Hi Gang-
Does anyone know of a reputable source for lemon jade cabochons in
the 10mm - 14mm range? Your help is appreciated.
Joe Bloyd
JNB Studio
Battle Ground, WA
A company called Mason Kay has fabulous jade…not inexpensive, but
nice. Jade is their specialty.
I have never heard of lemon jade. Is it a shade of real jade, or an
imitator like olive jade (serpentine)?
I believe the term “lemon jade” would be more appropriately called
“lemon agate.” At least that’s what the factory that supplies me
calls it. They also call it “golden jade.”
My understanding, from research only, is that the term “jade” in
Chinese is much broader in meaning than it is in English. Hence the
loss in translation.
You can see pictures in the “agate” section on my web site.
Susan
Sun Country Gems
www.suncountrygems.com
Hi,
LEMON JADE = HONEY JADE. The colors of Jade and Amber are not to be
confused because each one uses the definition of their color
differently.
Should I want to purchase Jade that is yellow, I would ask to
purchase HONEY JADE. We have purchased Honey Jade in 20mm sphere
beads to use with our jewelry necklaces.
The vendor we trust and purchase from will be back in September. I
will ask her where is the best place to get Honey Jade when she is
not here. She has given me her business card but I lost it. I
tried contacting her but she is constantly on the road hitting every
major show.
I wish I could be of more help. Should I find another reputable
vendor, I will let you know by posting.
Goodluck,
Waynette
HQCE
I believe the term "lemon jade" would be more appropriate=
ly
called "lemon agate." At least that's what the factory that supplies me calls it. They also call it "golden jade."
I’ve seen material approximately that shade called olive jade also.
Agates, being a variety of silica, should be harder than either jade
or serpentine. A jackknife blade was what we always used in
undergrad geology classes to separate things softer than quartz from
those as hard or harder. Your knife should not be able to scratch
agate, but should scratch either jade or serpentine. (I’m hedging
here, because knives have changed since my undergrad days, and
sometimes it’s hard to tell which scratched what.)
Tas
OK, I got out my jack knife and scratched the lemon jade. (It would
not scratch my blue lace agate.) So, now where does that leave us
with the stone’s definition? If it’s not agate, not serpentine
(maybe?), and not jade, then what is it?
Susan
Sun Country Gems
www.suncountrygems.com
If it's not agate, not serpentine (maybe?), and not jade, then what is it?
Sorry, Susan. The scratch just means it’s NOT agate, but COULD be
jade. Serpentine is pretty soft too. If you have any hydrochloric
acid, try scratching it again and putting 1 drop on the scratchings.
If the scratchings fizz, but the UNscratched part doesn’t, then you
probably have dyed dolomite. If both fizz, you have dyed calcite or
aragonite. If nothing fizzes, get thee to an accomplished
mineralogist or rockhound.
Susan,
I have never seen a Lemon Colored Jade in any quantity. I have seen
a few obects and rough items of jadeite that could possibly be called
a yellow green color.
Gem traders are constantly looking for materials that are
inexpensive and can simulate another established gem in the market
place. I would sugest you use a set of hardness tools to determine
the hardness of the material and find a way to determine the specific
gravity of the material. These two pieces of data should help you to
narrow your decision. I use the “Gemstone & Mineral Data Book” by
John Sinkankas to narrow down the field from there.
Be advised that this only works for natural materials. There are so
many laboratory grown materials and enhanced materials being used for
beads and carving that identification becomes very confusing. Even
people that have been studying gems for years are having trouble in
todays market place. I look for obvious indicators that I weigh
against my knowledge and experience. If the material does not fit
into what I know I either do not buy or only buy a small amount for
testing. In my experience it is better to be safe than sorry.
Scammers exist at every level of the gem trade. Your own knowledge
and a relationship with a supplier that will allow returns on
improperly labeled material are your best defenses.
Gerry Galarneau, in hot and getting humid Arizona. Come on rain.
When we tire of the ID of Lemon Jade, how about working on the
latest entry - Ruby Jade. Turning up in the market place in big rough
pendants. Is a very bright red.
Pat
G’day There may be yellowish jade but I don’t believe in ruby jade.
I have seen an awful lot of glaringly artificial colours of agate,
however; bright green, orange, purple and scarlet Yuck! Have even
dyed agate myself - deep blue, for the hell of it.
Cheers for now,
JohnB of Mapua, Nelson NZ
For a noteworthy selection of coloured ‘jades’, have a look at the
Semiprecious page of http://www.astralbeads.com which includes the
wildly misnamed New Jade, African Jade and Mountain Jade, and colours
such as ‘turquoise jade’. Sadly, there is no description of what
these ‘jades’ actually are mineralogically (nephrite and jadeite may
be in there somewhere under other names), nor whether the stones have
been dyed. As far as I have been able to make out, ‘lemon jade’ and
‘honey jade’ are terms sometimes used by purveyors of jadeite to
refer to different shades of yellow jadeite, with ‘old yellow jade’
referring to the darkest shade. Rarely are these terms accompanied by
any regarding dye treatments.
Pat
I’ve watched this thread for awhile but no one has come up with it
as yet. There is, in fact, yellow jadeite though I would not call it
’lemon jade". It comes from Burma and is a part of the stone near the
’skin’ similar to where one fined brownish or reddish on occasion. I
used to pick up a piece now and then in Taiwan …they had imported
it from Hong Kong. It can be quite beautiful and cuts and polished
just fine. It can be pretty expensive though and the stuff one finds
as beads or novelties is usually gray/green jadeite that has been
dyed. I have also cut yellowish nephrite but it too is rare.
Cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio in SOFL where simple
elegance IS fine jewelry! @coralnut2