{"product_id":"1-502kg-b-plus-grade-bc-nephrite-jade-rough-chunk","title":"1.502kg - B+ Grade - Nephrite Rough","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis 1.502 kg B+ grade nephrite chunk is rough BC jade from the Kutcho mine site, about 86 km east of Dease Lake in northern British Columbia. Kutcho is mainly a boulder deposit, where the jade is recovered as boulders partly or fully buried in overburden. This piece is light green, with strong structure and significant iron (black-dot) concentrations. It has no weathering rind, and it has a live edge and cut faces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBritish Columbia Nephrite Jade\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-top:16px\"\u003eBC jade is nephrite, one of the two true jades (the other is jadeite). Here's what that means at the bench.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardness vs toughness:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardness is not toughness. Nephrite is only 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, so quartz grit will scratch a polish. But its toughness, how well it resists breaking and chipping, is near the top of all natural stones, about twice that of jadeite. That's because it's a mat of interlocked microscopic fibres, so a crack has no clean path to follow. It holds thin edges and fine detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eColour:\u003c\/strong\u003e BC jade is green, from almost inky dark to pale. Lower-quality material can look yellowish-brown but is still green. The green comes mainly from iron, and more iron makes it darker. Some BC jade contains black specks of chromite and other spinel-group minerals, and can include bright-green uvarovite, a chromium garnet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuality:\u003c\/strong\u003e Structure, meaning how tightly the fibres are woven, matters more than colour. A pale stone with sound structure can outrank a vivid green one full of fractures. On rough, weathering, freeze-thaw action and oxide buildup hide the true jade inside, which is why rough is windowed and cut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it comes from:\u003c\/strong\u003e BC jade mined today comes from northern BC: the Cassiar, Dease Lake, Kutcho and Polar areas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNephrite was the jade of ancient China, carved there since Neolithic times. In New Zealand, Māori have used it for centuries as pounamu.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThousands of years on, carvers still pick nephrite for the same reason: it's tough enough to take whatever you throw at it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote: All our rough is filmed or photographed both wet and dry. The wet view gives an idea of how the jade may look polished.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Jade Guys","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51681481556274,"sku":null,"price":150.2,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/3722\/0402\/files\/1.502kg-B_Grade-NephriteRough-2.jpg?v=1788136758","url":"https:\/\/thejadeguys.com\/products\/1-502kg-b-plus-grade-bc-nephrite-jade-rough-chunk","provider":"The Jade Guys","version":"1.0","type":"link"}