Alaskan Eskimo family - public domain photo from Wikipedia

The color of jade ranges from shades of green, to yellow, red, black, and white. Lavender jade is most rare and hence the most highly valued. The term jade is generic; it actually refers to three minerals - Jadeite, Nephrite, and Chloromenlanite.

The quality of Alaskan nephrite varies greatly; the finest material is usually found in smooth, stream-rolled boulders. Many of these boulders are covered by a thin rind of brown material (a result of weathering) which must be removed to reveal the smooth green nephrite below.