Siberia — Russian Nephrite Bracelet, Baikal Dark Green

Nephrite and jadeite are both called jade. They are not the same stone.

Russian nephrite — eluosi biyu in Chinese — comes primarily from the Sayan Mountains and the Lake Baikal region of Siberia, where deposits of nephrite were formed by the same geological forces that created the deepest lake on earth. The Baikal variety is distinguished by its colour: a deep, saturated forest green, darker and more uniform than the lighter greens of Chinese Hetian nephrite or the mottled greens of Canadian jade. The stone is dense and tough — nephrite is technically tougher than jadeite, though less hard — with a surface that takes a high polish and holds it.

The jade trade between Siberia and China is older than the Silk Road. Nephrite from the Lake Baikal region has been found in Chinese archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic period — carried south by peoples whose names are not recorded, along routes that no longer exist. The stone arrived in China before writing did. It was already old when Chinese civilisation began to document it.

These beads are cut from Baikal-region nephrite — the dark green consistent across the strand, the surface polished to show the stone's natural lustre. The colour is deep enough to appear almost black in low light, revealing its green only in direct illumination. The weight is substantial for the size.

Origin: Lake Baikal region, Siberia, Russia
Material: Natural Russian nephrite, Baikal dark green variety
Type: Bracelet

One piece only. What you see is what ships.