The only two gemrocks accepted as "Jade" worldwide are: Jadeite Jade and Nephrite Jade. They belong to two different mineral groups whose individual members can be very similar in appearance..
Jadeite Jade
Jadeite is a member of the pyroxene group. A growth characteristic of this mineral is that it forms a monomineralic rock, with a large number of mineral grains closely intergrown. As a result, jadeite rocks are of exceptional toughness.
The most desirable color of jadeite jade is an intense green caused by chromium. In addition, there are numerous color varieties such as white, black, yellow, pink, red, brown and red-violet (»Lavender Jade«).
Green jadeite comes on the market in 3 grades of quality:
- The best quality is called Imperial Jade or Grade A-Jade (A-Jade for short). It has a strong green color and is translucent.
- B-Jade is boiled in strong acids to remove impurities (such as iron oxides) from the cracks and sealed with wax or synthetic resin.
- C-Jade is treated like B-Jade and additionally dyed green.
Nephrite Jade
»Nephrite« is a variety name for minerals from the amphibole group, more precisely from the (ferro-) actinolite - tremolite solid solution series. Nephrite differs from the crystalline green actinolite by its matted fibrous structure. The color caused by iron and/or chromium ranges from yellowish beige ("mutton fat jade"), greenish gray ("celadon jade") over dark green to almost black.
Nephrite - just like jadeite - can be bleached and colored. Not infrequently, open cracks are sealed with synthetic resin (see: Fissure fillings in gemstones).
Imitationen
The correlations of chemical and physical properties presented in the EPI article What is »JADE« ? open a wide field for "interpretations". A large part of the "Jade" offered in the trade consists neither of Jadeite-Jade nor of Nephrite-Jade and also does not have their properties. One gets the impression that every green and opaque mineral is traded as "jade" sooner or later. In addition, there are always attempts to market new minerals and rocks under this name.
Serpentine
Similar to "pyroxene" and "amphibole", "Serpentine" is a name for a whole group of minerals. Among others, the minerals antigorite, chrysotile and lizardite belong to the serpentine group. When they form rocks, they are called serpentinite. This is usually the case with the serpentine minerals used as jade imitations. The serpentinite rocks offered as "China Jade" or "New Jade" not only look like real jade, in some deposits they also occur together with nephrite jade.
As a rule, the minerals of the serpentine group are much softer than jadeite or nephrite. Antigorite (formerly called "bowenite"), however, can reach almost the hardness of nephrite (Mohs hardness 5-6). However, the toughness is far below that of true jade. Due to its much easier workability, this group of minerals has risen to become the preferred jade substitute in recent years. Art objects like vases, bowls, sculptures, but also jewelry and necklaces: Many offers of this kind are serpentinite and not »Jade«.
Glasses
Other jade imitations consist of glasses that have been "devitrified" using a special process. This gives them small inclusions and makes them cloudy to almost opaque.
Jadeite imitation made of artificial glass
The typical gas bubbles of a glass can be seen in the magnification (mouseover to enlarge)
Images: K. Sieber, www.makrogalerie.de
These artificial products are very successfully marketed under the trade names "Siberian Jade", "Metajade", "Victoria Stone", "Iimori Stone" or "Kinga Stone".
