American Jade-where to buy some

I have a customer that states she wants a piece of America Jade. She
describes what she wants as being similar in color to chrysocolla and it has
black specks in it. Anyone know a resource I can contact to get some?

vj found this in rec.crafts.jewelry, from "NMarshall" :

]I have a customer that states she wants a piece of America Jade. She
]describes what she wants as being similar in color to chrysocolla and it has
]black specks in it. Anyone know a resource I can contact to get some?

we have California jade [Pulga jade], but i'm not sure if that's what she's
talking about.

http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/vesuvianite.htm


--
@vicki [SnuggleWench]
(Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
(Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
(Metalsmithing) http://www.snugglewench.com
[it's a Callahan's thing]
-----------
vj -- "Just who put 'day-people' in charge?"

On Mon, 06 Jun 2005 15:10:08 GMT, in rec.crafts.jewelry "NMarshall"
wrote:

I have a customer that states she wants a piece of America Jade. She
describes what she wants as being similar in color to chrysocolla and it has
black specks in it. Anyone know a resource I can contact to get some?



Your description reminds me of what, when I worked for a rock shop in the 70s, we
called Siberian Jade. Medium toned, not an especially bright green. Considerably
less intense than most chrysocholla. but with promenant black spots scattered
around. A search using that term on Google found lots of about the same material.

Alaskan Jade, and Wyoming/Montana Jade, (the two traditionally most important
sources of jade in the U.S.) may also appear the same, but most of the material
from these sources I've seen tends to be darker in tone, sometimes more intense,
and is not generally marked by those promenant black spots. All of it, of course,
is nephrite, not jadeite, and as with most nephrite, the colors tend to olive drab
greens, not brighter shades, though i've seen some from both alaska and Montana,
generally sold as "apple" jade, thats a pretty pleasingly bright tone. Still
subdued, but no longer a dull color at all.

Chrysocholla, most of the time, tends more to blues and bright greens, not the
more drab olive/brown tones characteristic of nephrite.

VJ's post mentions "california jade". That, of course, is vesuvianite, not
actually a jade. But it's often a brighter color...

Peter

"Peter W.. Rowe," wrote in message
...
On Mon, 06 Jun 2005 15:10:08 GMT, in rec.crafts.jewelry "NMarshall"

wrote:

I have a customer that states she wants a piece of America Jade. She
describes what she wants as being similar in color to chrysocolla and it
has
black specks in it. Anyone know a resource I can contact to get some?



Your description reminds me of what, when I worked for a rock shop in the
70s, we
called Siberian Jade. Medium toned, not an especially bright green.
Considerably
less intense than most chrysocholla. but with promenant black spots
scattered
around. A search using that term on Google found lots of about the same
material.

Alaskan Jade, and Wyoming/Montana Jade, (the two traditionally most
important
sources of jade in the U.S.) may also appear the same, but most of the
material
from these sources I've seen tends to be darker in tone, sometimes more
intense,
and is not generally marked by those promenant black spots. All of it, of
course,
is nephrite, not jadeite, and as with most nephrite, the colors tend to
olive drab
greens, not brighter shades, though i've seen some from both alaska and
Montana,
generally sold as "apple" jade, thats a pretty pleasingly bright tone.
Still
subdued, but no longer a dull color at all.

Chrysocholla, most of the time, tends more to blues and bright greens, not
the
more drab olive/brown tones characteristic of nephrite.

VJ's post mentions "california jade". That, of course, is vesuvianite,
not
actually a jade. But it's often a brighter color...

Peter

[California does have some real jade, both jadite and nephrite. So
"California jade" is not just a misnomer like "Herkimer diamonds". Most of
it, as Peter says, is rather dull in color, and it generally has a lot of
fracturing. You can find pieces of it on the beaches around Monterey after a
winter storm. There are also some better varieties, but they aren't
commercially exploited, so you mostly just find it in isolated rock shops,
or in the collections of rockhounds.

I've seen some "apple green" Wyoming jade that was pretty nice, but it
didn't have many black specks, which are generally considered a flaw
(although pure black jade also comes from that state, and is often cut into
cabochons). Was your customer looking primarily for material like you
describe - in which case the Siberian material comes closest, or was it the
fact that it was sourced in North America (or the US) that was of interest?
What form was wanted - cabs, beads, rough?]

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com