Handle scales made of precious dark-green jade. Due to its beauty, this precious stone has had a very strong attraction for mankind for many thousands of years. In many cultures, jade was considered as a lucky or protective stone. Furthermore, the stone is attributed a healing affect with regard to kidney diseases its Greek name "Nephrite" means "kidney". The jade used here (also called Nephrit or Canada jade) was gained from the polar jade mine in British Columbia in Canada. The fascinating dark-green colour of this precious stone comes from the earth elements chromium and iron. Jade is very difficult to process as its fissile nature cannot be analyzed in advance. It needs to be shaped in time-consuming procedures through sawing, drilling and cutting.