Jade is an opaque to translucent semi-precious gemstone that comes in a wide range of colours that include green, yellow, pink, white, blue, black and brown. For a long time two different minerals that have a similar appearance but different chemical composition were sold under the name of Jade. One being Nephrite which is usually the darker of the two and also the less expensive of the two, the second is Jadeite also known as Chinese Jade. Jadeite has a higher translucency and comes in a wider range of colours than Nephrite which is either a shade of green or creamy white. This tough Semi-precious gemstone has a high resistance to breakage and chipping is very popular for carving with because of its smooth even texture.