What Is Nephrite Jade, and Why Is It Prized?

When someone says "jade", they can mean two different stones. Jadeite is the vivid, glassy one from Myanmar. Nephrite is the older, quieter one, and it is the jade that China has carved for thousands of years. If you are thinking of buying a jade tea cup, it is worth knowing the difference, because the two are valued, and priced, as separate materials.

What nephrite is

Nephrite is a dense stone made of tightly interlocked fibres of minerals of the amphibole family. Those fibres are what make it so tough. It is not especially hard, but it is very hard to break, which is why people have used it since the Stone Age for tools and, later, for carvings, ritual objects and ornaments. In Chinese the word for jade, 玉 (yù), has long meant this kind of stone, and it carries a weight of meaning closer to "something precious" than to a mineral name.

Its surface when polished looks dense and slightly oily rather than glassy, and its colour runs from white and pale green through to deep spinach green, sometimes with darker veins or clouds.

What Hetian means

Hetian (also written Hotan) is a region in Xinjiang that is the classic source of Chinese nephrite. The name has become shorthand for good nephrite, and it is often used as a trade name for stone from other places too. When a seller says "Hetian jade" it is worth asking for a lab certificate on the specific piece, because the name alone does not prove where the stone came from.

Not every green stone is nephrite

Several other stones are sold as jade, and some are lovely. Xiuyan jade, from Liaoning, is serpentine, a softer stone with its own character. Others are dyed or imitation. None of this makes them bad. It means that the label matters: a nephrite cup and a serpentine cup are different objects at different prices, and you should be told which you are getting. We name the material on every product page for this reason.

Looking after a jade cup

Rinse it with warm water and dry it with a soft cloth. Nephrite is tough, but any stone can chip on a hard knock, and a sudden change of temperature can crack it, so do not pour boiling water into a cold cup. Each piece is natural, so colour and markings differ from one cup to the next.

Nephrite cups in our shop

We have hand-carved nephrite cups open for pre-order, from 50 to 100 ml:

• Straw Hat — wide and shallow, 50 ml
• Stern Face — relief mask after the Sanxingdui bronzes, 60 ml
• Bronze Age — studs in square panels, 50 ml
• Luck Lands — two ridges like bamboo joints, 70 ml
• Palm Fit — fine ribs and a flared rim, 100 ml

They are sourced to order and ship roughly 30 business days after we confirm your request. See all pre-order pieces and the story of how we source from China.