Pounamu to tangata whenua (indigenous people) people can be described as the heart stone of Aotearoa (New Zealand). The word Pounamu has had a copyright placed on it so that only New Zealand Nephrite may be called ‘Pounamu’.

People often refer to Pounamu as Jade, and they are very similar, but Jade is the more common name for Jadeite. Jadeite does not naturally occur in New Zealand.

New Zealand Nephrite has been estimated to be between 5 and 15 million years old and is only found on the west coast of the South Island.

As an indigenous person of Aotearoa I feel that New Zealand Pounamu (Nephrite) is of the highest quality to be found anywhere in the world.

Owing to the large number of different tribes within New Zealand, there are many named varieties of Pounamu. It is estimated that over half of these names have been lost due to colonisation. Some of the names of Pounamu that have survived are Kawakawa, Totoweka, Inanga, Kahurangi, Kowhaikakariki, Tangiwai, to name but a few.