Jade
Lapidary material
About it
A name for two different tough carving stones: jadeite (denser and glassier, from Myanmar and Guatemala) and nephrite (oilier, from British Columbia, China, and New Zealand). Specific gravity tells them apart.
- Type
- Lapidary material
- Group
- Jadeite or nephrite
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 6–7
- Specific gravity
- 2.9–3.43
- Streak
- white
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy), greasy
- Colours
- green, white, lavender, black, yellow, brown
- Transparency
- translucent, opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- none in massive form; very tough, splintery fracture
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.