Is nephrite jade real jade?

nephrite jade necklace

what is jade?

Jade originated in the wild caves and huts that sheltered prehistoric humans. Around the world, workers shaped this toughest of gems into weapons, tools, ornaments, and ritual objects in Stone Age. Their carvings invoked the powers of heaven and earth and mystic forces of life and death.

Today Myanmar and China is the largest exporter, with some exports coming from Guatemala, New Zealand and Australia. Jade is most commonly associated with China, the Chinese have historically regarded carved-jade objects as intrinsically valuable, and they metaphorically equated jade with purity and indestructibility.

Jade is a collective term of two different gem materials, they are jadeite and nephrite. Both are actually metamorphic rocks made up of tiny interlocking mineral crystals. Jadeite is mainly emerald, and nephrite is mainly Hetian jade. Summarize in one sentence: the warm and shiny beautiful stones can be collectively referred to as those that can serve our material, economy, life, and use.

You may have seen green color jade jewelry and carvings before, but it is actually “imperial jade,” or jadeite. So what is nephrite jade?

What is nephrite jade?

For many centuries, people confused nephrite and jadeite as the same mineral, when in fact, they are very different chemically. Nephrite jade is a mineral composed of highly dense, soft fibrous crystal masses. It is known for its captivating color and gleaming luster. And it is even more durable as a gem material for jewelry and carved art objects. Of the two forms of jade, Nephrite is by far the most common and popular.

Nephrite gemstone is found in a broad spectrum of colors, it ranges from translucent to opaque and can be light to dark green, yellow, brown, black, gray, or white. Its colors tend to be more muted than jadeite’s, and they’re often mottled or streaked.

Nephrite Jade is real jade

There is been dispute as to whether or not nephrite is real jade because of the surge of demand for the high-quality jadeite jade. ​Modern gemologists use the word “jade” as a generic term for both nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is also accepted as jade in the international gem and jewelry industry. Rest assured, although they are different, both types of jade are real.