The precious and semi-precious stones used to make ruyi scepters include jadeite, jade, jet, crystal, malachite, agate and coral. From the eighteenth century, the Qing court developed the Hetai jade mine in China's southwest Xinjiang province which supplied jade for many ruyi scepters for the imperial family. A ruyi scepter carved out of a single piece of jade was required for imperial birthdays and wedding ceremonies, or were used as gifts to present best wishes. Of high-quality, these ruyi scepters had beautiful and auspicious patterns with various implied meaning, such as longevity, happiness, happy marriage, and success in the imperial examinations. The most luxurious are those with polychrome inlays of precious and semi-precious stones.