18-ton chicken bloodstone valued at $48 million

A colorful chicken bloodstone weighing about 18 tons is seen at a Guilin natural jade hall in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. (Photo: Chinanews.com)

(ECNS) -- A colorful chicken bloodstone weighing about 18 tons has been valued at around 300 million yuan ($48 million) at a Guilin natural jade hall in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Such a bloodstone is a form of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline mixture of quartz and its monoclinic polymorph moganite.

The "classic" bloodstone is green chalcedony with red inclusions of iron oxide or red jasper. This kind of jade is extremely popular among worldwide collectors and is also presented as a national gift to leaders of foreign states.

The piece of bloodstone is 2.28 meters high, 4.1 meters wide and 1 meter thick, and is a bright ruby color. It has several vivid images in it, including statues that look like Buddha and fabulous sunrises on mountain summits and clouds, which add glamour to the work and has wowed audiences.

Yu Qiuming, vice-chiarman of the Guilin Chicken Bloodstone Association and the owner of the exhibited stone, said it was bought in Sanmen town, which is one of the major local sources of bloodstone.

The Guilin Mineral and Geology Test Center said the dioxide content in this chicken bloodstone is 96.66 percent, which makes it truly rare and precious.

Because of its bright, blazing color and its size, experts have named it "colorful life."