Is It Really Jade? A Guide to Jade Beads
Real jade is one of 2 minerals: nephrite, a fibrous amphibole that is among the toughest gem materials, or jadeite, a denser and rarer pyroxene. Many other stones carry "jade" in their names as trade names; 2 of the most familiar are yellow jade, which in the bead trade is usually serpentine, and Malaysia jade, which is dyed quartz. Below is how the 2 true jades differ, what the common trade names really are, how to tell what you are holding, and where each type in our jade bead collection fits.
Nephrite and Jadeite: The 2 True Jades
For thousands of years "jade" meant any tough stone that could be carved into tools, blades and ornaments. In 1863 the French mineralogist Alexis Damour showed that the material called jade was in fact 2 different minerals, and gemologists still reserve the word for those 2. Both are rocks made of tiny interlocking crystals rather than single crystals, which is why they are so hard to break, and both come in green, white, black and other colors, so color alone never tells you which one you have.
| Property | Nephrite | Jadeite |
|---|---|---|
| Mineral | Calcium magnesium iron silicate (amphibole) | Sodium aluminum silicate (pyroxene) |
| Hardness | 6 to 6.5 | 6.5 to 7 |
| Toughness | Exceptional, the tougher of the 2 | Very high |
| Specific gravity | About 2.9 to 3.0 | About 3.3 to 3.4 |
| Texture | Fine fibers matted like felt | Interlocking grains, slightly sugary |
| Luster | Oily to waxy | Glassy to greasy |
| Main sources | British Columbia (Canada), Siberia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Wyoming, western China | Myanmar, Guatemala; smaller amounts from Japan, Russia and California |
Nephrite
Nephrite belongs to the tremolite to actinolite series of amphiboles. Its crystals grow as fine fibers woven together, so a piece resists chipping and cracking far better than its hardness suggests; it is only a little harder than a steel knife blade, yet it was used for axes and adzes. Iron sets the color: iron-rich nephrite is spinach to olive green, while low-iron nephrite is cream to white. Polished, it has a soft, oily glow rather than a glassy shine. Green nephrite comes from British Columbia, Siberia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Wyoming, and the white nephrite prized in China comes from the Kunlun Mountains of Xinjiang.
Jadeite
Jadeite is a sodium aluminum pyroxene made of tiny interlocking grains. It is slightly harder and noticeably denser than nephrite, and it polishes to a brighter, glassier luster; on a polished surface you can sometimes see faint dimples, called orange peel, where neighboring grains polished unevenly. It also has the wider color range: mint and apple green, the vivid chromium green called imperial jade, white, lavender, yellow, orange, gray and black. Northern Myanmar (Burma) supplies almost all fine jadeite. Guatemala is the other major source and supplied the jade of the Olmec and Maya.
Why "Jade" Is Also a Trade Name
Long before mineralogists split jade in 2, traders used the word for any green stone that carved and polished like it, and the habit stuck. Today a place name or a color plus "jade" is often a trade name rather than a mineral name. Many of these stones are attractive in their own right; the trouble starts only when one is presented or priced as nephrite or jadeite. The simplest rule: a listing that names the actual mineral (nephrite, jadeite, serpentine, quartz) tells you what you are buying.
Common Jade Trade Names and What They Are
| Trade name | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow jade | Usually serpentine | Yellow nephrite and jadeite exist but are uncommon in beads. Our yellow jade is serpentine. |
| New jade | Serpentine (bowenite) | Pale yellow-green and translucent; also sold as Korean or Soochow jade |
| Olive jade, olivine jade | Usually serpentine in the bead trade | Named for the olive color; unrelated to the mineral olivine (peridot) |
| Lemon jade | A trade name for bright yellow stone | Used for yellow serpentine and also for dyed pale stone sold as candy jade |
| Malaysia jade | Dyed quartz (chalcedony or quartzite) | Bright, even colors and high translucency |
| Mashan jade | A dyed stone, not jade | Sellers describe it as dyed quartzite or dyed dolomite marble |
| Taiwan jade | Nephrite | True jade from Hualien, Taiwan |
| African jade | Green grossular garnet or other green African stones | Grossular is also sold as Transvaal jade; the name is also used for verdite, a green rock colored by chromium mica, and buddstone |
| Indian jade | Green aventurine (quartz) | Shows a faint sparkle from mica flakes |
| White jade | Nephrite or jadeite when true jade | Pale serpentine and marble are also sold under the name. Our white jade is nephrite. |
How to Tell Real Jade
No home test proves a stone is jade, but together these checks rule out the most common substitutes. Serpentine, marble and dyed quartz are the stones you are most likely to meet.
