Washington Blue Jade Pendant

This is a Blue Nephrite Jade Pendant Stone that I recently made for sale.

This type of Nephrite Jade is sourced from the state of Washington. The main color is dark blue with swirl patterns throughout the stone. Some pieces are chatoyant and reflect light creating a cat's eye effect.

Nephrite Jade is one of two minerals that are considered Jade, Nephrite and Jadeite. Nephrite Jade is a metamorphic mineral often found at tectonic subduction zones where one plate is pulled under the other this usually occurs where an ocean plate meets a continental plate. The convergence creates extreme pressure and heat which transforms weaker minerals and can cause them to recrystallize as a stronger mineral like Nephrite. The west coast of the USA is a large subduction zone which is why you can find Nephrite Jade in California, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia one of the world's largest suppliers of Nephrite Jade.

Nephrite is considered the strongest naturally occurring mineral on earth. While Diamonds are the hardest mineral to scratch Nephrite is the strongest structurally do its interlocking crystal structure. You could hit a rough chunk of Jade with a hammer at full swing and odds are you would do little damage to the stone it is considered tougher than steel. At the same time Nephrite Jade is softer than many minerals only a 6 on the Mohs scale making it a workable material. For this reason, Nephrite was often used by Native Americans for tools because of its durability and workability.

Authentic Jade has a distinct ringing sound when you tap it against metal. This is a good way to separate Nephrite from serpentine. Serpentine has a similar look to nephrite however it is softer and makes a dull sound when struck.

If you would like me to add an adjustable leather cord to the pendant stone message me before purchase and I will add one for $3.

The dimensions are 1.9"x .95"x .17"
The weight is 60 carats or 12 grams.