Meta Jade

The story goes that back around 1968, Japanese chemist, Dr. S. Iimori was experimenting if it was possible to fabricate Jade. The story goes that the Japanese government had some interest in this experiment (they were tired of buying Jade from China).

I’ll cut to the chase. Dr Iimori did discover a way to make a Jade simulent, that he called “Meta Jade”. Meta Jade was the precursor to Iimori Stone; Later called Victoria Stone, for marketing purposes.

Victoria stone was very popular when introduced at the Tucson Gem Shows around 1970. Victoria Stone was very chatoyant and came in 14 colors.

A few months ago, I discovered a small piece of Meta Jade in my shop. I thought I’d show you what this rare and historic forerunner of Victoria Stone looks like. Perhaps you have some lurking in your shop, especially if you have old collections, or are old enough to have personally acquired some back in the 60’s or 70’s.