Take the stone in your hand and see how it feels. Real jade should be cold to the touch and have a dense, solid feel. Fake jade is often made from materials such as glass or plastic which are not as dense as real jade. If the stone feels light or hollow, it is likely that it is fake.
Jade is not only known for its spiritual virtues, but it is also appreciated for its hardness. This can be tested by scratching the surface with a knife, if the blade leaves no trace, it is jade. However, if a scratch appears, it indicates a softer stone such as serpentine or chrysolite.
Materials often mistaken for jade include chrysoprase, maw sit sit, serpentine, hydrogrossular garnet and aventurine. This is due to these gemstones boasting the same deep green colour that jade is most famous for, though each have subtle differences that allow you to identify their true nature.
It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of minerals), or jadeite (a silicate of sodium and aluminium in the pyroxene group of minerals).
Currently, Cowell in South Australia is the only commercial jade mine in Australia. Mining is done using excavators in open pits. They extract large boulders from the ground that contain the jade.
Genuine nephrite and jadeite will have fibrous, granular, or felt-like marks intertwining within their structure. You can view these marks by holding up the jade stone to bright light. A 10x loupe makes seeing them even easier.
Portulacaria Afra. Portulacaria afra is a succulent species from Africa, also known as Dwarf Jade Plant, Baby Jade, and Elephant Bush. It looks similar to the original jade but has smaller leaves and compact growth. Once established, it's a quick-growing, hardier, and easy-to-care plant than the common jade.
The most expensive examples of jade are in so called Imperial Jade color, which is a rich and vibrant emerald green. In order to reach the highest value possible, jade stone must be as pure as possible with no specks of gray or other colors.
Generally, blue is the color of jade that is the rarest because it comes from only a few deposits found in Guatemala, Japan and Myanmar. Green and lavender jade are more common.
The term 'jade' is actually a catch-all term that encompasses two separate minerals: nephrite, which is more opaque and traditionally used for sculptural objects and ornaments; and jadeite, which is more translucent and can be polished to a high lustre, making it more suitable for jewellery.
If it's authentic, it should feel heavy upon catching. It feels so because original jade has a high density (nephrite jade is 2.90-3.03 and jadeite jade is 3.30-3.38). Toss and then catch it a couple of times to get the feel of its weight. A fake one made of glass or other materials won't feel this heavy.
The stone itself is typically of a green hue, but variations of it can range anywhere from a pale green/brown to near black. The color name "Jade" itself can refer to several shades of green. There were many deposits of jade throughout China, which are all (now) mostly depleted.
Checking the Color and Texture
If the color is dull or flat, it's likely a fake stone. Jade can sometimes be totally opaque, but the opaque stones aren't very valuable. If it looks like there are air bubbles in the stone, then it's likely not real.
Where is the most expensive Jade sourced from? Jadeite from Burma is the most expensive Jade you can find. This level of quality jadeite is almost transparent but with a vibrant, emerald green color. It is this gemstone that is colloquially referred to as Imperial Jade.
Jade plant placement according to Vastu
Keeping a Jade plant at the entrance of the office or house brings good luck. Jade plants should not be kept in the bathroom or bedroom as they reduce the plant's positivity.
Purslane is a summer annual with prostrate growth from a taproot and fibrous surface roots. The leaves are thick and waxy, resembling a jade plant. The leaves usually alternate, with a cluster at the tip of the stem.
The green, fleshy leaves should be edged or tinged with red when grown with sufficient light. New stems are also green and very succulent, just like the leaves, but they become brown and woody as they mature. The lower leaves will slowly drop off naturally.
For jadeite, the intensity of the green color, combined with a high degree of translucency are the key factors in judging value. Stones which are too dark in color or not so translucent are less highly valued.
Jadeite forms along active subduction zones in high-pressure, low-temperature environments deep in the Earth's mantle, where basaltic ocean plates subduct (sink) under lighter continental plates. Jadeite occurs in metamorphic rocks.
The takeaway here is that jadeite jade, as a general rule, does not fluoresce without an outside treatment. From repeated experimentation, it appears that occasional inclusions will glow but these should only be a speck or two in an untreated piece.