The JADE thread!

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

#3,697
clairejune said:
Annetok, I hope to help answer your question. mountain Jade can be very white and very pricey. In re whiteness, The Jade doesn't get washed to whiteness Because it's already white. Rivers do not wash away minerals. In fact they deposit them, which is why river Jade boulders often have a bright yellow/orange skin. In general, it's easier to stain then to wash away with jades, but nephrite is much more resistant to either then jadeite is, which is why there are very few treatments for nephrite, because they cannot be done well. River Jade is prized for its texture from moisture in the stone. I think this is the key thing, that water refines a fine texture more so. River Jade was mountain jade that crumbled into the rivers. The whiteness was there, but the moisture gets enhanced, and you can get a bright yellow skin. This is why you see extremely expensive white bangles with a touch of yellow, like Luckybunny's 'Sunny', which I would guess is a beautiful example of river jade. One should beware though because in cheaper bangles, sometimes yellow spots are dyed because people associate them with river 'seed' Jade to fetch a higher price. Usually dyed nephrite can be detected when held up to the light.

Congrats on your bangles:) love the softness. Its my guess that the gift one is serpentine. You can easily do a specific gravity test to be sure.
Click to expand...


Yes some mountain nephrite is white but I've also read in a book that some are not white (could be green from chromium or greyish) and when they tumble down into the river, over hundreds if years they become smooth and white due to the impurities being washed away. What's left is the white tremolite and some red skin from iron deposits on the river beds. Of course I'm no gemologist and I just find it cool, what the stones go through to become what they are.

Mountain nephrite, I read, is "dry" and not as highly valued as river jade even if it's white. Hard to tell the difference though!
 
  • Like
Reactions: AJadecent Angle
#3,701
clairejune said:
Annetok, Well that's interesting, and I've never heard of it. Do you remember where you read that? I'd like to read more about it. As I have learned, the color molecules are ions bound to the crystal lattice that water cannot leach out.

Siberian Jade is mostly mountain Jade and is highly valued, so it can't also then ALL be dry, right? Also, my husband and i have siberian mountain Jade, and they are moist looking, so I would be careful to trust an author who makes such sweeping generalizations, because as with any gem, there is immense variation in each location. I'm sure that some river Jade has not the greatest texture...it's just too simple to say something so general when we are talking about all jades from all mountains. And, the truth is, we will never fully know the origin of a bangle, unless it's specifically purchased for its location.

Jade4me, congratulations!! She's gorgeous! Just adore those mellow colors!! Perfect name.

Jademommy, your lavender is beautiful on you.
Click to expand...

Yes exactly, when I saw the white siberian jades here in this forum, I thought, "that doesn't look dry at all!"

In the book I read they differentiate the value of Chinese nephrite by the location where they were mined, seed type being most valued, they are found downstream, farthest from the mountain where jade is "dry." since I can't find the book, I searched for the Chinese characters corresponding to the Hetian nephrite classifications:

Ziliao (籽料 in Chinese): this type of rough jade is found at the riverbed of a river downstream, where there is jade depositing at a mountain/land close to the upstream of the review. Ziliao is usually small in dimension with very smooth surface and is high quality, and is the most expensive rough jade type.

Shanliao (山料 in Chinese): this type of rough jade is mined directly from a deposit location, so it can be large in dimension, but the quality thus the value is perceptually considered to be lower than the ziliao in China market.

Shanliusui(山流水 in Chinese): this type of rough jade is found at the riverbed of a river upstream, where there is jade depositing at a mountain/land close to the river. Shanliusui usually is bigger than ziliao and has somewhat smooth surface.

Sources:

http://issuu.com/fareastgemins/docs/thegemstimesissueonline

http://www.polarjade.ca/valuejade.html
 
#3,703
Annetok, as I understand it, the ion agglomeration process which gives color to the Jade is not reversible. In a river environment, where Jade stones are tumbled, the physical action of polishing by having micro peices knocked off by other stones, takes away the outer layer, where most of the ions are located. The result is that a tumbled Jade will tend to have less color until the mineral ions from water deposit a new coat of minerals, many thousands of years later. Do there are 2 processes at work.
 
Last edited:
#3,704
Annetok, thanks for that info, I'll check up on it. I am grateful for new sources ! We've all seen the pretend tiny River nugget bracelets for not very much, and I know these are trying to imitate the very highly valued tiny pebbles which I've seen for thousands.
 
#3,705
clairejune said:
Nyc, your jojo blue is very pretty!

Jademommy, I forgot to mention that I think that one from UJ is beautiful. I really like the colors and proportions! Are you going to get it?
Click to expand...

Not sure. I will wait a while and see if I still want it. I really do prefer to buy in person so I can see what it looks like in real life and try on for size. The proportions are very different from the bangles I have. The colour
is somewhat similar to my daily bangle. I'm thinking if I wore it on my right wrist it will match. I imagine it wil be more of an fashion piece. Will let you know if I do decide to get it :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top