Jade Color: The Different Colors and Their Benefits

Jade Color: The Different Colors and Their Benefits

Jade color has long fascinated individuals with its varying shades and profound cultural symbolism. Discover the meaning of jade, the intriguing world of its different colors, and their impact on its value.

A green and white jadeite incense burner.
A Qing dynasty era incense burner, carved from green jadeite. Some shades of white are also seen. Picture credit to James St. John, provided under the Creative Commons License.

The Rich Palette of Jade Colors

Green Jade: The Most Iconic Jade Color

Green jade is the most popular and iconic jade color, boasting a wide range of shades from light apple green to deep emerald. The most valuable green jade, also known as “imperial jade,” exhibits a vibrant emerald hue. Green jade is often associated with luck, abundance, and prosperity, as well as emotional and spiritual benefits such as wisdom, balance, and calm.

Lavender Jade: A Rarer, Valuable Hue

Lavender jade is a rarer, highly valuable jade color that ranges from pale purple to deep plum hues. This jade color is often referred to as the “Stone of the Angels” due to its ability to purify the spirit, provide emotional and spiritual support, and promote peace and serenity.

Lavender jadeite, one of the most impressive colors of jade, shown up close
A closeup of lavender jadeite. Photo by James St. John, provided under the Creative Commons License.

White Jade: The Calming Color

White jade can be various shades ranging from pure white to off-white, cream, and light brown. This calming color is considered a lucky stone in areas such as health, love, and business. White jade is believed to help with focus, emotional healing, and promoting calmness.

Yellow Jade: Symbol of Joy and Prosperity

Yellow jade exhibits a tantalizing range of colors from light lemon to lustrous amber and dark gold. In Chinese culture, yellow jade represents good fortune, loyalty, family, and friendship. It is also associated with joy, cheerfulness, and positivity.

Jade Color Spiritual Meaning & Properties Additional Benefits Healing and Spiritual Practices Some Locations Found
Yellow Jade Associated with cheerfulness and joy, yellow jade enhances concentration and learning abilities. Improves digestive and immune health while promoting mental clarity and focus. Used for attracting abundance, prosperity, and positive energy. Helps in overcoming fear and anxiety. Burma, Russia, New Zealand, Wyoming, Mexico, CA, and Guatemala
Orange Jade Promotes emotional balance and creativity. Encourages a connection to all living beings. Supports self-expression, healthy relationships, and emotional balance. Aids in self-awareness, intuition, and emotional healing, especially in matters of the heart. Brazil, Russia, India, Myanmar, and USA
Red Jade Strengthens spiritual life force and regulates blood circulation. Boosts physical vitality and endurance. Used to inspire courage, determination, self-confidence, and vitality. Enhances energy flow. Canada, Russia, and India
Brown Jade Grounds the mind and offers calming, detoxification, and elimination support. Provides a calming effect and relief from anxiety and stress. Encourages inner peace, calmness, emotional stability, and connection to the earth and natural world. China, Russia, and USA
Blue Jade Supports inner peace and self-reflection. Enhances restful sleep, communication, and expression. Improves communication and self-expression. Used for spiritual insight, intuition, meditation, and deep relaxation. Guatemala, Big Sur Jade, and Myanmar
Lavender Jade Associated with spirituality and inner peace. Promotes emotional healing and mental clarity. Supports restful sleep, intuition, and self-awareness. Used for emotional healing and release, psychic abilities, and spiritual growth. Kazakhstan, Russia, China, and USA
Black Jade Offers protection, grounding, and stability. Balances emotions and promotes physical healing. Cultivates personal power and self-control. Used for protection against negative influences, grounding, and connecting to root chakra energy. Australia, USA, and Canada
White Jade Symbolizes purity and innocence. Enhances clarity of thought and emotional stability. Promotes focus, spiritual growth, and self-discovery. Used for spiritual purity, connection, clarity, and inner peace. China, Russia, and USA
Purple Jade Represents wisdom and spiritual awareness. Boosts creativity and intuition. Encourages emotional balance, relaxation, and self-expression. Used for spiritual growth, emotional balance, and psychic abilities. Russia, Kazakhstan, and USA
Green Jade Symbolizes growth, vitality, and harmony. Provides balance and stability in all aspects of life. Enhances physical and emotional well-being. Boosts the immune system and supports heart health. Promotes balance, stability, and harmony in all aspects of life. Supports growth and renewal. China, Myanmar, Russia, Canada, USA, and New Zealand

