Jade carving has been practiced for centuries by Chinese craftsmen, who have given the world many exquisite jade statues, much jewelry, and other articles shaped to extremely delicate forms. Jade is found in the Sinkiang province of China, and also in Taiwan, Burma, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, New Zealand, Australia, Rhodesia, as well as the states of Alaska, Wyoming, and California. Ornamental jades include two different minerals, jadeite and nephrite . Nephrite is an amphibole in the tremolile- actinolite series, Ca2(Mg,Fe)5(Si4 O11)2(OH)2, derived from alpine-type peridotite-dunite intrusives. The rarer jadeite is a pyroxene of composition NaAlSi2O6, often found as stream-worn boulders. Jadeite is the harder of the two minerals, 7 on the Mohs scale compared to 61/2, although nephrite, “the axe stone,” is generally considered to be tougher and more resistant to fracture. Jadeite is 10% denser than nephrite, and sinks in methyl iodide. It also has an “icy” appearance caused by...
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References
Bradt, R. C.; Newnham, R. E.; and Biggers, J. V., 1973. The toughness of jade, Am. Mineralogist, 58, 727–732.
Parsons, C. J., 1969. Practical Gem Knowledge for the Amateur. San Diego, Calif.: Lapidary Journal.
Zara, L., 1969. Jade. New York: Walker & Co.
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© 1981 Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company
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Newnham, R.E. (1981). Jade . In: Mineralogy. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_63
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_63
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