How do you know if it s real jade?
Jade is widely used in the manufacture of jewelry, souvenirs, figurines, and decorative items. It comes in a variety of shades and is characterized by a fibrous structure. In nature there are stones that resemble this mineral in properties and external characteristics. Therefore, there are ways to help identify nephritis.
What does the stone look like
Real jade stone is a silicate with impurities that determine the shade of the mineral. Characterized by interweaving of amphibole fibers. This makes jade stones look like layered formations. The natural mineral belongs to the first class of semi-precious stones, as it is characterized by a high strength index. In this case, the hardness is 6 points. If you throw a stone onto a hard surface, it will leave a dent in the surface. The specimen will not split into fragments. The most common green gem found in nature. The gamut of the mineral varies from pale green to emerald. This stone also exists in other shades: The color of the stone depends on the amount and type of impurities. 
A natural specimen is almost not translucent. But if a thin plate of the mineral is examined, you can see a slight translucency along the edges. Jade is characterized by a waxy or oily sheen. When heated, the gem retains heat for a long time. Be sure to check out: How to Clean Gold and Silver Jewelry 
Among the fake black and green minerals, jadeite is often found. It is impossible to distinguish it from jade unless you are a mineralogist. Until the nineteenth century, humanity considered both stones identical, not seeing the difference between them. Comparative characteristics are presented in the table: MineralNephritisJade A cryptocrystalline variety of the amphibole group. Characterized by a fibrous structure. It is a monomineral rock. Silicate of the pyroxene group Green, less often black, white, orange, gray Mohs hardness Serpentine, serpentine, green marble, and amazonite also resemble jade, but these stones are of less value. Therefore, they are used as fake gems. The cheapest fakes are made of glass or plastic, and both types of fakes have their own characteristics:
- when making glass stone, glass is mixed with pigments and fiber additives;
- a plastic specimen is obtained by dyeing a solid mass.
Such stones are usually used in the manufacture of cheap jewelry and souvenirs.
Photos of natural jade and fakes
Do you like jade decor items?
Recognition methods
There are methods for recognizing copies of jade, used in the laboratory and at home.
visual
If this method is used, then the authenticity of the jade is assessed in terms of the external characteristics of the mineral.
At what points is the copy checked:
- Shine: jade differs from other stones in its muted, greasy shine. Serpentine and other natural copies are characterized by a glassy luster.
- Pattern: A genuine gem is characterized by a clear layered pattern with pronounced color transitions. Analogs have blurred shade boundaries.
- Structure: The fibrous pattern is a distinctive feature of jade. You can examine it under a microscope to assess its authenticity. Therefore, it is easy to distinguish jade from jadeite: the analogue has a clear granular structure, which is uncharacteristic of the genuine specimen.
- Translucency: If you look at the light through jade, you can see that the edges of the stone are slightly translucent.
Mechanical
Mechanical impact will help evaluate the properties:
- Scratching: Take a steel knife or needle and try to make a scratch on the stone. If the specimen is natural, this will not be possible. But it is not recommended to check jade with inclusions in this way, as parts of them may be scratched.
- Viscosity: The stone is characterized by viscosity, which is not found in most natural gemstones. A small specimen can be cut with a sharp knife, but it will not be broken into fragments. When mechanical damage occurs, a dent forms on the surface of the mineral.
- Thermal Conductivity: Jade remains slightly cool to the touch at normal ambient temperatures. But if you heat the mineral, it will retain heat for a long time. Fakes do not have this property.
- Sound: This parameter can be used to test small beads or thin pieces of jade. When they hit each other slightly, they produce a melodic sound. If the product is made from pressed stone or other similar minerals, the sound will be muffled. Attention! This authentication method is not suitable if large products are being tested.
- Fire: this is the most reliable method for identifying a fake, used at home. To conduct the test, you need to take a lighter and bring its flame to the surface. After half a minute, soot will appear on the surface. However, it can be completely removed with a napkin. Soot will remain on the fake. When heated, plastic will emit an unpleasant chemical odor.
- Durability: if a large jade product falls on the floor, it will not break, since the stone is durable.
Be sure to watch: Assessing the purity and quality of diamonds: characteristics and tables
Formal
Formal methods include analysis of the cost, origin and documentation that accompanies the specimen being studied:
- Price: the cost of a stone depends on its external characteristics. Rich green and white specimens are considered the most expensive. The highest quality stone costs from 50 US dollars per 1 carat. Such minerals are commonly used in jewelry. An example of average quality costs no more than $30 per carat. The price of pressed imitations will be much lower than the price of the original.
