Key properties
| Chemical formula | NaAlSi2O6 |
| Crystal system | Monoclinic |
| Mohs hardness | 6.5-7 |
| Toughness | Exceptional - interlocking granular microstructure makes it the toughest gem material alongside nephrite |
| Refractive index | 1.660-1.680 |
| Optic character | Aggregate (AGG); crystals are biaxial positive (+) |
| Specific gravity | 3.25-3.40 |
| Cleavage | Two directions in single crystals but not visible in the massive aggregate used for gems |
| Fracture | Granular to splintery, with a dimpled 'orange peel' look on polished surfaces of coarse material |
| Habit | Massive, compact, interlocking granular aggregates formed under high-pressure metamorphism; boulders with weathered skins in alluvial deposits |
| Lustre | Dull to vitreous; polish: Vitreous to greasy |
| UV fluorescence | White and light green bodytypes often glow weak white in long-wave; most greens and dark colours inert; dyed lavender commonly fluoresces moderate to strong orange in long-wave |
| Pleochroism | None (polycrystalline aggregate) |
| Cause of colour | Chromium for imperial green, iron for greyish to yellowish greens and yellow-browns, iron-manganese mechanisms for lavender, iron-titanium charge transfer for the rare blues |
| Typical inclusions | Polycrystalline grain boundaries with sparkling reflections from individual grains on unpolished backs • cleavage glints • dye concentrations in fractures (C goods) • patchy chalky fluorescence and irregular texture in polymer-impregnated B goods |
| Stability | Stable to light and normal wear • fuses to a bubbly glass under a jeweller's torch • warm acids slowly attack the surface; bleached and polymer-filled B goods are damaged by heat, solvents and ultrasonic |
| Heat sensitivity | High for bench work - torch heat destroys polish and can melt impregnation |
| Care and cleaning | Warm soapy water safe • ultrasonic safe for untreated Type A only • never steam or torch • avoid acids, acetone and strong solvents, especially on B goods |
| Birthstones | No official birthstone; jade marks the 12th wedding anniversary and carries luck, protection and rank symbolism across Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures |
| Availability | Limited - gem jadeite of lapidary quality comes almost exclusively from Myanmar; fine imperial green is genuinely rare |
| Recognition | Spot RI 1.66, SG about 3.34, exceptional toughness with granular fracture and vitreous polish; the 437 nm iron absorption line is near-diagnostic, joined by chromium lines at 630, 655 and 690 nm in natural green |
Varieties (6)
Lavender Jadeite
| Colour | light to medium lilac and lavender purple, often mottled |
| Transparency | opaque |
| Clarity type | Polycrystalline; clarity terms do not apply - judge evenness and translucency |
| Phenomena | None |
| Appearance | Soft cloudy lilac with a waxy-greasy glow; finer material is even and translucent rather than patchy |
| Trade names | Lavender jade • violet jade |
| Misnomers | Dyed lavender material sold as natural; purple chalcedony or sugilite sold as lavender jade |
| Typical sizes | Bangles, cabochons and carvings of all sizes; large pieces available |
| Cutting styles | Bangles • cabochons • beads • carvings |
| Key separations | Vs purple chalcedony: spot RI 1.54 vs 1.66 • Vs sugilite: RI about 1.61, SG 2.74 • Vs fluorite: RI 1.434, SG 3.18, soft • Vs charoite: RI about 1.55, fibrous swirled • Dye check under LW UV and 10x for colour in fractures |
| Sources (localities) | Myanmar (essentially all gem lavender jadeite) • Guatemala (rare violet-blue material) |
| Availability | Limited; fine even lavender prized in East Asian markets |
| Market notes | Dyeing of pale material is endemic - always test fluorescence and magnification before valuing |
| Care notes | Warm soapy water; no torch; ultrasonic only if confirmed Type A |
| In short | Lavender jadeite is the gentle lilac face of Myanmar jade, its hue now linked to manganese. Even, undyed translucent material holds strong value; orange LW fluorescence flags dye. |
| Size (ct) | USD per carat | Tier | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00–10.00 | $15.00 – $200.00 | commercial to fine | 2026-10-26 |
Retail market survey, per carat unless noted. Ranges describe what commercial to fine stones trade at; exceptional stones and provenance premiums sit above them.
