What is the original color of jade?

Jadeite, the "king of jade" deeply loved by Chinese people, is not only beautiful in appearance, but also rich in colors, such as: green, white, colorless, red, yellow, purple, black, gray and so on. Jade of different shades has different characteristics, such as: the vividness of green, the purity of white, the passion of red and the romance of purple. If it can be added with exquisite jade inlay craftsmanship, then this jade jewelry will be given more fashion elements and become one of the jewelry choices for contemporary fashion people.

Little do people know that this colorful jade also has primary colors and secondary colors. Among them, white, green, purple, dark green and black are the primary colors of jadeite; while brownish yellow, brown-red, gray-green and gray-black are the secondary colors of jadeite.

In fact, the so-called primary color of jade mainly refers to: the color produced by the primary minerals of jade, which is the main color type of jade and the most important factor for jade to become a gem; and the secondary color of jade refers to jade on the surface or near the surface. It undergoes surface geological actions, which causes the constituent minerals of jade to decompose or semi-decompose, and fills the cracks of various sizes and micro-cracks between mineral grains with oxides, colloids, clay minerals, etc. to form the color.

After reading this, you will have a general understanding of the two main causes of jadeite’s color. So the question is, do you know how the original color of jade is formed?

In the jade industry, the original color of jade is called the color of the "meat" of jade rough stone. It is a color mainly formed below the surface under various geological conditions. This color is closely related to the chemical elements and mineral composition of the jadeite raw stone, that is, it is formed during the crystallization process of the jadeite raw stone crystals. It is a relatively fixed color, which cannot be dissolved by acid. For example, the white series, purple series, various shades of green series, and black series of jadeite raw stones are all original colors.

Moreover, according to current research results, the color of jade is related to the types of minerals that make it up and its chemical composition. Transparent to translucent emerald green jade is related to chrome-containing jadeite, light green jade is related to jadeite containing a small amount of Cr, opaque green jade is related to chrome jadeite, purple jade is related to jadeite containing Mn, some gray-green jade is related to omphacite, and the black color in jade is mostly related to hornblende.

In short, the color of jade is mainly caused by isomorphic substitution of trace elements such as Cr, Ti, Fe, and Mn. The higher the content, the darker the color, and the lower the content, the lighter the color. For example: green jadeite, the green color is mainly caused by the Cr (chromium) element in the mineral, because trivalent Cr appears green. The reason why the green has different shades is because the content of Cr element is different. If the content is too high, the green will be green or even black, and if the content is too little, the color will be too light. Purple also has many shades, the most common ones are pink purple and eggplant purple. We generally believe that the purple color is caused by the presence of Mn (manganese ions).