Jadeite – semi-precious stone with healing  properties.

To this stone for many centuries worshiped different peoples and countries. Because of its healing properties and beauty, jadeite is the most honored in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, but more attention to this stone was awarded in China.

China. Since ancient times, Chinese worshiped jade - the sacred stone, a symbol of all virtues and beauty. During the time of Confucius, in the VI century BC, jade has gained the admiration of the ideological basis of what he has written in the "Book of Rites": "In ancient times, people discovered that jade is an example of excellent quality. Polished and shining, it represents purity; and smooth and glossy - favor. Its density and strength of conviction means intelligence. When his facets are not very sharp, it symbolizes justice. Necklace of jade symbolizes humility. Clear and lasting sound that it produces when struck, symbolizes the music. Smoothness of its lines does not hide its beauty, and beauty does not hide the smooth lines, so the appropriate quality is loyalty. Its transparency means sincerity. Inner radiance emanating from the stone, is related to the pure faith. Sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow makes jadeite like a heaven. It is refined and mysterious, it is found in the mountains and brooks. The place it occupies as a symbol of high status, is associated with virtue; the respect felt for jadeite - with the path of truth and duty. " 

 America. In American countries, at the time of the Olmecs, the Incas, Mayas and Aztecs, jadeite worshiped as a sacred and magical stone. It provided protection from evil spirits, it was used in rituals to gain wealth and well-being. In this regard, all green stones, but especially jadeite, in ancient Indian culture were associated with the birth of the child. Ability to give birth was considered the main female dignity, and to protect themselves from infertility, to help conceive a healthy child and give birth easily, married women wore bracelets, pendants and necklaces made of green stones. From Jadeite was carved hundreds of figurines depicting the Olmec, Mayan and Aztec gods. In Ecuador (Latin America) the oldest discovery of jadeite was found in one of the graves, it was bead necklace, whose age was 4500 years. Other items made of jadeite - axes and hatchets dated 1200-1000 years BC - were found in the Western Hemisphere.

Europe. Europeans first learned of jadeite not in Asia but in contact with the Indians in times of great geographical discoveries. According to some versions, ėuropeans learned about jadeite thanks to the East, when the Portuguese saw jadeite in Canton; according to other versions - the Spaniards brought jadeite from America. But it is obvious that it was Columbus' discovery that brought jadeite back to Europe.  It is found that jadeite first was known in Europe during the Neolithic, when Ancient Europeans, appealed to the jadeite as a material for making tools of the Stone Age - arrowheads, scrapers, axes. Items found from jadeite are dated with VIII-III millennium BC. Ancient Europeans this stone preferred because of its high hardness, exceptional fortress and resistance to aggressive environments.

Its European name - jade, jadeite, this stone acquired from Spanish name «piedra de la ijaida» (from Spanish - "kidney stone") that arose when the Spaniards saw how the Aztecs used green mascots for the treatment of kidney disease.

 Japan. Japanese dispute the championship on time of use of jadeite. The most ancient objects from this stone in Japan belong to the Jomon culture, which flourished in the islands in the early Neolithic (about 8 thousand. BC). One of the first findings of the treated jadeite in Japan occurred in the village Chogiaga Jara (in translation - "Mountain of successful person"). Here archaeologists have discovered the earliest production in Japan of products from jade - magatama. This was the name of the arc-shaped ornaments made of whole piece of polished stone. Their shape repeats claws and teeth of animals, they look like a small bracket C-shaped. They were also compared with a semicolon, embryo nine. Often magatama thick portion has a through hole. Most likely, they were worn around the neck as a pendant. They have been used to refer to a person belonging to high society or the ruling class. Magatama also been detected in the first Buddhist temple in the territory of Asuka, where the ashes of the Buddha were buried. Two little jadeite magatama made of transparent green jadeite of the highest quality, were buried with the Buddha.

In Japanese poetry "jade" and "pearl" - a constant epithets used in the meaning "beautiful, wonderful." Beautiful jadeite - a metaphor for describing beloved beauties.

Russia. History of jadeite in Russia is closely linked to Khakassia, as in ancient times, and now. It is in this region where are several areas of Boruss jadeite mines. Stone, for the manufacture of axes, scrapers, millstones for grinding grain from the field used by the locals before our era. The oldest discovery was an ax from Neolithic times, which was made from jadeite obtained in Boruss deposit.  

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