Blue Jadeite
| Colour | bluish grey to blue-violet, often mottled or streaked |
| Transparency | opaque |
| Clarity type | Polycrystalline; judge evenness and translucency |
| Phenomena | None |
| Appearance | Muted slate-blue to violet-blue, typically streaked and mottled; a collector and designer curiosity rather than a classic gem colour |
| Trade names | Blue jade • Olmec blue (Guatemala) |
| Typical sizes | Cabochons and carvings of modest size |
| Cutting styles | Cabochons • carvings • beads |
| Key separations | Vs blue chalcedony: spot RI 1.54 vs 1.66, SG 2.60 vs 3.34 • Vs lapis: lazurite RI about 1.50, SG 2.7-2.9, pyrite flecks • Vs sodalite: RI 1.483, lower SG • Vs dyed blue quartz or howlite: base material colour concentrations |
| Sources (localities) | Myanmar (rare) • Guatemala (Motagua valley - notable blue-toned material) |
| Availability | Rare |
| Market notes | Guatemalan 'Olmec blue' has archaeological cachet; most modern blue jadeite is Myanmar by-product |
| Care notes | As jadeite generally - soapy water, no torch |
| In short | Blue jadeite is a rare iron- and titanium-tinted member of the family, best known from Guatemala's Motagua valley. Its muted blue-grey tones suit designer carvings more than classic jewellery. |
| Size (ct) | USD per carat | Tier | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00–10.00 | $10.00 – $80.00 | collector commercial | 2026-10-26 |
Retail market survey, per carat unless noted. Ranges describe what commercial to fine stones trade at; exceptional stones and provenance premiums sit above them.
Imperial Green Jadeite
| Colour | emerald to apple green; imperial is an even intense green, translucent; apple green is medium yellowish green |
| Transparency | opaque |
| Clarity type | Polycrystalline - translucency and evenness replace clarity grading |
| Phenomena | None |
| Appearance | Saturated, even emerald green that glows from within in fine translucent material; commercial grades are mottled green and white |
| Trade names | Imperial jade • gem jade • emerald jade • apple green • moss-in-snow (mottled white with green streamers) • fei-ts'ui (kingfisher) • Yunan jade (darker green) |
| Misnomers | 'Mexican jade', 'Transvaal jade', 'Indian jade' - greenstones that are not jadeite |
| Typical sizes | Finest imperial often under 1 ct in jewellery; bangles and carvings from larger boulders in other grades |
| Cutting styles | Bangles (most value-efficient) • cabochons • beads • carvings |
| Key separations | Vs nephrite: nephrite spot RI 1.61, SG 2.95, greasy lustre, fibrous; jadeite 1.66 and 3.34 with granular fracture and 437 nm line • Vs chrysoprase and dyed green chalcedony: quartz family spot RI 1.54 • Vs hydrogrossular: RI about 1.72, different spectrum • Vs maw sit sit: brighter chrome-green crusts, mixed mineralogy, lower RI • Natural green shows Cr lines at 630/655/690 nm; dyed green shows one broad band across that region |
| Sources (localities) | Myanmar (Hpakan-Tawmaw jade tract, Kachin State - essentially all gem jadeite) • Guatemala (Motagua) • Russia (Polar Urals) • Kazakhstan (Itmurundy) • Japan (Itoigawa) • USA (California) |
| Availability | Limited; fine imperial rare and sought after |
| Market notes | The most valuable ornamental gem per carat in Asian markets; treatment class (A, B, C) and translucency drive price more than weight; demand laboratory certificates for important stones |
| Care notes | Type A is robust - warm soapy water and gentle wear; never torch; B/C goods need solvent and ultrasonic avoidance |
| In short | Imperial green jadeite is chromium-coloured, translucent, even green - the pinnacle of the jade world and one of the costliest gems traded. Treatment grading and translucency, not size alone, decide value. |
| Size (ct) | USD per carat | Tier | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00–5.00 | $20.00 – $300.00 | commercial green | 2026-10-26 |
| 1.00–5.00 | $1000.00 – $20000.00 | fine to imperial | 2026-10-26 |
Retail market survey, per carat unless noted. Ranges describe what commercial to fine stones trade at; exceptional stones and provenance premiums sit above them.
