Maori necklace designs and the importance of jade to Maori culture
Jade has been crafted by Māori into items of adornment for hundreds of years. Captain James Cook even gifted a beautiful hei tiki necklace to George III, King of the United Kingdom which he received from the native Maori Queen of Charlotte Sound in New Zealand's South Island on October 1769. According to the Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, jade neck adornment like the hei tiki was treasured by the Māori people for three main reasons:
