The finest-quality jadeite—almost transparent with a vibrant emerald-green color—is known as “Imperial jade.” The royal court of China once had a standing order for all available material of this kind, and it's one of the world's most expensive gems.
The rarest and most valuable jadeite is called imperial jade, colored by traces of chromium. It has color and transparency rivaling fine emerald, though imperial jade is slightly more yellow in tone than emerald.
Green Jade
The most vibrant emerald-green color is also referred to as ''imperial jade,'' commands the highest price, and comes from Myanmar where it was discovered in the 19th century.
Grade 1: Many inclusions, most of which are black. Grade 2: Many inclusions, most of which are white, with some black inclusions. Grade 3: Some inclusions, all are white or light coloured. Grade 4: Few inclusions, all white or light coloured.
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.
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.
The intensity of the colour of Jade will only change due to dirt or grease that can sometimes get trapped on the surface, or if the Jade piece has undergone colour treatment, gradually fading to its original state as time passes.
On the other hand, Rose Quartz, which is made up of silicium, magnesium, iron, sodium and oxygen, has a more adaptive nature that warms to the temperature of the skin. However, with a Mohs scale of mineral hardness of 7, Rose Quartz is harder than Jade, which typically measures between 6 to 7.
Lavender Jade
The second most expensive jade stone exhibits a lavender hue. Lavender jade will be worth more than other types of non-Imperial green jade, such as those with a more blue or yellow tint.
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.
The most common and recognizable type of jade plant is the Crassula ovata, also known as the money plant.
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.
Check For Irregularities
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.
Both materials are extremely tough and resistant to wear, though nephrite is somewhat tougher. However, the top color for jade, imperial green, only occurs in jadeite. Additionally, jadeite is more likely to be translucent. These factors, in combination with greater rarity, make jadeite more expensive than nephrite.
Diamond has a perfect cleavage, so diamond easily breaks when hit from a certain angle. Jade, on the other hand, is the toughest gemstone, even though it's only as hard as dust with Mohs scale of 6-7.
Clear Quartz
Quartz is the master healing stone and is possibly one of the single most powerful crystals we can think of.
The most valuable jade color is known as “imperial jade” and occurs only in jadeite. Imperial jade is a green balanced between blue and yellow hues. The ideal tone is medium-dark, about 75%, where green hues are optimally saturated.
Much of jade artifacts are burial vessels. As the body decays, body fluids, which mostly made of blood, start to oozing out of the skin. Much of these jade artifacts, laid right next to the body, were soaked/touched in this body fluid. The black mark you see are irons in the red blood cell in this body fluid mixture.
Yes, lavender jade is very valuable. While it's not quite as valuable as imperial jade, it's more expensive than any other hues of jade. Most have a yellow or blue tint.
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.
The two jades, jadeite and nephrite, can be somewhat similar in appearance, so the confusion persists. Jadeite was first imported into China in 1784 from Burma. Up to this time the jade used in China was nephrite jade. Jadeite is found in a few places in the world, but the only commercially mined deposit is in Burma.
Since lavender/purple jade is among the rarest in the world, and Turkish purple jade does not have the luminescence or jadeite concentration of traditional gemstone jades.