DIAMOND

The Aztecs used jade for many purposes, both decorative and practical. Jade axes, in fact, were made by the ancient Chinese and the Maoris in New Zealand, where jade was found, too. The value that the Aztecs put on it can be explained by one story. Montezuma is supposed to have given Cortez some stones called "Chalchithils. to be given to the Spanish king in his name. Each stone, Montezuma said, was worth two loads of gold. The stones were jade. According to another story, Montezuma told Cortez that he valued jade first then turquoise, the green feathers of the quetzal bird, and finally gold.

In buying jade, you will be more apt to get nephrite than jade fires since the latter is rarer and is becoming far more rare. One thing you will not find is very old, antique Chinese jadeite, since the Chinese made use of it only after 1785. Imperial jade usually refers to t-,'!brilliant green jadeite of Burma. Actually, "imperial" to collectors means that it belonged to the imperial collection before the down- A of the old empire, but the term has come to mean jade fit for impe-.al use.

lade Substitutes. Many materials have been used as substitution for jade, including plastics and soapstone. True jade cannot be .By a knife. If a blade is pressed and drawn against it, the knife will .leave a black mark. If a white mark shows, the material is not jade.

JET

Jet is an extremely hard kind of coal. Although it has a hardness only 2'/2 to 4 on the Mohs scale, it is very tough and durable, one who owns antique jet can testify. It was popular during the Victorian era for mourning jewelry and was used in all forms of -v. Its toughness means it takes a good polish.

Jet Substitutes. Whit by, England, has been the source of the et. Another variety of coal sometimes used is cannel coal, but it is very brittle. Other substitutes may be black glass, black onyx, tourmaline, black garnet, and dyed chalcedony, all of which 1Id to the touch, while jet feels warm. Vulcanite, a form of , and Bakelite, a plastic, are other substitutes. While jet is inexpensive and not popular today, it does have value to antique collector-as long as it is genuine jet.