True

Such high praise~! Thank you so much. I strive to serve.

Thank you, Peter. I'm glad to be of service.

Thank you for this high praise. I appreciate it.

Thank you, Jason

This is an excellent observation, and I feel exactly the same. The logic is veeeerrrry similar with the garnet families. Precedent has been set :D

Im glad that my work was helpful for you.

Glad to have sparked some enjoyment. I have 2 other videos on jade at present, but I hope to dive much deeper as I get more access to varieties of Jade. Bangkok is a big centre for the coloured stone trade, but is quite impoverished for jade compared to what I saw in mainland China on my last trip. Long story short - im working on it ^_^

@@GemologyforSchmucks thank you! I will find the other videos you have on Jade 💞

Thank you - precious metals will be getting some attention in the near future, yes. Rare earths are something I don't have as much expertise in though, so i'll have to learn more before I'd be ready to talk about it.

Thanks for your support. I appreciate it, Robert.

Well spotted ~ that was a gift from a dear friend from NZ.

It can be tough to get to know outside of China. Very little of the high quality pieces make it beyond to the rest of the world, and even fewer people are willing to pay for the premium pieces.

I mean ~ it makes for some really exciting burial sight finds eh? XD Thanks for the comment.

多谢 ～ 几年的努力有点成果了😁

Everyone gets their own perspective ~ i think it depends case by case.

Thanks for the comment, and I love the idea of your project. As to the material choice, I think #1 nephrite is globally more accessible for sure, so that makes statistical sense for the early peoples to have used the toughest stuff available to them in their regions (China, North America, Central America etc) to make their tools. Additionally, though the hardness of the two types of jade are quite close, nephrite is significantly more tough (the actual toughest gem) because the crystal structure is "felted". The structure works kind of like rebar in cement, where stress on any one particular point in the stone isnt likely to cause the stone to sheer because its supported by nearby areas. Both Jades are super tough, but categorically nephrite seems to be superior on this front.

@@GemologyforSchmucks Hi, thank you so much for your swift response! That's cool to hear, I will definitely let you know when it's finished and share some insights (on Reddit maybe). I might even procure the jade from you if at all possible and reasonable. So, Nephrite it is. Thank you again, it means a lot to me that an expert like you took the time for this :)

Peter can correct me if I'm wrong but from what I understand you almost got it. nephrite IS jade. if a stone can be called nephrite it can also be called jade. the issue isn't that cat's eye actinolite is aligned with nephrite, rather, the issue is that nephrite is composed of several interwoven minerals, of which actinolite is only one, and the exact ratios of those minerals necessary to call a stone nephrite isn't specified. Peter is arguing that, since it looks like jade, is still called jade in China, and chemically is composed of the same minerals as jade, even if those minerals are in the ratios of 95% actinolite and 5% other nephrite components, it should still be able to be called jade

@@shgecko this is a very close summation, and an excellent absorption of what I was talking about. Thank you, and i'm impressed. The last piece fo the nephrite question is the "felting" that helps with the crystal "grains". Much of nephrite includes actinolite as one of its components, but cat's eye actinolite (cat's eye jade...) is not felted if it can create a proper cat's eye, because the fibers need to be aligned smoothly. That said~ jadeite and its brothers (feicui) are not felted at all....sooo... cat's eye actinolite deserves a place at the table, in my view.

@TheJacrespo This is very close, yes. Nephrite is a mixture (unmeasured amounts) of the amphibole group of minerals, with felted structure; What the english speaking world has been calling "Jadeite" and the Chinese call "Feicui" is a mixture of pyroxine minerals jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor. Jadeite/feicui does not need "felting" as part of its scientific definition. My argument is that both mineral families (and the rocks we call jade) are mixtures, so certainly Cat's Eye Actinolite (a key mineral constituent of many famous nephrite stones - amphibole group) deserves to not be brushed away.

Jadeite and nephrite both can scratch, but it doesn’t tend to show anywhere near as much as a crystalline gem. Also, they’re much tougher and break resistant (tough) than all other gems.

One opportunity for you to build a relationship of trust is to share with them that there are two totally different groups of minerals, both officially called jade. From there, i'd suggest feeling out what they are looking for most - is it "a green stone called jade" or is it the most beautiful thing possible, or the most unique? The conversation is really important. If I know that their budget is below a good quality of jadeite/ feicui, then i'd definitely suggest cat's eye jade, informing them that it is a cousin in the family of the oldest historical jade. If they have a high budget and want that cryptonite green (thanks chromium), then i'd go for feicui and go on a hunt to find the right piece. I want to sell the best value I can for price, not just because of my own profit, but because that is what I believe serves my clients best and makes the world more interesting to be in.

@@GemologyforSchmucks makes complete sense. I'll brush up on jadeite vs feicui, and start a more detailed conversation about what they're really after. They've got a piece of tiger's eye they're pretty fond of, so cats eye jade might be an easy sale. I will present all options to them, and let them make the final call. Thanks for the guidance.

RIGHT?! Jade is a morality tale about the difference between hardness and toughness.

It's a culturally related semantic category, rather than a mineralogical one, so I tend to agree on this point.

If only we could rob quartz of some of its over abundant name share.

@@GemologyforSchmucks you got that right 👍😀