Facts about Jade

Jade was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, ranging from indoor decorative items to jade burial suits.

Much of the jade itself is now imported from British Columbia and elsewhere.

Jadeitite—with its bright emerald-green, pink, lavender, orange, and brown colors—was imported from Burma to China only after about 1800.

Of the two, jadeitite is rarer, documented in less than 12 places worldwide.

Jade, Beilstein, Grave Jade, Kidney Stone, Lapis Nephriticus, Nephrit, Nephrita, Nephrite (of Werner), New Zealand Greenstone, New Zealand Jade, Spinach Jade, Talcum Nephriticus, Tomb Jade.

Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as in New Zealand, the Pacific Coast and Atlantic Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Nephrite jade consists of the calcium- and magnesium-rich amphibole mineral actinolite.

The use of jade and other greenstone was a long-term tradition in Korea (c. 850 B.C.E.

Burma (Myanmar) and Guatemala are the principal sources of modern gem jadeitite, and Canada is the main source of modern lapidary nephrite.

River jade collection was concentrated in the Yarkand, the White Jade (Yurungkash) River and Black Jade (Karakash) River.

Jade has a Mohs hardness of between 6.5 and 7.0, so it can be worked with quartz or garnet sand and polished with bamboo or even ground jade.

Jadeite: Agate verdвtre, Feitsui, Jadeit, Jadeita, Natronjadeit, Yunnan Jade, Yu-stone, Sinkiang jade.

From about the earliest Chinese dynasties until present, the jade deposits in most use were from the region of Khotan in the Western Chinese province of Xinjiang.

Both nephrite and jadeitite were used by Stone Age and Bronze Age cultures for similar purposes.

Jadeitite—which consists almost entirely of jadeite—comes in greater color variations, including dazzling blue, lavender-mauve, pink, and emerald-green.

The craft production of small comma-shaped and tubular 'jades' using materials such as jade, microcline, jasper, etc.

Jadeitite consists almost entirely of jadeite, a sodium- and aluminum-rich pyroxene.

In almost all dictionaries, the Chinese character 'yщ' (?) is translated into English as "jade."

Nephrite can be found in a variety of green colors and in a creamy white form (known in China as "mutton fat" jade).

Translucent, emerald-green jadeitite has historically been the most prized variety, and it continues to be regarded as such.

Jade is the official gemstone of British Columbia, where it is found in large deposits in the Lillooet and Cassiar regions.

The Chinese names for many ornamental non-jade rocks also incorporate the character 'yщ,' and it is widely understood by native speakers that such stones are not, in fact, true precious nephrite or jadeite.

The English word jade is derived from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565) or "loin stone," from its reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys.

During the Stone Age of many cultures, jade was used for axe heads, knives, and other weapons.

After the state of Silla united the Korean Peninsula in 668 C.E., the widespread popularization of death rituals related to Buddhism meant that the use of jade in burials as prestige mortuary goods quickly disappeared.

The term jade is applied to two different types of rock, nephrite and jadeitite, that are made up of different silicate minerals.

Nephrite jade in New Zealand, known as pounamu in the M?ori language, is highly valued and plays an important role in M?ori culture.

The vivid green variety became known as Feicui (??) or Kingfisher (feathers) Jade.