Bead Identification

[loriealane]

Hi!

I would first like to say that this is the by far best and most extensive site for beading! Thank you for all of the information that you provide!

I was hoping that someone here could help my accurately identify this stone:



I purchased it as China Jade (somewhere else) and I see it for sale as China Jade on eBay and other sites, but I am unsure as to whether this is a form of Nephrite, Jadeite, Jasper, Serpentine, Marble or something else.

I noticed in the Gemstone Index that Green Jade is also known as China Jade, but the stone pictured in the index looks different from the stones that I have.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance! Lori

[Russ Nobbs]

Hi Lori,

Thanks for your kind words about our website and gem stone index!

I can't give you a positive stone ID but I can help clear up the mystery of why some stones have many names.

In our gem index  we'd call it "Tree Agate"Tree agate list  Mindat.org ( another good site for mineral info) calls it Moss Agate and lists Tre Agate as a synonym or alternative name.

It's NOT a nephrite or jadeite. Very few of the stones called something-or-other jade are one of the "real" jades.

In the west we think of stone names as the names of specific minerals. We like mineralogical names. But in China most stone names are descriptive names.  Over on the BeadCollector.Net forum a woman posted info on jade after she visited the Beijing Geological Museum and copied down this definition of jade:
"'Jade' in China describes all polycrystalline and cryptocrystalline mineral aggregates and a few non-crystalline materials that are suitable for carving and making into jewellery. The caracteristics are beauty, colour, moderate hardness, tough and fine texture, and as well as nephrite and jadeite includes opal, serpentine, quartz, turquoise, lapis lazuli, malachite, dushun yu, marble, natural glass, rhodocrosite, solalite [ SIC probably sodalite ], and rhodonite."

Even "real" jade is a little confusing. It's been used in many parts of the world for a long, long time.  It wasn't until 1863 that it was realized that the name Jade was being applied to two different minerals. (nephrite and jadeite)

When we realize that many stone names come to us from Chinese cutters who give us rough English translations of the descriptive Chinese name it helps explain why a lot of stone names seem misleading or inaccurate to us in the west.

I think your beads are a variety of Chalcedony containing green mineral inclusions that is often called Tree agate or Moss agate.  Hope this helps a little.....

[loriealane]

Hi Russ,

Thank you so much for your information! This really helps in understanding why stones are named in the way that they are named.

Thanks again! Lori

[Russ Nobbs]

There is a thread in the B&B forum about "starlight jade" that readers of this thread might enjoy.  Most pictures on e-bay of "starlight jade" look like the usual color enhanced bright green material sold at Chinese jade markets as Burma Jade. I have no idea what the so called "starllght jade" really is at this writing.

http://cs.beadandbutton.com/bnbcs/forums/t/5322.aspx