Jade

thumb|upright=1.3|Main jade producing countries

Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition NaAlSi2O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades of green or white. Jadeite is formed only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature.

Nephrite is a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals tremolite, actinolite or ferro-actinolite (aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The chemical formula for nephrite is Ca2(Mg, Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. It is one of two different mineral species called jade. The other mineral species known as jade is jadeite, which is a variety of pyroxene. While nephrite jade possesses mainly grays and greens (and occasionally yellows, browns, black or whites), jadeite jade, which is rarer, can also contain blacks, reds, pinks and violets. Nephrite jade is an ornamental

sculpture of a cabbage in National Palace Museum, Taiwan

type of circular ancient Chinese jade artifact

ceremonial suit made of pieces of jade

ancient Chinese vessel

thumb|Gē with engraved decoration of a tiger, Warring States period (475–221 BC) thumb|Eastern Zhou bronze dagger-axe alt= Dagger-axes and variants|thumb|Two dagger-axes (left), alongside four jis

jade mined or carved in China from the Neolithic onward

one of the most famous jades in the mid-8th century BCE Chinese history

type of artifact known from ancient China

pre-Columbian archaeological museum in San José, Costa Rica

American businessman and art collector (1840–1902)