Since the beginning of time, Jade has been one of the most important stones in the Chinese culture. Historically, Jade has been considered an important talisman which has the ability to guard the spirits and the bodies of all that is living or even dead. In the other cultures, Jade is a coveted stone for its fabled elegance and mystery that it exudes.

Though these days, different people come up with different varieties of jade to fleece unsuspecting customers, Jade essentially has two varieties known as jadeite and nephrite. These two minerals are completely different in all respects. While jadeite is found in colors like green, yellow, purple and white, nephrite comes in colors like black, green, yellow and white. The primary difference in the appearance of both the stones is that while the Nephrite has an even color throughout the stone, in jadeite, the color distribution in the stone is different for different textures.

Nephrite is mainly found in China. High quality nephrite is also known as "mutton fat" due to its uniform cream color and translucency. Nephrite is used in finely carved jade artwork and artifacts. Since this stone is higher in availability as compared to Jadeite, it is cheaper in price too. It has a strength o f 6.5 in Moh's scale, which means it is more prone to chipping which is why the finish cannot be as fine as jadeite.

Burma is the chief producer of Jadeite. As far as the aspects like price, texture and even color are concerned; Jadeite finds more uses in jewelry than nephrite. This stone is more expensive out of the two varieties. Imperial Jade is the name given to the emerald green, translucent variety that is evenly colored. As far as its strength is concerned Jade is strong stone with a 7 on Moh's scale and is quite resistant to breaking and chipping.

Jadeite, which is commonly known as Jade, can be further classified into different types on the basis of cutting, texture, clarity, translucency, color and tone.

The rule of the thumb is that higher the quality of jadeite the more vibrant and vivid its color. Good quality jadeite has an evenly distributed color. However, there are translucent and opaque stones available, clearer the jade, higher the quality.

Depending on these qualities, there are four types of Jade.

Type A Jade is also known as natural Jade. It is also called "True Color" Jade since it has a natural color. This Jade is polished and soaked in wax, which helps in enhancing its color and quality.

The translucency of Type B jade is improved by processes like chemical bleaching which helps in the removal of impurities. This kind of treatment may impact the chemical structure of Jade.

When jade is dyed to enhance its color, then it's known as Type C jade. The color fades with time.

In case of type B+C jade, even though it is dyed, the color stays fast since it is also treated with a polymer.

Type A Jade is one of highest quality Jade that is naturally more expensive and precious. Emerald green and Imperial Jade belong to this variety.