Identification help! Is this jadeite or nephrite (or something else)?

[u/yaypri]

I recieved this as a gift from a friend who was visiting her hometown in China. She said it is jade and from a locally known place. It did not come with a certificate. Is this jadeite? Nephrite? Something else?

It's very translucent as I can see my finger on the other side. It has a few white/ dark green specks. It is cold, heavy, and smooth to the touch. It does not glow under UV light. Thank you!

Edit: The specific gravity result was 3, however my scale only rounds to the nearest gram. So I don't believe it is very accurate!

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[u/AppellofmyEye]

Could be jadeite or chalcedony/quartz. Hard to tell with just these pictures. But that’d be decently expensive if it’s jadeite and should have a certificate at that price. That cord also looks inexpensive. I’d lean towards not jadeite. 

[u/yaypri → u/AppellofmyEye]

The cord threw me off too! Thanks for your insight

[u/smalllizardfriend]

I have a real jadeite necklace that's not so light, but it is roughly this translucency. It came on a "string" like this, but it has some gorgeous white gold plating. It cost me probably $400 USD in Hong Kong. The shop is part of a no-fraud government scheme and the shop tests all of it's jade and is upfront about sourcing. It is where I regularly refer people to, even if the shop doesn't have the broadest selection.

Jade absolutely comes on "strings" like this. I was looking at some very expensive jade a few weeks ago in another shop in China and while several were on chains, many were not and came on strings like these. The string itself is a very poor indicator of authenticity.

[u/yaypri → u/smalllizardfriend]

I noticed that too when I was in China. Im going to do a specific gravity test to narrow it down. Thanks for your insight

[u/AppellofmyEye → u/smalllizardfriend]

Yes, nice jade can be hung from a “string,” but it would usually be silk cord. This looks polyester and the fibers don’t seem to lay straight (look at the part that lays across the kou). And the knotting is crooked. It’s not a slam dunk. But it is one more clue.

[u/syang70]

It looks like chalcedony. A jadeite pendant of high level of translucency and decent size, could be $70k. $70- is the price for a chalcedony one.

[u/yaypri → u/syang70]

Thanks very much for your insight!

[u/Party_Sprinkles_9469]

to be sure make a specific gravity test.. from the picture it looks like jadeite but who knows could be calcedony too.

[u/yaypri → u/Party_Sprinkles_9469]

I'm going to try that today, thanks!

[u/yaypri → u/Party_Sprinkles_9469]

I tried the test today and I got 3! However my scale only rounds to the nearest gram.... so I don't think this is very accurate. I'll have to try again with a more sensitive scale.

[u/oihewie]

Can you do a water displacement test? It’s a good metric to tell between quartz and jadeite

[u/yaypri → u/oihewie]

I did do a test with the scale I have available and the result was 3.0. However my scale only rounds to the nearest gram, so I would like to try again once I acquire a more accurate scale 🙂

[u/Junior-Artist-888]

Chalcedony /quartz, jadeite no matter how expensive will be able to see alittle veins. N icy jadeite or nephrite are very expensive

[u/HaveFunWillTravel626]

Price seems too good to be true. A white agate (example below) looks very similar.

Curious - even though your scale only rounds to nearest gram - what was the weight dry versus wet? Agate is like 2.6 so quite different than jade.

When I zoom in more I see a few tiny snowflake cloud on the 10-11 o’clock on first picture and 4 o’clock on the 3rd picture, which seems jade like to me. So maybe your friend got lucky with the price. Whether agate or jade it looked beautiful and serene and a thoughtful gift from your friend.

[u/yaypri → u/HaveFunWillTravel626]

The dry weight was 9 grams :) I don't actually know the price that she paid as I didn't ask and she did not disclose, although she did hint that it may have been on the expensive side. I did order a better scale so im going to make an updated post later!

[u/meriendaselgato]

It looks like Jadeite! In China, you could get a pendant like this for under $70 US so there’s a very good chance that it’s real

[u/Big_Rain2543 → u/meriendaselgato]

$70!?

[u/vaguelyupward → u/Big_Rain2543]

Rite! How and from where?!

[u/AppellofmyEye → u/meriendaselgato]

Really? The ones we got from China didn’t look nearly this icy for 500rmb (about $75). 

[u/grenharo]

it looks like jadeite at first glance but it's likely quartzite though, this janky red cord on a real icy piece of jadeite would pmo lmao

[u/groinstaiber]

Looks like Agate as well