Jadeite Jade
jadeite (pyroxene group)
The other jade, a sodium aluminium pyroxene, rarer than nephrite and the material of the Qing imperial court and Mesoamerican Olmec and Maya carving. Myanmar produces the overwhelming majority, under conditions worth knowing about before buying. People carry it for abundance, protection and calm. Tradition attaches it to the element earth, the heart chakra, Venus.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Graded by treatment. Type A is natural with surface wax only. Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-impregnated — it looks better than it is and degrades over years. Type C is dyed. Type B+C is both. Untreated Type A is the only material with lasting value, and it is a small share of the market.
Mineral facts
Hardness
6-7 Mohs
Formula
NaAlSi2O6
Family
silicate
Where it comes from
Myanmar (Kachin State, Hpakant), Guatemala (Motagua Valley), Russia, Japan (Itoigawa), Kazakhstan
What it is
The other jade, a sodium aluminium pyroxene, rarer than nephrite and the material of the Qing imperial court and Mesoamerican Olmec and Maya carving. Myanmar produces the overwhelming majority, under conditions worth knowing about before buying. The A/B/C treatment grading system exists because so much of the market is chemically rebuilt.
What it is confused with
nephrite-jade, serpentine, dyed-quartzite, green-glass, chrysoprase, hydrogrossular
Takes a brighter, more vitreous polish than nephrite, with a granular sugary texture visible under 10x on the surface, small interlocking crystals that give a subtle dimpled or orange-peel effect on a polished face. Colour is often unevenly distributed in patches, streaks and cloudy zones rather than uniform, and the finest imperial green is intensely saturated and translucent. Dense and cold to the touch; rings with a high clear tone when struck against another piece.
Commonly faked · check before you buy
How to tell
Hardness 6, 7 (scratches glass, resists a knife), high density, granular sugary polish texture. The essential consumer question is treatment grade, not species: hold it to a light and look for a fine net of etched surface cracks filled with polymer, which indicates B jade. Dye in fissures under 10x indicates C jade.
Graded by treatment. Type A is natural with surface wax only. Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-impregnated, it looks better than it is and degrades over years. Type C is dyed. Type B+C is both. Untreated Type A is the only material with lasting value, and it is a small share of the market.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Jadeite Jade is a silicate, 6-7 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Jadeite Jade for every sign
Aries
Graded by treatment rather than by beauty.
Graded by treatment rather than by beauty. Type A is natural with surface wax, Type B has been acid-bleached and filled with polymer that yellows and crazes over years, and Type C is dyed. Hold it to a light and look for a fine net of filled surface cracks before you pay.
Taurus
Only Type A holds its value.
Type A is natural with surface wax. Type B was acid-bleached and pumped full of polymer that yellows and crazes within years. Type C is dyed. Only Type A holds its value, and it is a small share of a market that has been chemically rebuilt.
Gemini
Ask for the letter before you ask about the green.
Ask for the letter. Type A is natural, Type B has been acid-bleached and filled with polymer that yellows and crazes within years, and Type C is dyed outright. The grading system exists because so much of the market has been chemically rebuilt.
Cancer
It looks better than it is and gets worse quietly.
Type B jadeite has been acid-bleached and filled with polymer, so it looks better than it is on the day you buy it and then yellows and crazes over the years that follow. Type A is natural with surface wax only. Hold it to a light and look for a net of filled cracks.
Leo
Ask which letter you are buying before you pay.
There is a grading system for how much of it is still stone. Type A is natural with surface wax, Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-filled so it looks better than it is and then yellows over a decade, and Type C is dyed. Ask which letter you are buying.
Virgo
Type B looks better than it is.
The market grades it by treatment rather than by beauty. Type A is natural with surface wax, Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-filled, Type C is dyed. Hold it to a light and look for a fine net of etched cracks holding polymer. Type B looks better than it is.
Libra
Type B looks better than it is and worsens yearly.
Graded by treatment, which tells you how much of this market has been chemically rebuilt. Type A is natural. Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-impregnated, so it looks better than it is and gets worse every year, and Type C is simply dyed.
Scorpio
B jade looks better than it is, then yellows.
Graded by what has been done to it. Type A is natural with a wax polish, Type B has been acid-bleached and pumped full of polymer, Type C is dyed. The grading system exists because so much of the market is chemically rebuilt, and B jade looks better than it is before it yellows and crazes.
Sagittarius
The grading exists because so much of the market is rebuilt.
Myanmar's Kachin State produces the overwhelming majority, under conditions worth reading about before buying. It is a sodium pyroxene, rarer than nephrite, and it carved both the Qing court's ornaments and Olmec ritual objects. The A, B and C grading exists because so much of the market is rebuilt.
Capricorn
Grade matters more here than species.
Grade matters more here than species. Type A is natural with surface wax, Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-filled and will craze and yellow over years, Type C is dyed outright. Myanmar produces the overwhelming majority, under conditions worth reading about before you buy.
Aquarius
Type B looks better than it is and yellows within years.
Grades run A through C, and the system exists because so much of this market has been chemically altered. Type A is natural with surface wax only. Type B has been acid-bleached and polymer-filled, which looks better than it is and yellows within years.
Pisces
It looks better than it is, for about a decade.
Type B has been soaked in acid to bleach the brown out and then filled with polymer, so it looks better than it is for about a decade before it yellows and crazes. Type A is natural with wax on the surface only. The grading system exists because the market needed one.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
earth
Planet
Venus
Chakra
heart
Signs
taurus, libra, virgo, gemini
What tradition says
In crystal lore, jadeite carries jade's attributions of prosperity, protection and moral integrity; Chinese tradition specifically ties jade to virtue rather than to luck, and Mesoamerican traditions valued it above gold.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Type A is durable — warm water and mild soap. Type B is polymer-filled and will yellow, craze and dull over years; keep it away from heat, solvents, ultrasonics and strong light. Type C dye fades.
Common questions
What does jadeite jade mean?
Jadeite Jade is carried for abundance, protection and calm. The other jade, a sodium aluminium pyroxene, rarer than nephrite and the material of the Qing imperial court and Mesoamerican Olmec and Maya carving.. Tradition links it to the heart chakra.
Is jadeite jade real or fake?
Graded by treatment. Type A is natural with surface wax only.. Hardness 6, 7 (scratches glass, resists a knife), high density, granular sugary polish texture. The essential consumer question is treatment grade, not species: hold it to a light and look for a fine net of etched surface cracks filled with polymer, which indicates B jade.. Graded by treatment.
Can jadeite jade go in water?
A short rinse is fine for jadeite jade, then dry it.
Rare · emerald green, apple green, lavender, white, yellow, orange, black, blue-green
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works