jadeite identification

  • From Fei Cui to Jadeite and Back — Questions and Answers

    • Date: 2023-07-01
    From Fei Cui to Jadeite and Back • Questions and Answers

    Recent studies show that the gem known throughout the non-Chinese world as "jadeite" jade is actually a rock composed of three major mineral components – jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor. These components grow in a submicroscopic aggregate with grains so small that normal lab instruments cannot easily determine the true composition. As a result, China's gem trade has adopted the traditional term "fei cui" (pronounced 'fay cho-y') to cover all the pyroxene jades. Lotus Gemology has done the same starting on 1 July 2023, dropping the names jadeite/omphacite/kosmochlor in favor of the scientifically more correct "fei cui."

  • Jade in Upper Burma — Heaven and Hell

    • Date: 1997-04-01
    Heaven and Hell • The Quest for Jade in Upper Burma

    An account of the authors' 1997 visit to Burma's jade mines.