Genuine West Coast Inanga Pounamu takes its name from a freshwater fish native to New Zealand. It is pale and often transparent, like the young of the Inanga fish. It is pearly white to grey-green in colour, and ranges from translucent to quite opaque. It can change colour over time, developing a light olive tint as it ages and oxidises - Highly prized by the Maori and the desired material for making Mere and Patu.
The most prized Greenstone in New Zealand is Flower J
ade, Greenstone with pale green or ochre clouds of colour. This distinctive patterning and colouring come from the outside rim or 'rind' of the greenstone boulders or stones where the surface has oxidised
.
