Jade. Two carved bears.

Jade is one of the best kept investment secrets of the modern age. Although prices for the underappreciated gem have skyrocketed over the past 20 years, most people have been completely unaware of its investment prowess. These frenetic price increases have been driven primarily by the rise of China as an economic superpower. Jade is deeply treasured in Chinese culture, having been revered in the Middle Kingdom for thousands of years. "Gold is valuable, but jade is priceless." - an old Chinese proverb But after centuries of ignoring jade, the West is finally beginning to wake up to the true rarity and value of this superlative gemstone. This trend first began in 1997 when a breathtaking necklace composed of 27 perfectly matched Imperial jadeite jade beads - dubbed "Doubly Fortunate" - sold at Christie's auction house for a jaw-dropping $9.39 million U.S. dollars. Since that time, a steady stream of multi-million dollar, record-breaking auctions have firmly established jade as a bona fide high-end gemstone in the eyes of a global audience. In 2008, the Beijing Olympics were held in China. With the Olympics granting the country a global venue for the first time in the modern era, China took the opportunity to advertise its most prized material: jade. Every official 2008 Olympic medal combined a traditional Chinese jade bi, or holed disc, with the time-honoured gold, silver or bronze as appropriate.