Signifying purity, virtue, wisdom, and courage, jade is one of the most popular gemstones worldwide. And it has great historical and cultural significance in China and Latin America.
However, with peaking fame, price and demand come a lot of unscrupulous retailers tricking people into buying fake jade.
Think about how you spend huge sums of money on jade or jade jewelry only to find later that it’s counterfeit.
It’s awful! You deserve better!
But how to tell if jade is real? Is there any way to tell what is what?
Keep reading! In this blog, you’ll surprisingly discover some effortless ways to tell if jade is authentic and more about jade.
What is Jade?
Jade is a mineral used as jewelry or for decoration. It’s particularly green, although it may also be yellow or white. So, how much is real jade worth? The price of it highly depends on the quality, starting from $5 per carat to occasionally $3 million per carat.
In ancient China, people wore jade to cure disease and ward off evil spirits. Jade also has astrological significance. It’s the August birthstone thought to cleanse the root chakra of people born in the Leo and Virgo zodiac signs.
Know Your Jade – Jadeite and Nephrite
How can you tell if something is real jade? It’s critical to know that jade has two distinct forms on the market: jadeite and nephrite. They’re pretty different although they’re both called jade.
Jadeite
Jadeite is more valuable than nephrite because it’s rarer, harder and denser. It has a wider range of colors than nephrite, mainly green shades that range from apple green to emerald.
Imperial jade, a type of vivid green jade, is the most valuable kind of jade on the market. Because jadeite is more difficult to get and more expensive, it’s more susceptible to being fake.
Nephrite
Nephrite is more common and, thus, more affordable. It’s usually white, green and yellow. Besides, nephrite is more durable than jadeite because of its composition. Also, nephrite’s luster is vitreous or glassy, whereas the jadeite’s luster is more oily. Today, most jade on the market is nephrite.
Is My Jade Fake: Tests to Spot Fake Jade
Now, let’s get back to that jade or jade jewelry that you have bought and have been flaunting on many occasions. If you’re wondering, “How do I know if my jade is valuable?” No more living in doubt. Check it with these easy but effective ways:
The Look Test
The first step is to examine the jade texture. Jade has varieties of colors, but it should never be opaque or dull. Premium jade is translucent and silky to the touch. Their color is vibrant and eye-catching, reflecting light like water.
A lackluster texture indicates that it’s fake jade and may have been dyed with chemicals. If there are bubbles or two different colors within one stone, the jade piece is likely made of glass or imitation jade.
The Light Test
Though flaws in gemstones are typically regarded as a disadvantage, they can occasionally be a blessing in disguise. Flaws in jade indicate that the stone is most likely real.
Hold the jade under a bright light. Look for impurities that resemble thin vein-like fibers, which are common in natural jade. Even if the jade was polished, genuine jade will have minor flaws such as dents on the surface. But, if you notice bubbles within the jade, the stone is probably not authentic.
To check the stone more carefully, get a jeweler’s loupe, which magnifies the stone up to 30 times for a clearer look.
Be cautious: if you enter a jade store and begin carefully inspecting the gemstone (with or without a jeweler’s loupe), you may irritate the retailer. You’d better ask first if you can inspect the stone in this way.
The Scratch Test
This test is greatly recommended by many jade collectors. Real jade is tough so it won’t be scratched easily. To put this into context, steel has a Mohs hardness of 5, and jade has a hardness of 6 to 7. This means that jade is harder than metal, so the jade should not be scratched by metals.
To perform the scratch test, scratch the jade surface with a metal object like a knife, a needle, or a pair of scissors. If it leaves a clear scratch on the jade, your jade is most likely fake.
Be noted: when performing the scratch test on a mounted piece of jade, make sure to test a hidden area of the jade, such as the underside of a pendant. Don’t perform this test in a store. And even if you do it at home, be careful not to damage the jade’s setting.
The Temperature Test
Despite the temperature of its surroundings, jade is naturally very cool to the touch. Even when placed in a warm environment, jade retains its coolness. It takes a while to warm up and cools down quickly.
Holding the jade in your hand and feeling its temperature is a good way to test it. Jade will slowly warm up when you hold it. Set it aside for a few seconds then take it back to your hands, if it is genuine jade, it would cool quickly.
However, this heat test is tricky because it depends on many factors and can be quite a subjective test.
