Page 11 Advertisements Column 5

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22213, 16 March 1934, Page 11

The jewellery department of a big store in London was recently offering jade bead necklets for throe guineas each, and at the same time had what appeared to be similar jade necklets in showcases marked .‘IOO guineas each. There was nothing unusual in this. Of all valuable stones jade varies the moat in price according to colour and workmanship. And judo is probably more difficult to value than any other precious stone. Most of the jade comes originally from the mines in Burma. Great blocks may be seen lying on the quays for shipment to China, where it is cut by workmen who alone know the secret of finding the perfect pieces of purest colour. The Chinese are supposed to have maintained the monopoly of jade cutting on account of their patience and their extreme appreciation of the beauty of the stone. The most valuable jade is of a rare emerald colour and translucent. Local councils in Great Britain control the spending of some £330,000,000 a year.