Precious Pills, also called Jewel Pills because of their precious stone and jewel content, are among the most popu lar and well-known Tibetan medicines today. We know very little about their origins and the development of their recipes, however, as most of the related lit er a ture is only available in Tibetan .. and has not yet been translated or deeply studied by scholars working in European languages. Precious Pills are compounds that contain between twenty-five and 160 plants and minerals, as well as precious ingredients such as gold, silver, rubies, diamonds, corals, turquoise, pearls, sapphires, anddzibeads