Mind food

This beautifully hand-crafted Afghan Jade Onyx Chess Set is for chess enthusiasts and collectors. It was hand crafted by Lawrence Riaz of Lawrence Handicrafts. It is big, with a total weigh of nearly 5kg.

Afghan Jade is a form of Serpentine named after one of the main countries where it is mined. It is a dense cryptocrystalline mixture of serpentine group mineral. These minerals are mainly antigorite, chrysotile and lizardite. It contains impurities such as chlorite, ilmenite, magnetite and talc. Afghan Jade is used for carving. It is translucent to opaque, varying in colour from white, light to dark green and can also occur with yellow, black, brown, pink or yellow inclusions.

Colour: black, brown, green, olive green, yellow

Transparency: opaque, translucent

Hardness: 6-7

Mineral group: Serpentinite

Formula: Simple: NaAlSi₂O₆; More specifically: D₃[Si₂O₅](OH)₄ D= Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, Al, Zn

Other characteristics: Afghan Jade is technically a rock, rather than a mineral.

Location: Afghanistan, Pakistan

Rarity: common

Chakra: Heart, all

Emotional: balance, compassion, love, relationships, soothing, tranquility, understanding

Mental/intellectual: clarity, decision, perspective, selflessness

Spiritual: chakra alignment, communication with animals, connection with Nature, growth, harmony, Kundalini awakening, meditation, transformation

Astrology: Pisces, Libra, all signs; Earth