Jade or not?!

A. G. Maisey · 21st November 2016, 11:38 PM

Marius, that's a maybe yes, maybe no thing. Scratching I mean.

For gemstone testing we use picks of varying hardness.

The generally accepted MOHs hardness for jadeite is 6.5 to 7

The generally accepted MOHs hardness for nephrite is 6 to 6.5

Individual specimens of both minerals can test higher or lower

I have a range of picks that I bought as a set, but the one I carry when I'm cruisin' with money in my pocket tests for 6.5.

That 6.5 test pick has not to date managed to scratch nephrite, and it won't go anywhere near jadeite.

6.5 MOHS is something like mid-80's Rockwell --- maybe 85 or 86 Rockwell

For comparison, a table knife is about 56-58 Rockwell, a decent hunting knife or pocket knife is about 59-62 Rockwell.

In Australia there are good deposits of nephrite in South Australia, and across in New Zealand it is also reasonably common. I've seen a photo of a lump of nephrite in Canada that was as big as a house.

A mineral that is very often presented as, and mistaken for nephrite is serpentine, a lot of Northern Indian daggers that supposedly have jade hilts are in fact serpentine. This has a MOHs hardness of MOHs 3 to 6, so at the top of its range is almost indistinguishable from nephrite at the bottom of the nephrite range.

With gem quality Jadeite, the stuff that is used for rings, rather than bracelets, the best stuff supposedly used to come from Burma (Myanmar).

mariusgmioc · 22nd November 2016, 09:43 AM

Thank you Alan for this very interesting information!
As I understand, it confirms that scratching is not very reliable when it comes to nephrite as you may end up scratching a piece of legit, albeit softer nephrite. Or did I misunerstood something?

A. G. Maisey · 22nd November 2016, 10:13 AM

Yeah, that's about it Marius.

Ideally one would carry several picks and work up, and of course it is wise to test in a place where it won't be seen.

21st November 2016, 11:38 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,047	Marius, that's a maybe yes, maybe no thing. Scratching I mean. For gemstone testing we use picks of varying hardness. The generally accepted MOHs hardness for jadeite is 6.5 to 7 The generally accepted MOHs hardness for nephrite is 6 to 6.5 Individual specimens of both minerals can test higher or lower I have a range of picks that I bought as a set, but the one I carry when I'm cruisin' with money in my pocket tests for 6.5. That 6.5 test pick has not to date managed to scratch nephrite, and it won't go anywhere near jadeite. 6.5 MOHS is something like mid-80's Rockwell --- maybe 85 or 86 Rockwell For comparison, a table knife is about 56-58 Rockwell, a decent hunting knife or pocket knife is about 59-62 Rockwell. In Australia there are good deposits of nephrite in South Australia, and across in New Zealand it is also reasonably common. I've seen a photo of a lump of nephrite in Canada that was as big as a house. A mineral that is very often presented as, and mistaken for nephrite is serpentine, a lot of Northern Indian daggers that supposedly have jade hilts are in fact serpentine. This has a MOHs hardness of MOHs 3 to 6, so at the top of its range is almost indistinguishable from nephrite at the bottom of the nephrite range. With gem quality Jadeite, the stuff that is used for rings, rather than bracelets, the best stuff supposedly used to come from Burma (Myanmar).

22nd November 2016, 09:43 AM	#2
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,911	Thank you Alan for this very interesting information! As I understand, it confirms that scratching is not very reliable when it comes to nephrite as you may end up scratching a piece of legit, albeit softer nephrite. Or did I misunerstood something?

22nd November 2016, 10:13 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,047	Yeah, that's about it Marius. Ideally one would carry several picks and work up, and of course it is wise to test in a place where it won't be seen.