Experience the Beauty of Nature at Beijing Caibai Gold and Jewelry Museum

Caibai Staff: Li Xingxiao

What you now see is a very fine piece of amazonite in deep blue-green color. It weighs 339 kilos, and is a fairly large and complete piece of amazonite. The black-colored, shiny part you see on the surface of the stone is called tourmaline if it reaches the standards of a gemstone.

Caibai Gold and Jewelry Museum is officially registered at the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau. With an exhibition area of 8,800 square meters, it displays over a thousand rare and precious stones from 154 countries and regions, featuring gold, jewelry, jade, mineral crystals and amber insects, and covering a wide range of fields such as gemology, paleontology and mineralogy. In the mineral corridor, visitors can see larger and more complete crystals of amazonite, giant crystal holes, ambers with different prehistoric creatures inside such as ants and beetles, complete and huge pieces of calcite, fluorite minerals, as well as mammoth ivory fossils.

Caibai Staff: Li Xingxiao

This stone has a hair-like substance so we call it the “hair-stone”. It’s actually a kind of lower level organisms in the ocean called cephalopods. It was found in the Taiwan Strait, and is a rare mineral specimen now.

The second floor of the museum showcases a table of dishes sculptured with koreite. 108 famous dishes such as roasted lamb, hairy crab, steamed prawn, sea cucumbers, simmered deer tendon are as vivid as real ones, highlighting both the royal cuisine style and special local flavors.

Caibai Staff: Li Xingxiao

We actually used 20-30 different types of koreite because the stone is bright, smooth and soft. It’s the best material for sculpturing.

Visitor: How did the color end up there?

Caibai Staff: Li Xingxiao It’s purely natural color. Take a look at the water chestnut. Its green bud and black body are naturally in that color. So this is truly remarkable.

Adding to its attraction, the Caibai Gold and Jewelry Museum uses modern technology to make its interactive activities more colorful and entertaining. There are more a dozen of interactive experiences at the museum. Visitors can try if they can lift up the gold brick replicate weighing 25 kilograms, or learn about the six crystal systems through the smart touch screen, and appreciate the beauty of nature in an interactive manner.

Caibai Staff: Li Xingxiao

The purple crystal hole you see is called Angel Wings. Each of the crystals inside is actually relatively complete and fairly large, and it’s in deep purple color, symbolizing an auspicious meaning in the Chinese culture. We attract a huge number of visitors who come for photos.

Visitor: Wang Jianxin

I live nearby and come here often, not just for shopping but also to relax. I’ve learned tremendous knowledge in this place. Its design and layout are just pleasing to the eyes.

The museum is also committed to cultural innovation, engaging in various activities of cultural appreciation, interactive salons, etc. It has published a 7 popular science books on jewelry in cooperation with China University of Geosciences in Beijing, such as “Diamond”, “Ruby and Sapphire”, “Emerald”, “Emerald Appreciation and Evaluation”, etc. popularizing the knowledge of jewelry and jade, among which, the book “Emerald” was awarded the “2019 Outstanding Science Books on Natural Resources” by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

Wang Chunli, General Manager of Beijing Caishikou Department Store Co.

For decades, we’ve been committed to popularizing jewelry knowledge and spreading jewelry culture. I think we are living up to the title as a state-owned museum. As we open more and more branches in different places, we will make it a mobile museum to spread jewelry knowledge and culture among a larger audience.