Underground Journal

The Amazing Jade Stone

Jade is commonly thought of as a green and translucent stone. While this is accurate it is not commonly known that there are actually two stones which go by its name. These two stones, which attract collectors and admirers from all over the world, are called nephrite and jadeite.

It was not until the late 1700′s that it was discovered that these two stones were mistaken for the same thing. They both appeared in similar areas near serpentine and showed a lot of the same characteristics such as color, translucency and hardness.

The two actually have more differences than appears to the eye. They are both made out of different mineral compositions and actually have a slight hardness difference. One is also much tougher than the other, meaning its harder to break.

Nephrite is the original stone of heaven valued by the Chinese above all others. The Imperial Seal of China, which many wars were fought over, was actually a rare and incomparable piece of white nephrite jade. Nephrite is the softer of the two jade stones, measuring a 6-6.5 on the mohs scale of hardness. However, nephrite is composed of many interlocking crystals making this stone harder to break and therefore tougher than jadeite.

Jadeite is a rarer form of jade which is found in few places around the world. This type of jade is harder than nephrite, measuring a 6.5-7 on the mohs scale. Jadeite is much more expensive, at an auction in China it was found to be the third most expensive gem next to diamonds and rubies.

Jade is to the East as Diamonds are to the West. Jade jewelry can now be found all over the world from bangles to pendants. Some of these specimens are elegant while others in their raw or rough forms can be worn as casual pieces.

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