Travel Channel 

It's one of the most precious gems in the world -- Jade! And the hunt is on when "Cash and Treasures" travels to Jade Cove in Big Sur, CA. Kirsten combs the beach with help from a couple of friendly guides. She also dons scuba gear to comb the ocean floor to spot and collect the hidden treasure buried under kelp. Then it's off to have their finds appraised and transformed into unique pieces of jewelry. 

The jade of Jade Cove is the mineral nephrite. Pure nephrite is white, but impurities give the local jade a variety of shades of green, from lightly tinted and nearly transparent, to a rich, dark green. Underwater, jade is fairly easy to distinguish from other rocks by its characteristic, almost luminescent color. Jade is quite hard and a piece of steel will not scratch it, while the softer, and more common, serpentine is easily scratched. That doesn't mean that a strong blow from a hammer will not shatter jade, but rather that a firm scratching motion will leave the jade unharmed. You don't need to be a diver to be a jade hunter. You can find many small jade pebbles at low tide between the boulders and in the gravelly areas. Gently fan the gravel while looking for that characteristic jade color, or dig out a gravel bed with a small shovel. Larger pieces can be anywhere. Search under large rocks and overhangs. Diving in the calm period after a winter storm can be the most rewarding time to find jade, since the rough water usually exposes many previously hidden pieces.