Jade is a pale-green-to-orange stone once treasured in China as the imperial stone. Jade appears in two forms, jadeite and nephrite, with jadeite being the higher valued for its more vivid green colors and finer translucency than nephrite jade. Jadeite jade also comes in lavender, pink, yellow, and white. Nephrite is found in less intense dark spinach greens, white, browns, and black.
Jadeite jade is often fashioned into dome-shaped cabochons and is a bit harder and more durable than nephrite jade due to its microcrystalline structure. Jade is sold by the piece rather than by the carat.
The most important factor of jade is its color, though attention is also paid to its texture, translucency, and pattern. Certain patterns, like moss-in-snow, are highly valued.
Jade was once thought to preserve the body after death, and for thousands of years, has prevailed as a symbol of love, purity, and status. It was also, for a time, viewed as a prevention and a cure for kidney problems.
