Gemstones must have the following characteristics: 

1. "Beauty", that is, gorgeous and dazzling. 

If a gem is not beautiful, it cannot become a gem. This beauty is either gorgeous in color, transparent and clean, or has special optical effects (such as cat's eye, color change, luminous phenomenon, etc.), or has special patterns (such as chrysanthemum stone, agate, plum blossom jade, etc.). For example, like diamond, those with few blemishes can be used to polish into valuable diamonds, while those with poor transparency, many defects and black colors can only be used as industrial raw materials. 

two。. "long", that is, the texture is hard and wear-resistant and can remain the same for a long time. 

Because of the high value of gems, people must expect them to be durable, valuable and even hereditary. One of the reasons why diamonds become the most expensive gemstones is that they are the hardest and most corrosion-resistant gemstones in the world. therefore, most of the more valuable gems in the world are hard and corrosion-resistant silicate minerals (such as jadeite), a few oxides (such as rubies and sapphires) and elemental minerals (such as diamonds), while soft and corrosive gemstones (such as jade and southern jade) are of lower value. Often used in the production of handicrafts, to win by work; But there are also a few gems that are not included in this list, such as Opal and pearls. 

3. "sparse", that is, low output. 

Emeralds, which are extremely rare in the world, are worth tens of thousands of dollars per carat (0.2 grams), while some beautiful and "durable" gems (such as amethyst) have been cheaper because of their high production and easy mining. Some common rocks, after pondering, also have the characteristics of beautiful and durable, but can not become a member of the gem family, the reason is that things are cheap when they are easy to get. 

Gemstone and jade editing. 

Gem (jewel), which is also written as juelrye in English, is the most beautiful and valuable kind of rock. With bright color, crystal texture, brilliant luster, hard and durable, and rare occurrence, they are natural mineral crystals that can be used to make jewelry, such as diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, etc.; there are also a few natural single mineral aggregates, such as agate and opal. A few organic materials, such as amber, pearls, corals, coal and ivory, are also included in the broad sense of gemstones. 

Jade is also the beauty of stone, it also has bright colors, hard and delicate texture, polished with beautiful luster and other characteristics. 

From the current gemology, the concept of gemstone can be divided into broad sense and narrow sense. 

In a broad sense, there is no distinction between gemstones and jade, generally refers to precious jewelry jade, usually produced by nature, with beauty, durability, rarity, with technological value, can be processed into ornaments of the material collectively referred to as natural jewelry jade. Including natural gems, natural jade, but also some natural organic materials. 

In a narrow sense, there is also a distinction between gemstones and jade: gemstones refer to single mineral crystals that are colorful, glittering and translucent, hard and durable, rare, and can be polished into gemstone jewelry, including natural and synthetic ones, such as diamonds and sapphires, while jade refers to mineral aggregates produced by nature, with beauty, durability, rarity and technological value, and a few are amorphous. Such as jadeite, nephrite, Dushan jade, Jade and so on. 

Jade can also be divided into a narrow sense and a broad sense, which only refers to jadeite (represented by Burmese jadeite) and nephrite (represented by Hotan jade); in a broad sense, it includes many kinds of minerals and rocks used for carving arts and crafts. 

As for the colored stone, it refers to the low-grade arts and crafts stone, such as marble, which is more beautiful and delicate in color and texture, but has low hardness and luster, but can meet the requirements of processing technology. Some scholars advocate that colored stone should be included in the broad sense of jade, or temporarily used as a synonym for jade. [4]