How to clean jade stone and jewelry

To clean jade stone or jade jewelry, wash it in lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, wipe it with a soft cloth or a soft toothbrush, rinse and dry. That is safe for every kind of jade, treated or not. It is also the advice of the gemological institute GIA, which calls warm, soapy water “always a safe choice” because jade may have been dyed, bleached and impregnated, coated or heated without your knowing. The rest of this page is mostly about what to avoid and why.

How to clean jade jewelry, step by step

1. Rinse the piece in lukewarm water, or let it sit in a bowl of it for a few minutes to loosen dirt. Lukewarm, not hot.
2. Wash it with a little mild, neutral soap, using your fingers or a soft cloth.
3. Rinse in clean water.
4. Dry with a soft cloth. A chamois or microfiber cloth leaves no lint.

Adjust for the kind of piece:

• Bangles and other smooth pieces rarely need more than a rinse and a wipe.
• Carved pendants collect dirt in the grooves. Work a soft toothbrush into them with soapy water.
• Jade set in a ring or pendant usually looks dull because of what is behind the stone, where skin oil and soap film build up. Brush the back of the setting with a soft brush. If the back is closed and you cannot reach it, a jeweler has to clean it.

What to keep away from jade

Most of these rules trace back to one thing: the wax finish. Nearly all finished jade is waxed as the last step after polishing. The piece is warmed, and the wax fills microscopic pores in the surface, which improves the luster. The trade does not count this as a treatment, and “A” jade is defined as jadeite that is natural or polished with wax only. Anything that strips the wax leaves the surface drier and duller.

Keep away	Why
Hot water and steam	Heat strips the wax. On a heavily waxed piece, hot water can turn the wax white and expose pits and hairlines the wax was hiding.
Ultrasonic and steam cleaners	GIA says these are safe only for untreated jade, and treatment cannot be seen by eye. One US jade importer advises against ultrasonic cleaners even for natural jade because they can strip the wax.
Acids, bleach, drain and oven cleaners, strong detergents	They attack wax finishes and polymer fillers. GIA notes that jade can be attacked by warm acids.
Alcohol and acetone (nail polish remover)	Solvents attack wax and fillers, and GIA notes that many dyes can be removed by them.
A jeweler’s torch	GIA warns that its heat can damage jade, so jade set in metal should be removed or protected during repair work.
Toothpaste and other abrasive pastes	Abrasive particles can scratch polished metal and softer surfaces. Advice is split; see below.

Toothpaste

Advice from the trade is split. One nephrite seller suggests a neutral toothpaste. Jewelers say never to use toothpaste on jewelry, because its abrasive particles scratch polished metal and softer surfaces. Mild soap does the job, so there is no reason to take the risk.

Why treated jade needs more care

Treated jade is more fragile than it looks. GIA’s guide to gem treatments explains why:

• B jade has been bleached with acid and then filled with polymer. Acid bleaching breaks down the structure of the material, so bleached gems tend to be more brittle and much more porous, absorbing skin oils and other liquids. The filling is often only “skin deep” and is susceptible to heat.
• C jade is dyed, and it is only as stable as its dye. Many dyes come out in alcohol or acetone, and some fade with long exposure to sunlight.

The grades are explained in type A, B and C jade.

If you do not know whether a piece is treated, clean it as though it were: lukewarm soapy water and a soft cloth, nothing else.

Whether jade has been bleached, filled or dyed is settled only by a gemological laboratory, and GIA research identifies infrared spectroscopy as the method that conclusively detects polymer filling.

How to clean discolored jade

What you can do depends on where the discoloration is.

What you see	Cause	Can it be cleaned?
Yellowish or greasy film on the surface	Once the wax wears off, skin oil takes its place, and sweat, salts, lotion and soap build up on top	Yes. It washes off with soap and water.
Dull or yellow-brown patches inside pale, coarse-grained stone, or along a crack	Sweat and oils have worked into loosely knit stone or an open crack over the years	No. People who work with jade describe this as irreversible. Fine-grained, translucent jadeite is not affected.
Fading, yellowing or blotchy color in a piece of unknown history	Treatment breaking down. Bleached, dyed and filled jade is unstable over time	No. No cleaning method reverses it.

Natural, untreated jadeite does not truly change color with wear; what changes is its surface. Does jade change color? goes through each case.

Pale jade shows sweat and skin oil most. White nephrite that is worn constantly and never cleaned can take on a yellowish tone and lose luster. Wiping a piece with a soft cloth after wear and washing it now and then prevents the build-up.

How to polish jade

At home, polishing means rubbing with a soft cloth. On a smooth piece that brings back some shine, and it is all that can be done safely. Abrasive polishing compounds are a lapidary’s tools, not something to try at home.

Jade that has gone matt from years of fine scratches, or that has a stained surface layer, needs a lapidary. Repolishing removes a very thin layer and the piece is then rewaxed, which restores the original luster.

Does jade need oil or water?

Oil. A thin coat of light oil makes jade look glossier and more translucent, but the effect sits on the surface and is gone once the oil is wiped or washed off. Dealers use it on pieces kept in stock. It is not a repair and not something the stone needs, and GIA’s care guidance does not mention it.

Water. Here people in the trade flatly contradict each other. Some sellers tell customers to soak jade in water, or keep it sealed in a bag with a little water, so that it does not “dry out”. Others call this nonsense: the “water” dealers talk about, shui (水), is a trade word for translucency, not moisture in the stone, and dense jadeite does not take water in. Mineralogy supports the second view. Jadeite is a sodium aluminium silicate, NaAlSi₂O₆, with no water in its makeup, and GIA’s care advice involves no soaking. A short soak to loosen dirt is harmless; soaking as “feeding” does nothing.

Everyday wear and storage

• Impact is the main risk. Jade is exceptionally tough, but a knock can start a crack or lengthen an existing one. Take a bangle off, or protect it, for weightlifting, heavy manual work and sports, and avoid dropping jade on tile or stone. See what happens when a jade bracelet breaks.
• Scratches. Jadeite is 6.5 to 7 and nephrite 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, and GIA advises care to avoid scratches. Store each piece on its own, in a soft pouch or a lined compartment, so that harder gems and metal edges do not rub against it. Jade hardness explains what can scratch it.
• Cosmetics. Put jewelry on last, after make-up, sunscreen, perfume and hairspray, which leave a film on the stone.
• Swimming. Take set pieces off. Pool chlorine attacks the metal of a setting more than the jade.
• Sunlight. GIA rates jade as stable to light. Light does not harm untreated jade, but heat does, and dyed jade can fade in strong sun.

Can you wear jade in the shower?

This is another point of disagreement. Some nephrite and jadeite sellers say to take it off, because soaps and shampoos are mildly acidic or alkaline and repeated contact dulls the luster. A jadeite specialist argues the opposite: dense, fine-grained jadeite is unaffected by ordinary toiletries, and a properly fitted jade bangle is not meant to come off daily anyway. Both sides agree on the cautious case. Take off pieces that are porous, pale, coarse-grained, cracked or of unknown treatment.

How to cleanse jade in the spiritual sense

Some wearers want to “cleanse” a piece ritually. This is a matter of belief, and there is no authority on how it should be done. Rinsing the piece in clean water is harmless and is the safe choice. The methods often passed around, such as long soaks in salt water or leaving jade out in strong sun, are not good for dyed or polymer-filled jade or for metal settings.