Jadeite is not the pure jade, but possesses the colour which the Chinese fancy. As these people are the greatest purchasers of jade in the world there is a good commerce in the article. Jadeite is found in masses of interwoven crystals embedded in the laterite and serpentine rocks.

The purest forms are white in colour, but the most valued are those green stones with a red staining. The latter are found in the laterite rock, and are much prized by the Chinese.
The list of mineral stones extracted from the earth to be cut or polished into gems for the adornment of men and women, idols, temples and thrones is almost inexhaustible.