- Country of origin: the most expensive are jades mined in China and New Zealand. Information about the place of extraction can be obtained from the seller.
- Certificate of quality: this document, which includes complete information about the main characteristics of the stone (weight, shade, place of extraction), is available for each authentic specimen. In Europe, the stone is not valued too highly, so it has an affordable price. In the East, on the contrary, it is impossible to purchase cheap jade.
Important! Only a certified gemologist working with special equipment and reagents can give an accurate assessment of the authenticity of a mineral.
To avoid wasting your savings on counterfeits, purchase jade products only in specialized stores that have an excellent reputation among customers.
Main conclusions
1. Jade is a fibrous stone that comes in a variety of shades. Characterized by high strength and oily shine.
- The gemstone is replaced with serpentine, jadeite and other minerals with similar visual characteristics. Artificial fakes consist of painted glass and plastic.
- Visual, formal and mechanical methods help to distinguish a stone from a fake. However, only a specialist can accurately assess the authenticity of a stone. To avoid buying a fake, choose trusted stores.
Share your experience in determining the authenticity of jade and leave feedback in the comments.
Hello! I bought jade products. I wanted to ask if everything is definitely jade? From which deposits, otherwise the sellers call everything in one word – Transbaikal.
And another question. I saw black jade cabochons on sale. Very black and smooth, shiny like black agates. Are these Russian deposits? Is it worth buying a stone for your collection? And how to check that it is jade, just in case. Two green “cats” were purchased from the same seller. There are also some black and green cabochons with a cat’s eye effect. How interesting and rare are these?
Amethysts, 26.02.2019
Olga, sellers are having a hard time, don’t judge them harshly. They have no time for deposits. The main approach in your collecting or anything else is NOT to TRUST Chinese products. Here, for example, is a bracelet with an elastic band made of light, apparently (.), Buromsky jade. But if you do not check its structure against the light, then a fake is possible. Such a bracelet in China should cost several hundred dollars precisely because of the “price there” for light jade. But this bracelet was made in China. So the question is more open than closed.
Real black jade, not black basalt or other fakes, should always appear dark green with black moss-like inclusions. Your stone has a smooth greenish-black color. We believe this is a fake.
Not every green cat’s eye stone is jade. On your cabochons we did NOT see the fibrous-silky structure characteristic of such jade. That’s all . If you are really into jade professionally, you won’t be able to get by with fragmentary information from the forum. You must collect SAMPLES of jades from many Russian deposits (there are NO industrially significant deposits in China, they, the Chinese, as usual, lie), study them with a “white” and yellow flashlight and a x10 magnifying glass and. A world of professional and precise materials science knowledge will open before you. The advice, believe me, is the most “effective”. That’s all.
Amethysts, 26.02.2019
Olga, sellers are having a hard time, don’t judge them harshly. They have no time for deposits. The main approach in your collecting or anything else is NOT to TRUST Chinese products. Here, for example, is a bracelet with an elastic band made of light, apparently (.), Buromsky jade. But if you do not check its structure against the light, then a fake is possible. Such a bracelet in China should cost several hundred dollars precisely because of the “price there” for light jade. But this bracelet was made in China. So the question is more open than closed.
Real black jade, not black basalt or other fakes, should always appear dark green with black moss-like inclusions. Your stone has a smooth greenish-black color. We believe this is a fake.
Not every green cat’s eye stone is jade. On your cabochons we did NOT see the fibrous-silky structure characteristic of such jade. That’s all . If you are really into jade professionally, you won’t be able to get by with fragmentary information from the forum. You must collect SAMPLES of jades from many Russian deposits (there are NO industrially significant deposits in China, they, the Chinese, as usual, lie), study them with a “white” and yellow flashlight and a x10 magnifying glass and. A world of professional and precise materials science knowledge will open before you. The advice, believe me, is the most “effective”. That’s all.
Olga, 26.02.2019
Thanks for the detailed answer. I probably didn’t take the right photos, I should have taken them bigger. Light ones are beads. On an expensive cable, assembled in Moscow. I tried to look at the light when purchasing, although without a magnifying glass. The green bracelet is quite thick, matte finish. I probably should have taken a photo with a flashlight too. Purchased in Moscow, not Chinese.
Amethysts, 26.02.2019
And if it was purchased in Moscow, is this a guarantee that it is not Chinese? Olga there was no more naive amateur on the forum.
The light beads are definitely made in China and were purchased on a CHINESE SITE. That’s all for sure. We haven’t reached you. Use information provided by sellers.
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