One name.
'Jade' is not one stone. It is two different minerals the world has, for centuries, agreed to call by one name. Both are real jade — and the difference is worth knowing before you buy.
Jadeite and nephrite are not the same thing.
Jadeite is a pyroxene; nephrite is an amphibole — separate minerals, separate chemistry. Both are tough, both take a fine polish, and both have been carved for thousands of years: nephrite across early China, jadeite arriving later from Burma. When a piece is sold simply as 'jade', it is worth asking which one you are holding.
Two words that are not the same.
Jadeite is slightly harder — around 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale — so it resists scratching a little better. Nephrite is softer but tougher, more resistant to breaking, thanks to its dense, fibrous structure. Hardness is about the surface; toughness is about the whole stone. Both wear well across a lifetime.
Held to the light, fine jadeite glows.
Jadeite carries the wider range — white, lavender, orange, black, and the translucent emerald green called 'imperial' that sits at the top of the jade world, with a glassy shine. Nephrite is more often creamy white through deep spinach green, softer and waxier, usually less translucent.
As a rule, jadeite is rarer and commands far more — especially even, translucent imperial green from Myanmar. Nephrite is more abundant and accessible: a real jade with real history, without the rarest-of-the-rare price. Neither is 'better'. They answer different questions.
Jade is bought to be kept, and passed on. That is its whole character.
Blaise Huxley · On CraftA few honest checks.
Real jade feels cool and dense in the hand, and is heavier than it looks. Beads knocked gently together give a clear, resonant click rather than a dull, plastic tap. Dyed stone often shows colour pooling along cracks under a loupe; glass imitations may show small bubbles. None of these is conclusive on its own — and for anything of real value, the only certainty is a report from a gemological laboratory. We would always rather you knew than assumed.
Natural
Untreated jadeite — only cut and polished. This is what you want if you are buying jade to keep.
Bleached & filled
Bleached and impregnated with polymer to improve clarity. Convincing and cheaper — and it degrades over time.
Dyed
Colour added that natural jade does not have, and it can fade. Ask for Type A, and ask for it in writing.
Jade has a place in this house.
