nephrite
Sign in to saveNephrite 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
Key facts
- Mineral.name
- Nephrite
- Mineral.category
- Inosilicate
- Mineral.boxbgcolor
- 9dec76
- Mineral.image
- Nephrite jordanow slaski.jpg
- Mineral.caption
- Nephrite from Jordanów Śląski (Poland)
- Mineral.formula
- Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2
- Mineral.color
- Translucent to opaque and often mottled. Light to dark green, yellow to brown, white, gray, black.
- Mineral.habit
- massive
- Mineral.system
- monoclinic
- Mineral.fracture
- splintery to granular
- Mineral.mohs
- 6.0 to 6.5
- Mineral.luster
- dull
- Mineral.polish
- vitreous to greasy
- Mineral.refractive
- 1.606 to
- Mineral.opticalprop
- Double refractive with anomalous aggregate reaction
- Mineral.birefringence
- usually not detectable
- Mineral.pleochroism
- none
- Mineral.fluorescence
- inert
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Name
- Other names
- History
- Neolithic and Chalcolithic Europe
- Prehistoric and historic China
- Prehistoric Taiwan and Southeast Asia
- Māori
- References
- General references
- Inline citations
- Further reading
- External links
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 stone used in carvings, beads, or cabochon cut gemstones. Nephrite is also the official state mineral of Wyoming.
Nephrite can be found in a translucent white to very light yellow form which is known in China as mutton fat jade, in an opaque white to very light brown or gray which is known as chicken bone jade, as well as in a variety of green colors. Western Canada is the principal source of modern lapidary nephrite. Nephrite jade was used mostly in pre-1800 China as well as in New Zealand, the Pacific Coast and Atlantic Coasts of North America, Neolithic Europe, and southeast Asia.