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Message:: [QUOTE="Any Jewelry, post: 347855, member: 2844"]Jade is tricky. Most stones that are sold as jade are something else, like chrysoprase or serpentine.There are two precious stones that qualify as jade, jadeite and nephrite. Sometimes a stone is clearly one or the other, sometimes it is difficult to tell which one it is. Both come in many colours, and both can be shiny. Jadeite usually looks and feels more glassy, nephrite usually looks more tactile and greasy.When it comes to Chinese jade, collectors prefer nephrite. Jadeite was introduced to China in the 17th century through trade with Burma, the main jadeite country. In stones there is a difference between transparency and translucency. Transparent is when you can see right through it, very few stones have that, translucency is when you can see light through it, many precious stones have that.Jade can be transparent, but it is not a decisive factor. The reason why I asked for closeups with light shining through, is because I hope to see the structure of the stones. When you look at jade, preferably through a loupe, it has a messy structure with little crinkly 'fibres', often intertwined.Other tests are hardness, 6-7 on the Mohs scale, and density. If you are used to handling jade, you can include temperature changes.[/QUOTE]