Originally, Biomats were made with jade, as you see in the picture below. Richway International introduced the first infrared mat in 1997. It was a Jade mat. The founders of the company observed healing effects from individuals spending time in a jade and amethyst mine they owned in Korea. To better understand what was happening, they brought scientists in to review the situation. The scientists determined the healing effects were brought about by the infrared coming from the crystals. After this review by the scientists, the founders wanted to replicate the healing effects observed in the mine through the construction of a heated crystal mat. Originally, jade was used.