Fakebusters: Jade

So, I thought I would really test my spotting of fakery by going after one of the most faked stones of all time... jade. Unfortunately almost every green stone or resin shape tends to get called jade, so it is an extensive area of fake busting.

I know this is relatively obvious, as jade should NEVER be neon, but it was listed as such, so it gets included in this blog. Jade does not do day glo. Ever. 

I am not even joking, this was listed as "black jade". Herein lies a trick that a lot of sellers do: if in doubt just state the colour  and a common stone.  In China it is jade. In Australia it is jasper. And so on. This is of course, obsidian. 

These beads were listed as "rose jade" which is also not a colour of jade. But let's take a step away from the ridiculous and actually focus on a more realistic challenge of fakery.

These earrings are at least green. However they are a very odd shade to be jade, as it is not often that jade forms in this forest green tone. It is also far too clear, as real jade tends to be translucent to opaque. There is also not enough variation within the stone, although that may be to the small size of the specimen.

This generator is being sold as "dongling jade" which seems to be one of the terms used for green aventurine. This generator is definitely green aventurine, with its natural yellow discolouration and fracture lines. Natural jade tends to have neither.

These were listed as "old jade", however I would place bets on the fact that none of them are jade, and most are likely not real stones. The term "old jade" seems to be a blanket term used for stones that do not resemble jade in the slightest, some being white to very pale green all the way through to brown stones. At best, the necklace on the left has beads carved from serpentine, the immature form of jade.

This little frog necklace suffers the same issues as the necklace above. I generally expect real jade to have a more yellowed tone, and the stones here are too transparent and too uniform. 

This fake has the audacity to be listed as natural jade. The colour is way off, and there is no variation to this stone again.  

This travesty of a fake finally has some different texture, in the form of these artificial crackles filled with dark green dye. The is also a more yellowed hue, however you can see how transparent the bead is, hinting at this bead not being carved from real jade. 

This is all we will cover for the time being of jade, but I am absolutely sure that there will be more.