How does the cotton in jade come about?

After the volcanic lava erupts, it cools down under specific conditions to form jade rock. During the gradual cooling process, due to the influence of external forces in all directions, the crystal chips inside the jade rock become twisted or dislocated, causing the internal crystal lattice to be unevenly arranged, the distance between the crystal chips to become larger, or the crystal chips to overlap with each other, forming local opacity or translucency, and the transparency becomes worse. These overlapping parts form cotton.

The "cotton" we often talk about in jadeite raw stones refers to the cloud-like and fog-like inclusions that are often seen in some jadeite with better water content. There are some cotton-like substances inside the transparent or translucent jade, which we call the "cotton" of jade.

The cotton is caused by the structure. The structure of different parts of jade will not be exactly the same. Even in a piece of glass-type jade, there are some places with loose structure and large gaps. When the structure of these parts is slightly weak, the light will be obstructed when passing through, forming chaos and grayness. Depending on the shape of the structure, cotton of different shapes is produced.

Cotton is caused by impurities. Jade often contains foreign impurities. Some impurities are relatively large, while others are relatively small. Sometimes they gather together, sometimes they disperse. When gathered together, they form blocks of cotton, such as the characteristic dot-shaped cotton of Mu Na. When dispersed, they will spread in the gaps of the structure. When there are large numbers of them, the jade will look chaotic and turbid. This is the case with many jades at the bottom of gray water. It’s just that the impurities in the cotton are also dirty.

Snowflake cotton must be combined with excellent water quality to show the beauty of each snowflake being clear and transparent, and each grain being like frost and snow, adding a poetic and picturesque artistic conception to the clear water base. When purchasing natural jadeite and finding cotton in it, don't jump to conclusions about whether it is good or bad. As long as it is confirmed to be natural jadeite, it has value. It is only because of factors such as water quality and appearance after carving that affect its value.

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