Jade comes in two varieties: jadeite and nephrite. Nephrite is the most common; its worth depends more on the quality of artistry involved in shaping and carving it than on the actual stone.

Jadeite, however, is more highly valued because of its higher quality of translucency and deep green shades. Most jewelry is made from jadeite, rather than nephrite.

A top piece of imperial green   jadeite raw stone, biding 3 millions euro in 2019.

Today in China, we talk about jade, normally means jadeite, the hard jade, not those soft jades. But some best soft jades like He Tian Jade, a top white soft jade, is still top expensive and rare.

Smooth and mutton-fat white He Tian Jade from He Tian area in Xinjiang Province

Important Characteristics

Aside from the color of a piece of jade, there are several characteristics to be aware of in assessing the value of jade, especially in jadeite, the more valuable kind of jade.

Desirable qualities to look for include smooth finish, even texture, translucency, transparency resembling honey and intense, even color. Any jade with a mottled or blotchy texture, any cloudiness, dull color or tiny cracks is considered less valuable.

Transparency display, can you figure out which one is the best and which one is the last?

Please compare the texture and figure out the difference and the grade of these jades.

In ancient China, it says 1 tiny difference of the texture means 10 ounces silver's price difference.

Color Variations

Nephrite jade is usually green--sometimes gray-green, sometimes a darker green. It also comes in reddish, white or yellow tints. Jadeite is often green but can also be found in pink or white tones, as well as browns, violets, blacks and reds.

Which green is the best, do you know?

Precious 5 colours in one piece of jadeite:

Fake Jade   

When shopping for expensive jade articles in China, be wary, and perhaps take the article to a credible gemologist before buying a piece.

These days, fake jade articles can be easily produced from hard plastic, glass, or various kinds of minerals, such as quartz or serpentine. Many mineral species look like nephrite and jadeite.

Today in China, pure fake jade is rare as people already notice it and government supervises markets more strictly. But real jades can play games to consumers too.

Treated Jade

Real jade may also be chemically modified, which makes it worth much less than natural jade.

In the industry, real jade is rated A, B, or C in China, based on how it’s been treated to achieve the color of the stone.

Type A means the jade stone is 100% natural, untreated jade.

Type A or natural jade has nice natures:

it's high hardness stone, can cut scars on glass, so it will last for decades as new one.

it's high density with tight texture, giving beautiful lastre, cool touch to skin and silvery sounds when knocked between 2 pieces.

These great pleasant natures will be gone if jade been modified.

micro-lens pictures of type A jade: smooth and glassy surface

Type B is chemically bleached to remove impurities, then injected with a polymer to strengthen it.

Finally, type C is chemically bleached and dyed to enhance its color, so it may fade or discolor over time.

cheap and typical type B & C jade wares:

magnified photos of B or C jade ware, notice that the surface has been damaged by chemicals, and the lustre is not glass-like but resin or wax like because the adding of polymer :

How to buy genuine & natural jade wares

We, located in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, which is famous jade market in China, near Rui Li city, the main port and producing origin of Jadiete. We have partners in Rui Li city, we can offer you first hand, high quality 100% natural jade with competitive price.

As the authenticity of Jade ware is so hard to identify by consumers, we offer every piece of our jade with identification certificate issued by Jewelry Testing Center in Kunming:

How to maintain jade ware

1. Don’t crash with other objects. Jade is easy to crush, and crack will influence its’ beauty and value.

2. Try to avoid dust and greasy dirt. If there is dust on the surface of the jade, try to use soft brush to clean. If there is greasy dirt on the surface, please use soft soapy water to clean.

3. Try to avoid perfume, chemical reagent, and human sweat, which will corrode the jade.

4. Try to avoid exposing to direct sunlight for a long time. It’s easy to influence the jade’s quality.

Click here to see exquisite items of 100% natural Chinese Jade......