Density and heft
Jadeite is about 25% denser than quartz or serpentine, so a strand of jadeite feels noticeably heavier than a same-size strand of either. Nephrite is only 10% to 15% denser, so heft alone is a weak clue for it. With a jeweler's scale that reads to 0.01 g you can measure specific gravity: weigh 10 or more loose beads dry, weigh them again hanging in a cup of water, and divide the dry weight by the difference. Nephrite comes out near 2.95, jadeite near 3.3, serpentine near 2.6 and quartz at 2.65.
Cool touch
Jade feels cool against your skin and warms slowly. So does every other stone, so this test only separates stone from glass and plastic.
Scratch resistance
A steel blade will not scratch nephrite or jadeite, but it scratches marble and most serpentine easily. Quartz also resists steel, so dyed quartz passes this test. If you try it, use the inside edge of a drill hole on a bead you do not mind marking.
Texture under a loupe
A 10x loupe shows a lot. Nephrite looks fibrous and felted, and jadeite granular, sometimes with orange peel dimples. Dyed stones show color concentrated in cracks and between grains, like a fine web. Quartzite shows small glittering grains, and serpentine often has a waxy look with soft cloudy patches.
Sound
Tapped together, jade beads give a clear, ringing click, while softer stones sound duller. It is an unreliable folk test, since size, drilling and cracks all change the sound.
A lab is the only sure test
A gem lab identifies jade by refractive index (about 1.61 for nephrite and 1.66 for jadeite, against about 1.56 for serpentine and 1.54 for quartz), specific gravity and infrared or Raman spectroscopy.
The Jade We Carry
Our product titles use the trade names you will see across the market, and they sort into 4 groups, all of them in the jade bead collection, with the greens also in the green jade collection.
Nephrite
Canadian Green Jade and Canadian Jade are nephrite from British Columbia, cut in rounds, heishi, tiles, sticks and chips. Siberian Green Jade is nephrite from Siberia, and White Jade is nephrite as well.
Jadeite
Burmese Jade is jadeite from Myanmar, and Guatemalan Jade is jadeite from Guatemala, in soft greens, mint, seafoam and teal.
Serpentine sold under jade names
Yellow Jade is serpentine sold under the trade name, and its listings say so. New Jade is bowenite serpentine, and Serpentine Jade carries its mineral in its name. Serpentine is softer than true jade, roughly 2.5 to 6 on the Mohs scale, so it scratches more easily, but it takes a smooth polish. More of it is in our serpentine bead collection.
Other trade names
We also carry Olivine Jade, Chartreuse Olive Jade, Lemon Jade, Flower Jade, Green Jade, Black Jade, Pyrite In Jade and Sky Mountain Jade, sold under the trade names they are known by.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is yellow jade real jade?
Usually not. Most yellow jade beads, including ours, are serpentine sold under a long-standing trade name. Yellow nephrite and yellow jadeite do exist, but they are uncommon in beads.
What is the difference between nephrite and jadeite?
They are different minerals. Nephrite is a fibrous amphibole, tougher, lighter and oily in luster; jadeite is a granular pyroxene, slightly harder, denser, glassier and found in more colors, including the vivid imperial green.
How can I tell if jade is real?
Check its weight or specific gravity, try a steel blade on a hidden spot, and look at the texture and color distribution under a 10x loupe. These rule out serpentine, marble and dyed quartz in most cases, but only a gem lab can confirm jade.
Why is some jade so cheap?
Often because it is not jade at all but serpentine, marble or dyed quartz. True nephrite is also far more plentiful than fine jadeite, and opaque or mottled material costs much less than translucent, evenly colored stone.
Is new jade real jade?
No. New jade is bowenite, a hard, fine-grained variety of serpentine. It is an attractive pale green carving stone in its own right, but it is not nephrite or jadeite.
Is Malaysia jade real jade?
No. Malaysia jade is dyed quartz, usually chalcedony or quartzite, which is why it comes in bright, even colors that true jade rarely shows.
Shop Jade Beads
Browse every type above in our jade bead collection, Canadian, Siberian and Burmese greens in the green jade collection, and warm yellow and green stones in our serpentine beads. For what hardness means for wear, see The Mohs Hardness Scale and What It Means to Your Designs, and for another stone that is often imitated, our guide to real vs fake malachite.
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