Nephrite Jade

nephrite (tremolite–actinolite amphibole)

The jade of ancient China, Māori Aotearoa and neolithic Europe, an amphibole so tough that stone-age cultures made axes of it before anyone made ornaments. Its structure is a felt of microscopic interlocked fibres, which is why it resists breaking rather than resisting scratching. People carry it for protection, abundance and calm.

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Uncommon

Nephrite is less treated than jadeite, but dyeing and wax coating occur. The bigger issue is substitution: serpentine, dyed quartzite and glass are all sold as 'jade'.

Mineral facts

Hardness

6-6.5 Mohs

Formula

Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2

Family

silicate

Where it comes from

China (Xinjiang, Hetian), New Zealand (Te Waipounamu / South Island), Canada (British Columbia), Russia (Siberia), Taiwan, USA (Wyoming, Alaska)

What it is

What it is confused with

jadeite-jade, serpentine, green-aventurine, prehnite, dyed-quartzite, bowenite

Dense, even, slightly waxy-to-oily luster with a soft internal glow rather than a glassy shine, and a felted interlocking fibrous microstructure that makes it extraordinarily tough, it does not chip along edges the way most stones do. Colour is usually uniform-to-cloudy with soft mottling, not sharply veined. Broken or unpolished edges look splintery and fibrous, never conchoidal. Rings with a clear bell-like tone when tapped, and feels heavy and cold in the hand.

Commonly faked · check before you buy

How to tell

Hardness 6, 6.5 (a steel knife will not scratch it, and it will scratch glass) plus extreme toughness plus a waxy oily luster. Serpentine is far softer. Nephrite's fibrous splintery break separates it from jadeite's granular one, though both are called jade and both are legitimate.

Nephrite is less treated than jadeite, but dyeing and wax coating occur. The bigger issue is substitution: serpentine, dyed quartzite and glass are all sold as 'jade'.

What it means for you

The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Nephrite Jade is a silicate, 6-6.5 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.

Nephrite Jade for every sign

Aries

Neolithic cultures made axes of it before anyone made ornaments.

Its structure is a felt of microscopic interlocked fibres, which is why it resists breaking rather than resisting scratching. Neolithic cultures made axes of it before anyone made ornaments. Pounamu carries specific, living significance in Maori tradition, with its own protocols.

Taurus

It resists breaking rather than scratching.

So tough that stone-age cultures made axes from it before anyone made ornaments, because its structure is a felt of interlocked fibres. It resists breaking rather than scratching. Warm water and mild soap is the entire maintenance, and pounamu is a living Maori tradition with its own protocols.

Gemini

Toughness and hardness are different, and this proves it.

Toughness and hardness are different properties, and nephrite is the standard demonstration of the difference. Its microscopic fibres are felted together, so neolithic cultures made axe heads out of it long before anyone made ornaments. Tap a piece and it rings.

Cancer

A felt of fibres that resists breaking, not scratching.

Neolithic cultures made axe heads out of nephrite before anyone made ornaments from it, because a felt of interlocked microscopic fibres resists breaking rather than resists scratching. Pounamu carries specific and living significance in Maori tradition. Tap a piece and it rings.

Leo

It resists breaking rather than scratching. Different properties entirely.

Neolithic Europe, ancient China and Māori Aotearoa all cut axes from it before anyone made ornaments. Nephrite is a felt of microscopic interlocked fibres, so it resists breaking rather than resisting scratching, and those are different properties. Pounamu carries obligations in living Māori practice.

Virgo