Image: <bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126871365" class="extiw" title="d:Q126871365"><span title="photographer from the United States">Shannon Heinle</span></a></bdi> (CC0)

monoclinicuncommonSilicates (Pyroxene group)

Jadeite

NaAlSi2O6

This image shows a compact, approximately 4 cm mass of green jadeite, exhibiting a somewhat translucent quality typical of the mineral.

Jadeite Physical Properties

Mohs Hardness

6.5

Crystal System

monoclinic

Luster

vitreous

Streak Color

white

Cleavage

good, prismatic {110} at 87 and 93 degrees

Fracture

splintery to granular

Specific Gravity

3.3

Colors

green, white, lavender, yellow, orange, brown, black

Transparency

translucent to opaque

Type Locality

Myanmar (Burma), China (Yunan), Japan, California (USA), Guatemala, Russia

Mineral Group

Silicates (Pyroxene group)

Uses

jewelry, ornamental carvings, collector

Associated Minerals

serpentine, glaucophane, lawsonite, albite, omphacite

Rarity

uncommon

Geological Context

Jadeite forms in high-pressure and relatively low-temperature metamorphic regimes, typically associated with subduction zones and continent-to-continent collision zones.

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