Table of jade imitations
| deceptive name | identity |
| African Jade | Diopsid-Quarzit |
| Alabaster Jade | Gips |
| Alaska Jade | Pektolith-Gestein |
| Amazonas Jade | (Amazonit)-Feldspat |
| Amerikanische Jade | Vesuvianit (Californit) |
| Anden Jade | Serpentinit |
| Australische Jade | grüner Chalcedon |
| Baikal Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Californische Jade | Vesuvianit (Californit) |
| China Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Colorado Jade | (Amazonit)-Feldspat |
| Dushan Jade | Saussurit-Gestein |
| Feuer Jade | gewöhnlicher Opal |
| Fujian Jade | Speckstein (Talk) |
| Fukien Jade | Speckstein (Talk) |
| Granat Jade | Grossularit |
| Henan Jade | (Aventurin-) Quarzit |
| Hidaka Jade | Cr-Diopsid reiches Gestein |
| Honan Jade | Speckstein (Talk) |
| Hsui Yen | grüner Jaspis |
| Imperial Mexican Jade | grün gefärbter Calcit |
| Indische Jade | (Aventurin-) Quarzit |
| Jade Matrix | Amphibol-Gestein |
| Jade Tenace | Saussurit-Gestein |
| Jadeolit | Syenit-Gestein |
| Japanische Jade | Prehnit / Baumachat |
| Jaspis Jade | grüner Jaspis |
| Korea Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Longxi Jade | Tremolit Fels |
| Malachite Jade | Diopsid-Quarzit |
| Malayische Jade | (gefärbter) Quarzit |
| Manchurian Jade | Talk, Speckstein |
| Marble Bar Jade | Serpentin / Chlorit |
| Meta-Jade | Glas (Kunstprodukt) |
| Mexikanische Jade | Kalkstein, grün gefärbt |
| Nanyang Jade | grüner Chalcedon |
| Neue Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| New Zealand Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Norwegische Jade | Serpentin (Lizardit) |
| Oceanic Jade | Serpentinit |
| Oregon Jade | Chalcedon (Plasma) | Jaspis |
| Pakistan Jade | Vesuvianit |
| Pate de Riz | Glas (Kunstprodukt) |
| Pektolith Jade | Pektolith |
| Pilbara Jade | Serpentin / Chlorit |
| Pseudojade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Qilian Jade | Serpentinit |
| Queensland Jade | grüner Chalcedon (Chrysopras) |
| Rare Jade | Hydrogrossular |
| Regal Jade | (Aventurin-) Quarzit |
| Rhode Island Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Rhodesische Jade | Verdit (Fuchsitgestein) |
| Rosa Jade | rosa Zoisit (Thulit) |
| Rote Jade | rötlicher Quarzit / Karneol |
| Rote Peking Jade | Rhodonit |
| Schneeflocken Jade | Tremolit-Albit-Gestein |
| Schweizer Jade | (gefärbter) Jaspis / Nephrit / Saussurit |
| Serpentin Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Shanghai Jade | Speckstein (Talk) |
| Sibirische Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Sillimanit Jade | Sillimanit grün |
| Silver Jade | (Aventurin-) Quarzit |
| Silver Peak Jade | Malachit |
| Souchow Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) / Speckstein |
| Steirische Jade | Klinochlor-Serpentin-Gestein |
| Südafrikanische Jade | Grossularit |
| Südpazifik-Jade | Chrysopras |
| Transvaal Jade | Hydrogrossularit |
| Ural Jade | Serpentin (Antigorit) |
| Vesuvianit Jade | Vesuvianit (Californit) |
| Victoria Jade | Glas (Kunstprodukt) |
| Weiße Jade | Hydrogrossular / Calcit / Nephrit |
| Wyoming Jade | Tremolit-Albit-Gestein |
| Xinyi Jade | Serpentinit |
| Xiuyan Jade | Serpentinit |
If you think that most jade imitations are mentioned now, you are wrong!
Besides the imitations with special trade names mentioned in the table, a variety of other minerals that have not been given a special name are in the race for the favor of jade buyers. The most important of these are: Agalmatolite (a very soft soapstone-like rock), green opaque fluorite, colored quartzite, and wollastonite; Saussurite (a fine-grained mixture of numerous weathering minerals), Sillimanite, and Verdite (a mica rock).
For all these imitations it is true: they may look very similar to real "jade", but are easily identifiable by a precise gemmological examination.
Ref.:
Henn & Pintar, Gemmologie, Zeitschrift der DGemG, 46/2/1997: Jade - Verwechslungsmöglichkeiten, Imitationen und künstliche Eigenschaftsveränderungen
Autor: Dipl.-Min. B. Bruder
© INSTITUT FÜR EDELSTEIN PRÜFUNG (EPI), 2020
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