Taiwan Sapphire – Blue Chalcedony

Taiwan sapphire does not refer to sapphire as we know it. Rather, it refers to a mineral specific to Taiwan: Blue Chalcedony.
The east coast of Taiwan is home to many beautiful jades and stones. And so, how special is Taiwan sapphire, why is it so precious?
Blue Chalcedony was discovered on the east coast of Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, and was mined in large scale in the 60’s. In recent years, the mineral vein has slowly been exhausted while the cost of mining operation escalated, and thus production dwindled driving the price up even more. Taiwan sapphire thus becomes even more valuable.
Why Taiwan sapphire is blue in color, and differs greatly from the common chalcedony? We shall let the movie unveil this mysterious cover for you. 

 

NTU Digital Archives of Geosciences Department
National Taiwan University