Basically popping in to say yes, it's still here. We were driving from Auckland to Hamilton and…read morefollowed the signs to "Greenstone Museum." There is a small museum with some carvings (notably some lovely scrimshaw) but it's basically a small room; it's all about the factory store. You can see people doing the carving through glass windows, and there is a sign stating they use mostly local greenstone, with Canadian if that's unavailable. Prices are unbelievable; there are several designs available and they're happy to tell you what the different shapes mean. (The little bronze kiwi statues are also much cheaper here than I saw them elsewhere.) Some of the finishing, notably on the bone pieces, is perhaps not as fine as I've seen elsewhere - but the prices were a half or a third of what I'd seen. They even have little fragments of greenstone for $10-$20 if you want a worry stone. Service was friendly and helpful and there was a wide variety of jewelry, notably pendants.

Really was pleased with the quality of this shop. We bought a maori canoe, several pieces of jade,…read morebone, and paua jewelry, hand-carved Maori boxes, hair pins and Maori drawings. The prices were lower than what we saw in Rotorua and the pieces were all made locally or in Rotorua. They have a workshop in the store. Prices were generally lower than elsewhere, and where the prices were more expensive, I could tel the quality was higher. Good buys and good deals CORRECT ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFO: Pounamu Taonga Greenstone and Bonecarving Lindsay, Peter and Sheryl 140 Wayside Road Te Kauwhata (this is the correct city) Ph/Fax 078263156 Email: peter-simpson@xtra.co.nz

Affordable greenstone sourced in New Zealand and carved in New Zealand? Yes! This shop is located a…read morecouple kilometers off the freeway, about 45 minutes south of Auckland and 30 minutes north of Hamilton. After stopping here one day en route to Hobbiton, I hadn't realized how affordable the jade sold in this shop is- from $20-$200+ for various pieces. After visiting a number of jade stores, I discovered how affordable the Greenstone Shop is. Many shops, including large chain stores, have small amounts of NZ jade for sale (many sourced overseas), and charge roughly $50-1000. I had to return to The Greenstone Shop where there jade is local. This shop is best if you're not picky or looking for fancier and rarer pieces of greenstone- the selection is limited. The quality is good! Plus, if you arrive at a good time, you may view jade carving in action. There are $10 bone necklaces and $20 jade necklaces. You can even buy gift boxes with two or three different necklaces, and/ or bags of jade to make your own. I bought a number of necklaces for friends and family. Nice medium sized pieces cost about $125. Family owned. Small museum area with antiques. Bathroom available to customers. They open at 8 am and I found it was empty on a Wednesday at 9 am and busy on weekend afternoons. Good luck! Also, a cultural note: greenstone is something that should be given as a gift and is considered BAD LUCK if you buy it for yourself.