Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
June 8, 2010
I know that jade can be quite malleable, and, as such, vulnerable to scratches and dents. I desperately want to keep my jade jewelry from damaging. What should I know about jade jewelry and how should I care for it?
June 9, 2010
Jade is a gemstone that can be found in a wide variety of colors, ranging from white to blue, pink, and most often green. Although it is most often opaque, at times jade is lined with color. The most expensive form of jade jewelry is the transparent emerald green variety of the gemstone, called imperial jade.
Jade is a non-porous, relatively hard gemstone. The two main kinds of jade are nephrite and jadeite. Of the two forms of this gemstone, jadeite is certainly the rarer. In terms of their place on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, jadeite comes in at 6.5 – 7, which is almost as hard as quartz, while nephrite comes in at 5.5 – 6. The main sources of nephrite are Alaska, British Columbia, New Zealand, Siberia, and Taiwan, while the sole source of jadeite is Burma, which is why jadeite is often called Burmese jade.
Jade is used not only in gold and silver jewelry but also in carvings, and throughout history it was also used to make weapons. It is actually the official gemstone of British Columbia, Alaska, and Wyoming. The term jade actually comes from the Spanish piedra de ijada or "loin stone", as a result of its reputation for curing any problems with the loins and kidneys. According to popular belief, jade is endowed with the ability to affect tranquility, improve the sense of balance, prolong life expectancy, and enhance wisdom.
Lucky for you, jade requires very little maintenance. Just use jewelry polish on the gold or silver jewelry the jade gemstones are set in and polish the jade with a delicate cloth. Jade can also be enhanced with certain treatments. When a piece of jadeite is stained, one way to treat it is by exposing it to chemicals and infusing it with polymer, which brings about a more transparent gemstone with an enhanced color. Jade can also be dyed or stained to enhance the gemstone's color. For example, red jade can be treated with heat.
