The Term “Jade”, Jadeite,Antique Jade,Nephrite

Posted by slang on September 4, 2009

Jade is a very wide term for many colors of jade stones namely the white,grey,green(fresh) green, purple, yellow,brown,red,green-white and others.

Jadeite which is popularly known as feicui ( in Chinese) is a hard jade. See gemological properties of Jadeite below:

Jadeite
Chemical Composition	NaAIS12O6
Color	White,grey, green(fresh) green),purple,yellow,red,etc with uneven color distribution
Moh Hardness	7
Mineral Composition	Pyoxene
Specific Gravity	3.2-3.4(average 3.3)
Pressure-bearing point	7.1 x108
Refractive Index	1.67
Crystal System	Short,grainy aggregate
Lustre	Glassy

The term feicui came from An Analysis of the Structure of Chinese Characters, a book by Xu Shen of the Eastern Han dynasty, which states that fei is a red-feathered bird and cui, a green-feathered on. In ancient Chinese periods it was a common for the woman to adorn their jewellery with the pattern of birds. In the Song dynasty, fei and cui became one word to denote jade, but only the jade with a dark green color and not the Burma-produced intensely green jadeite.

Antique jade is actually ancient or very old jade stone normally made from nephrite.  Jadeite is believed to be in existence in China only after the Ming Dynasty.

See gemological properties Of Nephrite in below table:

Nephrite
Chemical Composition	Ca2(Mg1Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2
Color	White(mutton-fat),dark green, pale green,etc with even color distribution
Moh Hardness	6
Mineral Composition	Amphibole
Specific Gravity	2.9-3.0
Pressure-bearing point	7.7 x 108
Refractive Index	1.62
Crystal System	Long, fibrous aggregate
Lustre	Glossy

Related posts:

1. Gemological Properties Of Jadeite And Nephrite
2. SOME UNIQUE FEATURES OF GEMSTONES
3. The Catseyes Gemstone,Its Chatoyancy Effect & As Jewellery
4. ANNIVERSARY GEMSTONE GIFTS
5. Cats’eye Gemological/Scientific Properties