As jade is a stone that is used in making ornaments very much, you should know how to identify real jade, before deciding to buy one. It is a rock that is found in two different varieties Jadeite and Nephrite. Jadeite is more common and mostly found in green color. On the other hand, nephrite is rarer, more expensive, and found in shades like orange and white. If you do not know how to identify real jade, you can be easily duped by the seller as the market is flooded with fake jade made of serpentine, glass, resin or even plastic. This article attempts to make it easier for you to buy a real jade by using simple tests.
Several tests to identify real jade
See the stone in bright light
If you see bubbles inside the tone under bright light, you are looking a fake jade. It is probably made of glass given the look of a real jade. On the other hand, if you find fibrous structure inside, it is probably a real jade.
Density test
Real jade is a dense stone that feels heavier in your hands as compared to stones of same size and shape. You can also tap the stone against a real jade to hear the sound it makes. If it feels like a plastic clinking against real stone, you can assume that you have a fake jade in your hands.
Hold the jade in your hands and feel it
Real jade is very smooth and soapy to touch and a bit colder than the temperature of the room. It should remain cold for a while in your hand. If it is already warm or becomes warm soon after holding it, it is a fake jade.
Scratch test
Take a pair of scissors and scratch at the bottom of the stone with the blunt end of the scissors. If it gets scratched and the scratch mark does not go even after rubbing, you probably have a fake jade.
Heat test
If the jade you have melts when subjected to a hot needle, you probably have a fake jade made of plastic.
Impurity test
If you look closely under bright light, you will notice some impurity inside the stone. If you find none, you have a fake jade.
You know how to identify real jade armed with all this information.
Photos By: Stephanie Clifford (CC BY 2.0), Vivian Chen [陳培雯] (CC BY-ND 2.0)
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