La giada è una pietra ornamentale mineralogicamente appartenente ai silicati Spesso presenta un tono verde/verdastro per effetto della presenza del cromo. Con il nome di giada sono commercializzati numerosi oggetti ma, per legge, possono essere vendute come giada solo la giadeite e la nefrite,. Il motivo di questo equivoco è dovuto al fatto che giadeite e nefrite sono specie mineralogiche difficilmente distinguibili. La giada in realtà non è propriamente un minerale, ma piuttosto una pietra fatta da particolari minerali (giadeite e nefrite) diistribuiti all'interno di essa in una struttura fatta da granuli molto fini e fibre intrecciate. La giadeite si forma solamente in quantità ridotte come cristallini. Già dal principio si usava vendere altri minerali sotto la denominazione di giada; questi vennero poi denominati più appropriatamente "serpentina". La serpentina non solo ha lo stesso aspetto della giada, ma appare anche negli stessi giacimenti della giadeite e della nefrite; tuttavia è più lavorabile e meno resistente della vera e propria giada. I più antichi oggetti di giada rinvenuti risalgono a circa 7.000 anni fa e per la sua durezza è stata usata per produrre armi (ad esempio, nell'America precolombiana era usata per fabbricare coltelli rituali e, più di recente, maschere funebri). Dopo la conquista del centro America da parte degli spagnoli, si perse l'arte dell'intaglio, mentre in Cina  la lavorazione non ha mai avuto soste e per oltre 5.000 anni la giada venne usata per realizzare oggetti di culto; in particolare pezzi di giada venivano posti in bocca ai defunti cinesi perché si riteneva che quella pietra impedisse la decomposizione dei corpi. Occorre notare che fino alla metà del Settecento in Cina veniva lavorata esclusivamente la nefrite di origine cinese mentre successivamente è iniziato l'uso della giadeite importata dalla Birmania. Molto pregiata e’ la giada estratta nella British Columbia . ll 75% della giada nel mondo proviene dalle cave di nefrite della British Columbia. Secondo le tradizioni, alla giada si riconoscerebbero proprietà calmanti, rasserenanti e lenitive degli stati d'animo turbati. Come tutte le pietre verdi e rosa, sarebbe legata al 4º chakra, quello del cuore. La giada viene definita la pietra dei medici in quanto aiuterebbe a calmare il cuore e a trovare la giusta compassione per prendere le giuste decisioni. Astralmente viene legata a Venere e quindi al toro e alla bilancia.

Jade refers to an ornamental mineral, mostly known for its green varieties. It can refer to either of two different minerals: nephrite, a silicate of calcium and magnesium, or jadeite, a silicate of sodium and aluminium. Jade is featured prominently in ancient Asian art, but also has an important place in many other cultures. The English word jade is derived (via French l'ejade and Latin ilia "flanks, kidney area") from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565) or "loin stone", from its reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite is derived from lapis nephriticus, a Latin translation of the Spanish piedra de ijada. During Neolithic times, the key known sources of nephrite jade in China for utilitarian and ceremonial jade items were the now-depleted deposits in the Ningshao area in the Yangtze River Delta (Liangzhu culture 3400–2250 BC) and in an area of the Liaoning province and Inner Mongolia (Hongshan culture 4700–2200 BC). Dushan Jade was being mined as early as 6000 BC. In the Yin Ruins of the Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1050 BC) in Anyang, Dushan Jade ornaments were unearthed in the tomb of the Shang kings. Jade was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, from indoor decorative items to jade burial suits. Jade was considered the "imperial gem". From the earliest Chinese dynasties to the present, the jade deposits most in use were not only those of Khotan in the Western Chinese province of Xinjiang but other parts of China as well, such as Lantian, Shaanxi. There, white and greenish nephrite jade is found in small quarries and as pebbles and boulders in the rivers flowing from the Kuen-Lun mountain range eastward into the Takla-Makan desert area. The river jade collection is concentrated in the Yarkand, the White Jade (Yurungkash) and Black Jade (Karakash) Rivers. From the Kingdom of Khotan, on the southern leg of the Silk Road, yearly tribute payments consisting of the most precious white jade were made to the Chinese Imperial court and there worked into objects d'art by skilled artisans as jade had a status-value exceeding that of gold or silver. Jade became a favourite material for the crafting of Chinese scholars' objects, such as rests for calligraphy brushes, as well as the mouthpieces of some opium pipes, due to the belief that breathing through jade would bestow longevity upon smokers who used such a pipe. Jade was first identified in Canada by Chinese settlers in 1886 in British Columbia. At this time jade was considered worthless as they were searching for gold. Jade was not commercialized in Canada until the 1970s. The mining business Loex James Ltd., which was started by two Californians, began commercial mining of Canadian jade in 1972. Mining is done from large boulders that contain bountiful deposits of jade. Jade is exposed using diamond-tipped core drills in order to extract samples. This is done to ensure that the jade meets requirements. Hydraulic spreaders are then inserted into cleavage points in the rock so that the jade can be broken away. Once the boulders are removed and the jade is accessible, it is broken down into more manageable 10-tonne pieces using water-cooled diamond saws. The jade is then loaded onto trucks and transported to the proper storage facilities. It was not until 1863 that French mineralogist, Alexis Damour, determined that what was referred to as "jade", could in fact be one of two different minerals: either nephrite and jadeite.Nephrite consists of a microcrystalline interlocking fibrous matrix of the calcium, magnesium-iron rich amphibole mineral series tremolite (calcium-magnesium)-ferroactinolite (calcium-magnesium-iron). The middle member of this series with an intermediate composition is called actinolite (the silky fibrous mineral form is one form of asbestos). The higher the iron content, the greener the colour. Jadeite is a sodium- and aluminium-rich pyroxene. The precious form of jadeite jade is a microcrystalline interlocking growth of jadeite crystals. 75% of the jade in the world, comes from British Columbia nephritis quarries.