Jadeite
Jadeite · NaAlSi₂O₆. Colors: green, white, yellow, reddish orange, lavender, gray, black.
- Mohs
- 6.5–7
- RI
- 1.666–1.68
- SG
- 3.34
- Crystal system
- monoclinic (aggregate)
Jadeite at a glance.
- Species
- Jadeite
- Formula
- NaAlSi₂O₆
- Crystal system
- monoclinic (aggregate)
- Mohs
- 6.5–7
- RI
- 1.666–1.68
- SG
- 3.34
- Colors
- green, white, yellow, reddish orange, lavender, gray, black
What the encyclopedia says.
8 passages, quoted as published. Each links to the full entry and the sources of its chapter.
Jade: jadeite and nephrite
Jadeite is a sodium aluminum pyroxene, NaAlSi₂O₆, with a hardness of 6.5–7, a refractive index of 1.666–1.680 and a specific gravity of 3.34. To count as jadeite jade, jadeitic pyroxene should make up 90%–95% of the rock. Chromium produces the near-transparent vivid green called imperial jade, the most valuable color. Myanmar remains the primary source of top-grade material, worked in the Hpakan district of Kachin State; jadeite also occurs in Guatemala, Japan, Russia and California.
Read the full entryJade: jadeite and nephrite
Nephrite lies in the actinolite-tremolite series of amphiboles. It is softer at 6–6.5 and lighter at 2.95, but its felted fibrous texture makes it supremely tough among rocks. Its historic Chinese source was south of Hotan, in the Kunlun mountains. CIBJO gives the correct trade names as jadeite or jadeite-jade and nephrite or nephrite-jade, and requires disclosure of the polymer impregnation and dyeing commonly applied to jadeite.
Read the full entryTanzanite, tourmaline, jade, lapis, turquoise, opal
Hpakant in Myanmar’s Kachin State is the principal source of jadeite. Loosely regulated mining there is deadly: a landslide of mine waste on 2 July 2020 killed more than 160 people. The Sar-e-Sang mines in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, supplied the ancient world with lapis lazuli, including stone found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Turquoise has been mined for thousands of years in the hills about 50 km northwest of Nishapur in northeastern Iran. Australia dominates precious opal: black opal comes from Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, where the first shafts were sunk in 1905, and light opal from Coober Pedy in South Australia, where opal was found in 1915.
Read the full entryJade grading
The word jade covers jadeite, a sodium aluminum pyroxene (NaAlSi₂O₆), and nephrite, a rock of densely interlocked fibres of the tremolite–actinolite amphibole series. GIA now counts green omphacite as a third jade. All are aggregates of tiny interlocking crystals, which makes them exceptionally tough. GIA ranks jadeite on three factors. Color comes first: imperial jade, a vivid green with no hint of gray, sits at the top, and lavender is next. Transparency runs from opaque to semitransparent, and in the best material text read through a thin piece is only slightly blurred. Texture describes grain size as fine, medium or coarse.
Read the full entryJade grading
Treatment status matters as much as appearance, and the trade uses letter shorthand. A-jade is untreated. B-jade has been bleached and impregnated with resin or wax. C-jade has been dyed, and B+C jade is both. The LMHC recommends that reports state the treatment in plain words, such as “dyed” or “impregnated,” rather than the letters. Laboratories detect fillers and dyes with infrared and Raman spectroscopy and with ultraviolet to near-infrared absorption spectroscopy.
Read the full entryCoating, dyeing and bleaching
Bleaching removes color. GIA states that akoya and freshwater cultured pearls are routinely processed, bleaching being the most common step. In jadeite, acid bleaching strips iron compounds from fractures and grain boundaries and leaves material so brittle that samples crumbled under finger pressure, so polymer impregnation follows. The LMHC reports the result as impregnated with resin or wax, known in the trade as B-jade, and dyed jadeite as C-jade, and says light surface waxing need not be declared.
Read the full entryMyanmar ruby and jade sanctions
Myanmar supplies most of the world’s fine jadeite, from Hpakant in Kachin State, and many of its finest rubies, from the Mogok valley. For decades revenue flowed to military governments and their business allies, while fighting between the army and the Kachin Independence Army affected the jade areas. Global Witness put Myanmar's jade trade at up to US$31 billion in 2014, a modelled NGO estimate rather than audited trade data.
Read the full entryMyanmar ruby and jade sanctions
The United States responded with the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act, signed on July 29, 2008. It banned imports of Burmese jadeite and rubies, and jewelry containing them, even when cut or set in another country, closing the route by which rubies cut in Thailand entered the US market. Executive Order 13742 of October 7, 2016 terminated that ban, and Customs and Border Protection removed the implementing regulation on October 30, 2017. No US import ban has applied since.
Read the full entry
Where it is mined.
Localities from the mine map in Chapter 05.
| Locality | Country | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motagua valley | Guatemala | artisanal | The Mesoamerican jadeite source, rediscovered in 1952; jadeitite runs about 110 km along the north side of the valley, Baja Verapaz to Zacapa |
| Hpakant | Myanmar | active | Kachin State; the world’s main source of gem jadeite, worked in open pits through boulder-bearing conglomerate |
Cleaning and wear.
From the care table in Chapter 22.
| Stone | Ultrasonic | Steam | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jade (jadeite, nephrite) | Caution | Caution | Safe for untreated jade; dyed, bleached, impregnated or coated jade should get warm soapy water only. |
Print the care chart for all 25 stones A4 · PDF · 133 kBUS Letter · PDF · 132 kB
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