Jade and Ornamental Stones: 15 Names and How They Form

The 15 names in this chart do not describe 15 kinds of jade. They mix gem materials, mineral varieties, rocks, broad composition labels and regional or trade names. Reading the name alongside the actual material is more useful than sorting stones by color.

Nephrite and jadeite jade are central to gemological jade terminology. GIA also includes green omphacite under certain conditions; the boundary is more nuanced than a rigid “only two minerals” rule. Turquoise, lapis lazuli, malachite and the other ornamental materials below should retain their own identities.

This guide is for reading a collection label, a museum display or a seller’s description. The chart is a comparison of names and geological contexts, not a visual test for an unknown stone.

The English chart: 15 names, separate examples

The numbered entries preserve the subjects of a reader-supplied Chinese infographic while correcting the English framing. Separate photographs replace the original composite-rock arrangement: these materials are not shown as naturally growing together. The photo captions distinguish source-labeled regional objects from examples of a material family.

First separate a mineral, a rock and a name

A mineral species has a characteristic composition and crystal structure. A rock is an aggregate of minerals: its name describes the whole material, not just one attractive grain. A variety name describes a particular form, while a trade or regional name can reflect appearance, tradition or a place.

These categories overlap. “Lapis lazuli” names a rock; lazurite is one of its minerals. “Agate” describes a banded form of chalcedony. “Lantian jade” requires historical and local context. The quotation marks around some uses of “jade” below flag that naming issue; they do not mean the material is artificial or worthless.

1–5: Nephrite, jadeite, Xiuyan, turquoise and agate

6–10: Dushan, quartzite, lapis, malachite and carbonates

11–15: Regional and trade names that need context

Why the formation stories are not one timeline

Several processes can act on the same rock. A parent rock supplies material; heat, pressure, deformation or fluids may change it; later weathering, erosion and transport can expose or move the result. These are different events, and a rounded river pebble does not tell you which earlier reactions formed its minerals.

USGS explains that metamorphism changes existing rocks through heat, pressure and mineral-rich fluids, generally without melting them. Metasomatism emphasizes chemical exchange with fluids. Precipitation deposits material from a fluid, while a cavity filling describes where minerals grew, not one universal chemical recipe.

This distinction explains why similar colors can accompany different histories, and why two pale green stones can need different descriptions. The atlas offers starting contexts. It does not assign an age, a mine or a complete formation history to an individual object.

A four-field stone record you can reuse

For a collection label or research note, keep the original name and the evidence beside it. This editorial template keeps four questions separate: the supplied name, identified material, treatment and geographic origin. It preserves an unknown instead of turning a familiar name into a scientific conclusion.

Object / photo reference:
Date recorded:
Name exactly as supplied:
Material identification:
  Finding / source / object match:
Treatment information:
  Finding / source / still unknown:
Geographic origin:
  Claim / supporting evidence / still unknown:

Example: an object labeled “lilac jade” can be recorded under that supplied name. The published lepidolite study tells you that one Xinjiang trade usage referred to lithium-mica-rich rock. It does not identify your object. Until object-specific evidence is available, its material, treatment and origin fields can remain unresolved.

If you already have a laboratory report, use our report record, item and scope checklist to keep those findings attached to the correct object. Our Xiuyan material guide examines the separate problem of reading a serpentine pendant listing.

What this chart cannot decide for you

• Identify an unknown object from a photograph, color, surface pattern or this chart.
• Establish whether a specific stone is untreated, where it was mined or what it is worth.
• Transfer a jadeite cleaning instruction, treatment label or durability claim to all 15 entries.
• Rank these different materials as if the word “jade” were a quality grade.

If you specifically need jadeite, a disclosure of serpentine, quartzite or lepidolite does not meet that material requirement. If your interest is a carving, color or geological story, another correctly described ornamental stone may suit it. The useful distinction is the material and the evidence, not whether the name sounds prestigious.

Sources, photographs and scope

Sources reviewed 29 October 2026. Published by JADE ALL DAY, a jewelry retailer. This is an editorial synthesis and naming aid, not new mineralogical research, an appraisal or a laboratory identification report. We performed no physical examination or new testing for this article.

The links beside each entry lead to the relevant institution or research publication. Deposit descriptions and sample studies are used within their stated scope; regional trade names can vary. Some linked research is in Chinese, and publisher access may require verification. The Dushan formation statement uses the published abstract; the Lantian entry uses its abstract’s distinction among modern material types and historical uncertainty.

The chart uses existing photographs in an editorial layout. The redesigned cover uses six of those real specimen photographs on an AI-assisted decorative paper background. The specimen photographs were cropped where needed and proportionally scaled; they were not generated, recolored or given invented textures. Source labels are not independent laboratory identifications, and the images are not calibrated color references. The reusable contribution is the sourced name-to-material crosswalk and the record template. For a scientific claim, follow the linked primary source and its own limits.

Photo credits and sample scope

Photographs and reuse terms checked 29 October 2026. Regional object labels follow their source descriptions; we did not authenticate or test these objects. The calcite, quartzite, lepidolite and albitite images illustrate materials, not every item sold under the corresponding trade label. The Taishan row uses photographed Tai’an samples from the cited study; the plum-blossom row uses its study’s Ruyang sample A1. Cover photographs correspond to entries 1, 2, 5, 8, 9 and 14 below.

• 1. Nephrite — Nephrite specimen. Source photograph by Shannon Heinle. CC0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 2. Jadeite jade — Jadeite specimen. Source photograph by Shannon Heinle. CC0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 3. Xiuyan jade — Source-labeled Xiuyan pendant. Source photograph by Jason M. C., Han. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 4. Turquoise — Turquoise in matrix. Source photograph by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com. CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 5. Agate & chalcedony — Blue lace agate. Source photograph by I2Overcome. CC BY 4.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 6. Dushan jade — Source-labeled Dushan carving. Source photograph by Artfiber. CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 7. Quartzite “jade” — Quartzite: material example. Source photograph by Nessa Eull. CC0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 8. Lapis lazuli — Lapis lazuli specimen. Source photograph by James St. John. CC BY 2.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 9. Malachite — Malachite: museum specimen. Source photograph by Daderot. CC0. Cropped and resized.
• 10. Carbonate “jade” — Calcite: material example. Source photograph by Photo by and (c)2015 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man). CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 11. Lantian jade — Source-labeled Lantian rough. Source photograph by Refrain at Chinese Wikipedia. Public domain. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 12. Taishan jade — Tai’an study samples • D65. Source photograph (Figure 1) by Shidie Deng and Ying Guo. CC BY 4.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 13. Plum-blossom stone — Ruyang study sample A1. Source photograph (Figure 2, sample A1) by Mei An, Yongzhe Zhou and Yangjie Liu. CC BY 4.0 (publisher reuse policy). Resized; shown in a rounded frame.
• 14. Lilac “jade” — Lepidolite, Brazil: material example. Source photograph by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com. CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and resized.
• 15. Albite “jade” — White albitite around dark basalt. Source photograph by Siim Sepp. CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized; shown in a rounded frame.

The cover and chart layouts by JADE ALL DAY are available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Individual photographs retain the public-domain status or license linked above. When reusing a graphic, retain its credits and link to this article’s photo-credit section. This graphic license does not change the license of the article text or other website materials.