Exploring Lesser-Known Jade Colors

Jade can be found in a multitude of colors beyond the more well-known green, lavender, white, and yellow varieties. Countries such as Australia, China, Guatemala, Myanmar, New Zealand, and Russia produce jade in colors such as:

  • Australia: Mid-green to the deepest black
  • China: Almost any shade of white to bright green, often very translucent
  • Guatemala: Pearly to brilliant green, often heavily patterned, and smooth black
  • Myanmar: Ranges from white, yellow, lavender, red, and black to all shades of green, usually very translucent
  • New Zealand: Rich gray-green to deep forest green, often marked with occlusions or darker colors
  • Russia: White to very pale teal green, and emerald with black flecks
  • California Jade: Various shades of green, blue, and red
Red and white jade carving. Qing dynasty era. Shows the impressive contrast of different jade color in a single stone.
A Qing dynasty archaeological carving, showing a layer of vivid red jade and pure white jade underneath.

Other lesser-known jade colors include orange, red, brown, and blue, each with its own unique properties and meanings.

Factors Influencing Jade Color Value

Hierarchy of Color Value

The value of jade is significantly influenced by its color. The generally accepted hierarchy of color value is green, lavender, red, yellow, white, and black. However, this is not an absolute scale, as individual preferences may vary. The ideal jade color is vibrant and strong, with lighter or darker shades considered less desirable.

Translucence and its Impact on Value

Translucence plays a crucial role in determining the value of jade. Except for white jade, a higher degree of translucence enhances the value of jade, while a lack of translucence diminishes it. In the absence of body color, translucence is sometimes referred to as “water” or “crystal” jade.

Understanding the Causes of Jade Colors

Green and white jade, carved into a cabbage
An example of white and green jade.

Role of Chemical Impurities in Jade Color Formation

The color and translucence of jade are primarily the result of chemical impurities present in the rough stone and the rate at which the jade cooled eons ago during the formation process. Different impurities result in different jade colors.

The Connection Between Impurities and Specific Colors

  • Green jade is caused by chromic oxide impurities.
  • Lavender jade is the result of manganese presence.
  • Red jade occurs due to oxidation from surrounding water or earth.
  • Black jade indicates a high iron content.
  • White jade is considered “pure” jade.

Other impurities, such as quartz, mica, and serpentine, can also modify and shade these colors.

Spiritual Meanings of Jade Colors

How The Color of Jade Influences Its Spiritual Energy

Hetian jade pendant, showing light greens and browns. Image licensed under Creative Commons, taken by Giahylxag.

Jade colors are believed to influence spiritual energy and aesthetics, with each color carrying a slightly different meaning and representation of energy. Color also affects the persona and mood of the wearer, making it an essential aspect of jade selection.

An Overview of Various Jade Colors and Their Meanings

  • Green Jade: Associated with abundance, prosperity, and emotional balance.
  • Lavender Jade: Represents spiritual support and emotional strength.
  • White Jade: Promotes focus, emotional healing, and calmness.
  • Yellow Jade: Symbolizes joy, cheerfulness, and prosperity.
  • Red Jade: Strengthens spiritual life force and encourages action.
  • Black Jade: Offers protection and wards off negative energies.
  • Orange Jade: Nourishes joy through connections with all living beings.
  • Blue Jade: Calms the mind and encourages inner peace.

2 thoughts on “Jade Color: The Different Colors and Their Benefits”

    1. Hi Krista,

      I have actually seen some beautiful cyan nephrite jade come out of Big Sur, California. When looking for it with the locals they will tell you that it can be found with any of the various shades of the ocean! It is pretty rare.

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