Yellow-Orange Jadeite
| Colour | honey yellow to reddish orange and brown, often as a skin or patchy stain on boulders |
| Transparency | opaque |
| Clarity type | Polycrystalline |
| Phenomena | None |
| Appearance | Warm honey to rusty orange, commonly patchy and streaked because the colour is a natural stain rather than a body colour |
| Trade names | Honey jade (loosely) • golden jade |
| Misnomers | Dyed yellow material sold as natural 'golden jade' |
| Typical sizes | Cabochons and carvings; often shallow-dimensioned because colour is skin-deep |
| Cutting styles | Cabochons • carvings • pendants |
| Key separations | Vs yellow nephrite: nephrite RI 1.61, SG 2.95 • Vs yellow chalcedony: RI 1.54 • Colour concentrated at the surface and along cracks betrays the staining mechanism; dyed imitators show artificial dye concentrations |
| Sources (localities) | Myanmar (stained skins of Kachin boulders) • Guatemala |
| Availability | Modest; a secondary commercial colour |
| Market notes | Often carved to keep the attractive skin; buy on evenness and depth of colour |
| Care notes | Warm soapy water; no torch |
| In short | Yellow-orange jadeite is usually natural iron staining of pale jadeite, concentrated near surfaces and cracks. It carves attractively but is a commercial rather than collector colour. |
| Size (ct) | USD per carat | Tier | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00–10.00 | $10.00 – $80.00 | commercial | 2026-10-26 |
Retail market survey, per carat unless noted. Ranges describe what commercial to fine stones trade at; exceptional stones and provenance premiums sit above them.
White Jadeite
| Colour | creamy white to colourless, often with mottling or root-like markings |
| Transparency | opaque |
| Clarity type | Polycrystalline |
| Phenomena | None |
| Appearance | Soft even white with a soapy, glowing translucency in finer grades; often carries green or lavender patches in natural boulder material |
| Trade names | White jade • mutton fat is a NEPHRITE term, avoid for jadeite |
| Misnomers | 'Mutton fat' properly belongs to white nephrite from Xinjiang, not white jadeite |
| Typical sizes | Large pieces available; bangles and carvings common |
| Cutting styles | Bangles • cabochons • carvings • beads |
| Key separations | Vs white nephrite: nephrite RI 1.61, SG 2.95, greasy lustre • Vs white chalcedony: RI 1.54 • Vs howlite/magnesite: much softer, dye-hungry, SG about 2.5 • Spot RI 1.66 plus SG 3.34 confirm jadeite |
| Sources (localities) | Myanmar • Guatemala • Russia |
| Availability | Limited |
| Market notes | Serves as the pale contrast in fine carving and bangles; translucent even white holds surprising value in Asia |
| Care notes | Warm soapy water; no torch; ultrasonic only for confirmed untreated material |
| In short | White jadeite is the pure, chromophore-free base of the species, valued for soapy translucency and as the canvas for two-tone carvings. Do not confuse it with 'mutton fat', which is nephrite. |
| Size (ct) | USD per carat | Tier | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00–20.00 | $5.00 – $60.00 | commercial | 2026-10-26 |
Retail market survey, per carat unless noted. Ranges describe what commercial to fine stones trade at; exceptional stones and provenance premiums sit above them.
Black Jadeite
| Colour | black to very dark green-black |
| Transparency | opaque |
| Clarity type | Polycrystalline |
| Phenomena | None |
| Appearance | Dead black to darkest green with a hard vitreous polish; thin edges show the dark green base colour |
| Trade names | Chloromelanite (trade term, not a mineral species) • black jade |
| Misnomers | Black chalcedony (dyed onyx), black nephrite and black serpentine all sold as 'black jade' |
| Typical sizes | Large pieces common |
| Cutting styles | Cabochons • carvings • bangles • men's jewellery |
| Key separations | Vs black nephrite: RI 1.61 vs 1.66, SG 2.95 vs 3.34 • Vs dyed black chalcedony: spot RI 1.54, waxy look, sugar-acid treatment texture • Vs black obsidian and glass: conchoidal glass fracture, RI 1.50, bubbles • Vs black serpentine: RI about 1.56, much softer |
| Sources (localities) | Myanmar • Guatemala (dark Motagua material) • Russia |
| Availability | Limited |
| Market notes | Steady demand for masculine jewellery; verify species - most 'black jade' in the market is dyed chalcedony or serpentine |
| Care notes | Warm soapy water; robust in wear; no torch |
| In short | Black jadeite, the old chloromelanite, is iron-rich dark material that takes a hard black polish. It is the classic 'black jade' of men's jewellery, frequently imitated by dyed chalcedony and serpentine. |
| Size (ct) | USD per carat | Tier | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00–15.00 | $5.00 – $40.00 | commercial | 2026-10-26 |
Retail market survey, per carat unless noted. Ranges describe what commercial to fine stones trade at; exceptional stones and provenance premiums sit above them.
Sources
GIA gem encyclopedia · mindat.org · Wikipedia
Data compiled and fact-checked against gemmological literature, October 2026 (JDMIS gem reference). Properties are ranges accepted in gemmological practice; individual stones vary.
See also
Gemstone reference entries: gem #25 · gem #55 · gem #88 · gem #127 · gem #178 · gem #201
Related materials: Nephrite
Identification wizard · All 83 materials · Singapore gem labs