Green Jade Burmese, Gold Ring. The above Jade gemstone, slightly irregular in shape but approx 5mm round, is a fine lively green, the bright green most favoured by its aficionados in Eastern lands and most especially in China.
For thousands of years the Chinese created works of art with their Jade, and the gemstone not only became the imperial gemstone, it illustrated in its creations the artistic trends and flairs of whatever cultural/dynastic period from which it came.
There are two types of Jade, Jadeite and Nephrite, chemically slightly differing one from the other. Nephrite is the more commonly found and was the type found in China. When the Chinese sources of Nephrite Jade were becoming less productive, in the late 1700s/early 1800s, the Burmese deposits of Jadeite came on line, and with it the Emerald-green colour that Burmese Jadeite can attain, the most valuable and rare of Jade colours, now called “Imperial Jade”.
The above Green Burmese Jade is not an example of Imperial Jade, however, the liveliness of its green is marked, and indeed could almost be mistaken for a cabochon cut Zambian green Emerald.