Jade Colors
When most people think of jade, they immediately think green. What so many customers are surprised to learn is that natural jadeite jade is known to come in colors green, blue, lavender (purple), red, orange, yellow, white, grey, black, and brown. As a matter of fact, nephrite jade can come in these colors as well, but unfortunately we don't have a chart for that.
Jade Value by Color
When customers learn about the many colors of jade, their follow-up question tends to be: Which color is most valuable? When it comes to jadeite jade (also called fei cui), the answer is green.
As for nephrite jade, however, the most valued color is white. More specifically, a particular texture of white - typically from Xinjiang or Russia - known as "mutton fat." Mutton fat jade is exceptionally rare and can easily fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. At Mason-Kay however, we only stock affordable qualities of white nephrite jade - typically in the hundreds to thousands range.
White nephrite jade available from Mason-Kay Jade
Inversely, white jadeite jade tends to be very affordable - except for in cases where it is both colorless and has exceptionally high translucency, in which case we call this "ice jade."
White nephrite jade vs jadeite jade color comparison from Jewels of the Trade
How Jade is Valued
Certain jade colors are simply more desirable than others. This means that all other factors – such as size, translucency and texture – being equal, a green jadeite jade stone will be more valuable than a yellow jadeite jade stone. Green and lavender are the most valuable colors of jadeite jade.
However - and this is important - Not all green jadeite jade is more valuable than all yellow jadeite jade. There are many other factors that determine the value of a jade stone:
- Quality of Color. Meaning hue, saturation, and tone.
- Translucency. Referring to how well light moves through the material. High translucency is responsible for toughness in jadeite jade, as well as it's "inner glow."
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Texture. As a value factor, the term texture encompasses many things including
luster, crystal size, color patterns and inclusions, and the actual feel or tactility of the jade's surface.
- Size. All other factors being equal, a larger jade stone will command a higher value.
- Cut and polish. Jade carving is an art form, and a difficult one to master at that.
- Matching. (in the case of beads)
Saturation of Color
The color alone (for instance, green) is not enough to make a jade stone valuable. Green jade with low saturation can be very affordable, whereas green jade with high saturation can be very valuable.
Tone of Color
Again, not all green jade is equal. There is a wide range of tone, referring to the lightness or darkness of a color. In jade, poor tone usually means it's a little grey-ish. Better tone means there is less grey.
What about Blue Jade?
Blue jade is much newer to the market and isn't represented in our Color Chart above. You can read more about blue jade here.