A woman shows a jade necklace, earrings and ring set said to be worth 120 million yuan. [Zou Hong / China Daily]

"They are too stunning to be real," marveled a visitor staring at a jade necklace at the 2010 Beijing International Jewelry Exhibition, which kicked off Friday at the China World Trade Center.

The green jade necklace, along with a jade ring and a pair of earrings, was made from one piece of jadeite and was priced at 120 million yuan.

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"The set is the most expensive item at the fair," said Zhang Yuwei, the marketing manager from Kin Hing Lee.

"It is really rare to find such a big piece of raw material with pure color and high intensity of that color," said Zhang.

Something that valuable is for collecting, not wearing, added Zhang.

"More people are starting to invest jade," said Zhang, who added that, for collectors as well as jewelry lovers, jade is a fascinating gemstone. In Asia it is collected as an antique. Besides the quality of the gem and its processing, religion and faith also play an important role. In the West, many people prefer to collect jade in the form of snuff-boxes, cigarette holders, small bowls or rings.

"The value of jade has increase five to six times in the past five years," said Zhang.

Chinese-style design fuels its popularity in the market.

Helen Chang, who has been in jade design for 20 years said a jade piece can be chic and fashionable.

Chang showed a jade brooch designed with the traditional Chinese symbol for 'good luck'. Chang founded and runs a jewelry brand, Bel Tung, which combines jade with Chinese traditional design seamlessly.

Traditional handicrafts are prominent at the fair. Many feature filigree inlay with special stones. Made of gold and silver thread, filigree inlay was once only used by the royal families. Some examples of filigree inlay are on display at the National Palace Museum.

"Pieces such as these cost anywhere from hundreds of yuan to a million yuan," said He Qing, the general manger of Fine Jewelry.

This year's jewelry fair has 30 percent more exhibitors than last year.

Wang Changda, a Chinese Burmese, who has attended the last five jewelry fairs, said he and his company preferred to attend the fair in Beijing than the one in Hong Kong because "there are more potential retailing buyers and wholesale representatives in Chinese mainland".

The four-day-long exhibition will run until July 19 and has 400 exhibitors from China and more than 25 other countries and economies.