Gold, Silver, Bronze ... and jade
BEIJING (Reuters) - To the Chinese it represents beauty, nobility, perfection, power and immortality, and every medalist in the Beijing Games will get some -- jade.
For the first time in Olympic history the gold, silver and bronze medals will include material besides metal, an inlaid disc of the stone known in China for 5,000 years as the "imperial gem".
"Jade is an element that many people around the world associate with China, and historically, it has been considered the imperial gem," said a spokesman for mining firm BHP Billiton.
The company supplied metal from Australia and Chile for the 57,000 gold, silver, bronze and commemorative medals that will be awarded at the Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Treasured by ancient emperors of the Middle Kingdom, jade is best known as a green stone, but according to the International Colored Gemstone Association (www.gemstone.org), its greasy luster also comes in shades of white, grey, black, yellow, orange and a delicate violet.
Jade discs have long been worn by scholars and generals in China as a badge of prestige, but the stone is also a favorite for millions of people who believe it wards of evil spirits.
The front side of the Beijing medals features a picture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, and an image of the Greek Panathenic Stadium.
The back side carries a metal centerpiece engraved with the Beijing Olympic emblem and it is inlaid with jade from China's western plateau province of Qinghai, the gold with a light variety, the silver in a greenish-white and the bronze in green.
The International Olympic Committee has strict stipulations on the medals' material, design, weight, and size.
The medals for the champion and runner-up are made of pure silver, and the winner's medal must be plated with gold weighing not less than six grams. Bronze medals are made of copper.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
