The finest jade is actually fake? Don’t be fooled by chalcedony again!

It is said that all beauties are similar, and in fact, jade is also similar, such as jadeite and chalcedony . There is nothing wrong with simply looking similar. The problem is that due to the huge difference in value between the two, there are always some unscrupulous merchants who use chalcedony to impersonate jadeite, causing people to suffer losses, which is very hateful.

A while ago, a jade enthusiast said that he bought a set of "jade" egg-shaped faces from Myanmar to make necklaces. The jade looked quite green and beautiful, but after identification, it was found that they were all chalcedony. He was really cheated.

So what is the difference between jadeite and chalcedony? How can we tell the difference? Let’s take a look below.

What is Chalcedony?

Chalcedony is a mineral, also known as "stone marrow". Chalcedony is actually a kind of quartz, a general term for cryptocrystalline bodies of SiO₂. It is a variant of quartz, produced in milky or stalactite forms, often in kidney-shaped, stalactite-shaped, grape-shaped, etc., with a waxy luster.

A notable feature of chalcedony is that it is as transparent as ice . Good chalcedony can have the transparency of glass-type jadeite. Chalcedony comes in many colors , including red, yellow, blue, purple and so on.

Because chalcedony comes in many colors, it is very likely that chalcedony will impersonate jadeite, and it can impersonate more than one color, making it hard to guard against!

01. Carnelian impersonating red jadeite

Carnelian is an orange to red translucent chalcedony. The red color is due to iron oxide impurities. Because carnelian is quite common, it is an inexpensive gemstone.

The best carnelian is translucent and looks very similar to medium to high-quality red jadeite! Carnelian has a high yield and its price is incomparable to that of jadeite, which is a gradually depleting resource!

02. Yellow chalcedony impersonating yellow jadeite

Yellow chalcedony, also known as topaz, is relatively precious among the many types of chalcedony. Its price is higher than other chalcedony, but compared with jadeite, it is nothing.

The light yellow color of yellow chalcedony and its fine texture are used by many merchants to impersonate yellow jadeite to deceive jade novices.

03. Blue-purple chalcedony impersonating violet jadeite

Blue chalcedony is produced in Taiwan and other places. It is called sapphire in Taiwan and is often used to impersonate sapphire.

In China, the color levels of blue-purple chalcedony vary. Merchants use the purple ones to impersonate violet jadeite and the bluish ones to impersonate blue water jadeite. Although chalcedony has a good texture, its resources are abundant and its price is generally not high.

04. Green chalcedony impersonating green jadeite

Chrysoprase is naturally green, usually apple green, which is very close to the high-grade Yang Green jadeite. Although green chalcedony is considered to be of better quality among chalcedony, it cannot be confused with jadeite.

If you see a piece of jade that is very green but not very expensive when you are buying it, be careful!

Chalcedony is really being impersonated as jadeite all the time. In such a mixed market, how can we distinguish between jadeite and chalcedony?

How to identify jadeite & chalcedony?

1. Look at the gloss

The texture of jadeite is finer, so its luster is particularly bright compared to chalcedony. Highly transparent jadeite has a glassy luster . Although chalcedony is translucent, it does not have the orange peel effect of jadeite, and its luster is still a little lacking in brightness.

2. Look at the density

The density of chalcedony is about 2.6g/cm3, and the density of jadeite is about 3.33g/cm3. The density of jadeite is greater than that of chalcedony, and jadeite feels comparatively heavy in weight.

3. Listen to the sound

The decibel produced by the collision of chalcedony is relatively low, while the decibel produced by the collision of jadeite is loud and pleasant. Due to the different densities, the decibels produced after being struck are bound to vary greatly.

4. Look at the physical properties

The density of green chalcedony is about 2.6, and the directness is only about 1.54. Its characteristics of receiving visible light are not as good as Cr. The density of jade is around 3.33 and the directness is around 1.67.

5. Look at the color tone

The overall color tone of chalcedony is uniform, the boundaries between the colors are not contrasting, and the base color of chalcedony is very neat and looks particularly perfect. Jade has contrasting color roots. There is a boundary between pure white and green that is visible to the naked eye, and the base of jade is mostly pure white.

6. Look at the internal structure

The internal structure of chalcedony is granular, so it is not easy to find features such as those resembling fly wings. The interior of jade is a columnar structure, and the internal crystals are intertwined with each other, giving it jade properties.

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