Jade

Other names:

Jadeite, Nephrite

Appearance:

Opaque to translucent; green, violet, brown, partly-black, yellow and sometimes white.

Common confusions......

Both varieties (Jadeite and Nephrite) can be confused with agalmatolite, amazonite, aventurine, bowenite, californite, crysoprase, connemara marble, grossular, plasma, prase, prehnite, serpentine, smithsonite and williamsite.

Esoteric beliefs and associations...

Associated with the direction of West, and with the Goddesses Coatlicue, Kwan-Yin and Maat. White Jade encourages protection, purification and inner peace. The greener the stone, the greater its positive influence over matters of employment, money, growth and fertility.

Physical properties...

Chemistry	Sodium aluminium silicate
System/Structure	Monoclinic (fibrous aggregate: fine, inter-grown or grained)
Refractive Index	1.654 - 1.667
Specific Gravity	3.30 - 3.36
Mohs' Hardness	6.5 - 7.0