Originally, there was one kind of jade, the kind from China and from the northern parts of Europe. Then, the New World was discovered, and a stone was found in Canada that was believed to be the same stone, coming from the same latitude, with the same coloring, hardness, and other characteristics. However, in the past century or so, the identification of gemstones took a more scientific approach, and it was found that this Canadian stone was indeed NOT the same, as its chemical makeup and molecular composition was different. Since it was already known as "jade", it was given the official name of "Nephrite Jade", while the original jade came to be known as "Jadeite" and is considered the truest jade. Meanwhile, in recent years, other stones which are neither Nephrite nor Jadeite have been given trade names of "jade", such as "New Jade", "Serpentine Jade", "Mountain Jade", and "Olive Jade", among others, but are not considered true jades.

Originally, I thought these Russian Jade beads were Jadeite, the truest jade. However, my supplier recently stated that these beads seem to be to be a form of jasper. Nonetheless, it is difficult to find beads made of this stone - none of my suppliers regularly carry it. When I happened to find some of these uncommon beads, I quickly purchased two strands in the 6mm size, planning to make a Slavic chotki with them in honor of their Russian origin. With the leftovers, I made a wrist chotki. A month later, I tried to purchase more Russian Jade beads, but they were already sold out!

Nevertheless, a stone this rare deserves complements of sterling silver and Swarovski, so I capped the beads with sterling Bali-style daisy spacers and used 3mm Swarovski crystals in olivine between each prayer bead. Since I was not able to obtain the 8mm Russian Jade for divider beads, I searched my stash of beads for something with a compatible color. I finally chose 10mm Olive Jade, because its color does seem appropriate with the Russian Jade. I have capped these dividers with Bali-style bead caps. Then I finished the chotki with a Rutilated Quartz cross.

Strung on .019" premium quality flexwire.