The ancient Olmec tribes, who lived more than 3,000 years ago, gave the world many works of art, including the famous stone giant heads. But few people know that these nations have left another treasure, a mineral of all shades of green, jade. They carved beautiful statues and objects of worship out of it.

Later, descendants of the Olmecs, the Maya tribes, who were great astronomers, and urban planners, also highly valued this stone. It was believed that only very wealthy and influential people could have it. Often, archaeologists found jewelry made of jade in the tombs of rulers and priests of all ancient empires.

During the period of Spanish colonization, jade temporarily lost its value. Its place was taken by gold, for which the conquistadors came to these lands. For more than four centuries, no one in America had remembered the magical features of this stone, until in 1974, a married couple of archaeologists, Mary Lou and Jay Ridinger, discovered large jade deposits in Guatemala. In the same year, in Antigua Guatemala, they opened the Jades SA workshop for stone shaping and teaching local craftsmen the art of jade carving.

Today, the family Jade Maya company has turned into a huge factory with an area of 63 thousand square meters. There they crush and polish precious stones, make jewelry and souvenirs from them. Raw jade is in great demand: jewelry from it resembles products of the pre-Columbian period. No less valuable are the copies of the ritual jade masks of the Mayans. The factory employs more than 3,000 Guatemalan craftsmen who still follow the traditional carving methods of their ancestors.

The jade factory and its archaeological museum are open to the public. There you can learn the history of jade from the Olmec times, see the jade artifacts found by the owners during excavations. Sometimes Mary Lou Ridinger herself conducts excursions and generously shares her knowledge with everyone.