medals? Had it been difficult in using jade to make medals?

The quality of Kunlun jade is very high, no matter from its rigidity and exquisiteness. When People learnt that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will use jade in the medals, they submitted the request letter for donating Kunlun jade to BOCOG immediately. Following extensive research and examination commissioned by BOCOG and conducted by jade experts and organizations, Kunlun jade was deemed to meet the requirements for making the Olympic medals. BOCOG then accepted the proposal for the jade donation from Qinghai Province.There are many jade dealers who wanted to donate, including representatives for Hetian jade, Xiuyan jade from Liaoning Province in northeast China and Dushan Jade from Henan province in central China. BOCOG invited experts to investigate Kunlun jade, and the result was if they chose Hetian jade, which is facing repletion of resources, it could hardly meet the quantity standard for making Olympic medals. Also, considering that athletes may toss the medals up into the air from excitement, there is a strict requirement for the rigidity of the jade. Kunlun jade passed the test.

Jade (Stone of Heaven by the Chinese) is priceless Testifying to how much the Chinese are fond of jade is this time-honoured proverb: "Gold may have a price, but jade is priceless." The value of gold can be determined by measuring its weight. Not jade. The value of a piece of jade is "assessed" by taking numerous factors into account. For example, the luster, purity and color, the sound it produces when struck, and when the jade piece was discovered or when and where a jade artefact was produced can affect a piece's value.

Changing trend Jadeite is becoming increasingly popular in western countries, at a time when more and more Chinese are taking a liking to diamonds. Westerners are fascinated not only by the fine stone itself, but more importantly by the cultural messages it carries. Now beiing olympic games has make china elements or china classic ornaments even more popular.