Chalcedony, meaning the essence of jade, is one of the oldest jade varieties in human history. In China's Neolithic age, it has appeared as an ornament.



Chalcedony is essentially a type of cryptocrystalline quartz, or silica, which is a variant of quartz (cryptocrystalline). It is produced with breast shape or cystis shape, often show kidney shape, cystis shape, grape shape, have waxy luster. Chalcedony is formed under low temperature and low pressure, and appears in the cavities of ejecta, hydrothermal veins, hot spring deposits, clastic deposits and weathering crust.

When pure, chalcedony is colorless or white, but often contains other minerals, giving it a colorful appearance. Because of the different distribution of minerals, so there are a variety of patterns or ribbon patterns, beautiful abnormal. Some chalcedony nodules contain water and air bubbles, which are very interesting.

Chalcedony can be divided into blue chalcedony, red chalcedony, white chalcedony, black chalcedony, green chalcedony, light chalcedony and so on.

Chalcedony is usually used as the raw material of high-grade jewelry because of its rich color and lucid texture. They are also commonly used as bracelets, necklaces and pendants.

Chalcedony is the same mineral as agate, the cryptocrystalline quartz with banded structure is agate, and the cryptocrystalline quartz without banded structure and uniform color is chalcedony. Both agate and chalchalony are counted as jade, and the difference only depends on whether there are bands, while the price difference generally depends on the rarity. And a significant feature of chalcedony is transparent as ice, good chalcedony, its permeability can reach the emerald glass species, which is the biggest difference between chalcedony and agate.

Chalcedony bracelet ▲

Chalcedony the origin of the name, in line with the ancient understanding of jade. But chalcedony, by today's standards of identification, does not belong to the common sense of nephrite, jadite. Chalcedony is a type of cryptocrystalline quartz, as is agate, which is quartz.

Agate bracelet ▲

Agate, chalchalony, quartstone, Dongling stone, tiger eye stone, etc., because the main component is quartz, and are aggregate, so can be unified as "quartz jade". The modern concept of jade is more extensive, any beautiful, can be carved natural rocks or minerals, can be called "jade".

Although be quartz mineral with, but this above these 5 do not contain quartz family important member -- crystal, right this division method basically is to want to delimit crystal first, because crystal is a single crystal, should not be in the classification of jade, belong to gem however.

Water grass agate bracelet ▲

Cryptocrystalline quartz jade, including agate and chalcedony, is "cryptocrystalline" in the sense that the crystalline structure is nowhere to be observed. Under the cryptocrystalline quartz jade, there are bands called agate, no bands called chalcedony.

Maintenance tips

Because pure natural chalcedony has heat dissipation, easy to lose water, generally often worn is not easy to lose water, do not need to often soak in water, but also will be more and more ice through; But autumn winter season, northern weather is dry wear less again, had better be regular bubble water 1-2 days (more icy water effect is better), can restore original burnish and water again very quickly embellish.

But there is a point to pay special attention to: before taking a hot bath or soaking in a hot spring, you must take it off first! Because chalcedony is super afraid of heat and not resistant to high temperature, if you take a hot bath for several days continuously, or often work in a high temperature environment near fire, chalcedony pendant will dry out and become less transparent due to water loss.