Jade
Trade name for two materials: jadeite, nephrite
Rare · NaAlSi₂O₆ (jadeite) / Ca₂(Mg,Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ (nephrite)
A name shared by two different tough rocks: jadeite jade, made mostly of the sodium aluminium pyroxene jadeite, and nephrite, a felted mass of tremolite and actinolite amphibole. Jadeite forms under high pressure in subduction zones, while nephrite grows in serpentine rocks. Both owe their toughness to tightly interlocking crystals.
Identity
- Formula
- NaAlSi₂O₆ (jadeite) / Ca₂(Mg,Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ (nephrite)
- Chemical class
- Silicate
- Mineral group
- Aegirine, Diopside, Enstatite, Hiddenite, Jadeite, Kunzite
- Also known as
- Yu (Chinese)
- Used in alchemy
- Jade Powder
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Habits
- Massive, Granular
- Fracture
- Splintery
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5
- Density
- 3.34 g/cm³
- Luster
- Waxy, Vitreous
- Colors
- green, dark green, white, lavender, yellow, black
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Translucent, Opaque
Geology
- Origins
- Metamorphic
- Host rocks
- Ultramafic rock (peridotite, serpentinite), Schist and gneiss
- Associated minerals
- Albite, omphacite, glaucophane, Serpentine
- Geography
- Myanmar, China, Guatemala, Russia, Canada
Classification
- Rarity
- Rare
- Gem quality
- Yes
Arcane properties
- Affinity
- Life, Earth
- Effects
- Healing, Warding
- Planar origin
- Material Plane
Sources
- Jade. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- Jade. Gemological Institute of America, Gem Encyclopedia.
- Jade Description. Gemological Institute of America, Gem Encyclopedia.
- Jade. Gemdat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Jadeite. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Jadeite. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- Nephrite. Gemdat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- Nephrite. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
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