「Taiwan Jade」, Taiwan's precious gem, is one of the world-famous stone. It is commonly known as “Nephrite” and its Mohs hardness is 6 to 6.5. The name of Nephrite is derived from Greek, which means 'kidney stone'. Accordingly, Nephrite jade was once believed to be a cure for kidney diseases. The major places of origin in Taiwan are found in Shoufeng and Xiulin Township, Hualien county. Due to its composition of fibrous crystals inter-twinned in a tough compact mass, nephrite may possible be called as the toughest mineral in the world. Inclusions and black dots are distinguishing feature of nephrite because a small amount of chromite is included. Taiwan jade can be divided into three groups: common Nephrite, cat’s-eye Nephrite, and waxy Nephrite.

(1.) Common Nephrite:

usually in emerald color or dark green color; with glass gloss; medium level of transparency; the most common kind of Taiwan jade.

(2.) Cat’s-eye Nephrite:

Through light refraction and reflection, cat's eye Nephrite is formed because the mineral fibers are parallel. This kind of Nephrite has glass gloss and its Mohs hardness may be up to 7.1, which is even harder than Jadeite. After the cat's eye Nephrite ore are polished, the middle of the gem will appear a slender bright light looks like cat’s eye; As a result, cat’s eye Nephrite gets its name. Cat's eye Nephrite can be found in Taiwan only.

(3.) Waxy Nephrite:

This kind of Nephrite has waxy luster and usually is opaque; sometimes has low level of transparency. Because it is composed of tiny particle, usually below 15 microns, it presents tallow waxy light. When light enters the crystal fine glossy Nephrite, the resulting diffuse phenomenon issued waxy luster. This kind of Nephrite is rarely in pure white color and usually in light gray to medium gray blue color. The output is rare in Taiwan.