The Sound Test
Different from the heavier chime of glass or the hollow sound of plastic, real jade has a beautiful soft clinking sound.
If you have a real jade piece on hand, this test will be more effective. Tap the jade if you have a real piece and listen to the sound it makes. You can also listen by tapping it with a glass or metal piece. The jade should sound like a heavy clinking bell.
The Weight Test
Jade is a dense gemstone that should feel heavy in your hand.
Jadeite has a higher density than nephrite (jadeite has a density of 3.30-3.38 and nephrite has a density of 2.90-3.03), the difference is negligible when compared to the weight of most other gemstones. For example, glass has a density of 2.5, and aventurine has a density of 2.64, both of which are common jade substitutes.
Toss the jade into the air and then catch it as it falls. If it feels heavier than other stones of the same size, the jade is most likely genuine.
Types of Jade Treatments
To enhance the clarity and color, jade is commonly treated. Dyeing and heating are two common treatments, and it can be difficult to distinguish whether the jade has been treated or not.
Dyeing
Jade can be dyed in several ways. Coating the jade with varnish is a common method to improve the appearance of the jade. This method can fill in any cracks or flaws in the jade, leaving it smooth and silky.
Once the coating has been applied, it can be difficult to tell if the jade has natural flaws. Chemicals can also be used to change the color of jade.
Heat Treatments
It’s a more common treatment. It can change the tone and color of the jade, making it darker or lighter as desired. Once heated, a jade gemstone cannot be returned to its original state.
Treated jade is not always a bad thing since it can dramatically improve the quality of jade. It’s worth noting that treated jade can sell for more than natural jade with an unappealing appearance.
Except for dyeing and heat treatment, doubling and tripling, bleaching, and stabilizing by use of polymers are used to improve jade.
Are All Natural Jade Stones the Same?
Not all real jade stones are the same – As previously said, they can still be treated, enhanced, stabilized, or even just jade doublets or triplets (this is when slices of jade are glued to plastic backing).
Generally, there’re jade categories as follows:
- Type A jade: natural and untreated jade with only surface waxing.
- Type B jade: chemically bleached and then filled with polymer resin to remove impurities and improve the jade’s stability and transparency. Type B jade can be detected by Infrared spectroscopy.
- Type C jade: dyed or stained to change the color. The transparency of the jade is usually lost.
- Type D jade: composite jade, such as doublets or triplets, that is made up of jade slices with plastic backings.
Stones That Look Like Jade
- Aventurine
Aventurine resembles jade so much that it is also known as Indian or Australian jade. But, Aventurine is a type of quartz and doesn’t belong to the same mineral family as jade.
- Serpentine
Serpentine is a mineral group that sometimes looks like jade. It has a waxy luster when polished and has similar green, brown, and yellow hues to jade. But, jade has a much higher polish and smoothness than serpentine.
- Malaysia Jade
This gemstone is popular in Asian countries, but it is not jade. It’s a type of quartz that resemble high-quality jade. Malaysia jade can be dyed any color, the most common colors are red, blue, lavender, turquoise, pink, and pure white.
- Transvaal Jade (Grossular Garnet)
This stone typically comes in white, but can also be in green, red, and yellow varieties. While green grossular garnet looks like jade, it’s much more abundant and affordable. Some retailers call it Transvaal jade as a marketing tactic to increase its value.
FAQ
- Is genuine jade cold to the touch?
Yes, jade is cool to the touch and will not heat up even if rubbed against the skin or squeezed tightly between your palms. Fake jade typically has a warmer feel.
- Which jade color is the most valuable?
Green. Jadeite is more valuable than nephrite, and all expensive jade stones are variations of jadeite. And imperial jade is the most expensive of all types.
- How can you tell jade quality?
Only gemstone experts can determine the quality. However, you primarily evaluate by looking at the texture, color, and weight. Anything that is too botchy or too perfect is suspicious.
Anyway, buy from a reputed and reliable retailer or brand because real jade is never cheap.
Check Your Jade Now
Do you still have any questions about how to tell the real jade? Experts can give the final verdict on jade’s authenticity, but the testing methods are great starting points. If you’re skeptical of your jade, let’s give it a shot according to the measures above!
Want to learn things about jade jewelry? Start with our article “More Than Jade For Beauty: A Guide To Traditional Chinese Jewelry”.