Virgo Birthstones & Lucky Stones

Agate is one of the most varied stones in the mineral world. It is a banded form of chalcedony, and it turns up in shades of red, grey, white, blue, brown and green, usually arranged in the concentric rings that give the stone its signature look. The bands can be opaque in one layer and almost see-through in the next, so a single polished slice often reads like a cross-section of a small landscape.

The name is traditionally traced to the Achates, a river in Sicily where, according to Pliny, the stone was first found. Agate has been cut and carved for at least four thousand years. Craftsmen in Mesopotamia used it for seals and jewellery, Roman carvers made cameos from it, and the German town of Idar-Oberstein built an entire cutting industry around it. Because agate is tough as well as attractive, old pieces often survive in fine condition.

In the tradition of healing stones, agate is treated as one of the steadier, quieter companions rather than a dramatic one. Different varieties, each with its own colour and pattern, were once matched to different purposes. Pliny lists many named kinds, and a sixteenth-century book of secrets credited to Albertus Magnus singles out agates that are black with white veins or entirely white.

Properties of agate

• It was believed to shield the wearer from harm and to help them find their footing in unfriendly circumstances.

• Old European lore linked agate with pleasant dreams and a peaceful night.

• In modern crystal lore, it encourages a clear-eyed view of facts and helps a person see a situation as it actually is.

• The Renaissance lapidary Camillo Leonardi said agates give their owners victory and strength.

• It is believed to bring a sense of warmth and ease at the end of a tiring day and to help accumulated strain loosen its grip.

• In modern crystal lore it is said to draw off surplus energy, which is why people reach for it during demanding periods.

• Popular belief holds that it makes company easier and helps a newcomer settle into unfamiliar surroundings.

• It has a long reputation as a courage stone, thought to support anyone working through a fear.

• Modern crystal guides credit it with sharpening clarity of thought and the ability to reason through a problem step by step.

• The eleventh-century bishop Marbode wrote that agates make their wearers agreeable and persuasive.

• Leonardi added that agates turn away tempests and lightning, a power Pliny had already reported from the magicians of Persia.

• It has been carried for centuries as protection against the evil eye, since its bold banding catches the eye first and was thought to absorb ill will.

• Its warm, lively character is said to make the good side of an event easier to notice on a difficult day.

• Ancient Egyptians gathered banded agates from the shore and used them as talismans.

• In modern stone lore it is counted among the stones of cheerfulness and inner quiet.

Agate stands for worldly success: old lore says it guards its wearer from danger and gives a bold heart, and modern crystal lore adds that it turns away unwelcome energy. The sixteenth-century scholar Girolamo Cardano held that agates make their wearers temperate and cautious and are therefore useful for acquiring riches. It appeals most to those who want steadiness, calm and a sense of security in ordinary daily life. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 6.5 - 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.60 - 2.64

Chakras: Root, Sacral, Heart

Care: Clean with lukewarm water and a soft brush, then dry well. Undyed agate is light-stable; dyed agate can fade in strong sun and lose colour to solvents.

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz, coloured by traces of iron combined with natural irradiation deep in the rock. The shade ranges from a faint lilac to the deep reddish purple that dealers call Siberian, and a single crystal often carries several tones in bands or patches. It grows in geodes, hollow pockets lined with pointed crystals, and a cracked-open amethyst geode is one of the most recognisable objects in any mineral shop.

The name comes from the Greek amethystos, meaning not intoxicated. Greeks and Romans believed a cup carved from the stone, or an amethyst worn while drinking, kept a person clear-headed through a long evening. In the Christian church it became the stone of bishops, set in rings as a sign of sober judgement, and it stayed among the most valuable gems in Europe until vast deposits were found in Brazil and Uruguay in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which brought the price within everyone's reach.

One practical detail matters for anyone who owns a piece: some amethyst can fade with prolonged exposure to strong light. Left on a sunny windowsill, a stone can slowly lose colour and turn paler, so it is best kept out of strong sun when it is not being worn.

Properties of amethyst

• It is traditionally regarded as a stone of sobriety and self-command, in keeping with the meaning of its name.

• Modern crystal lore holds that it quiets a restless mind at the end of the day, which is why it is often kept near the bed.

• Building on its old reputation for sobriety, crystal lore says it supports anyone trying to break a habit they have grown tired of.

• It is said to take the edge off the strain of a long, noisy day.

• Its Hebrew name suggests an old belief that it induces dreams and visions, and crystal lore adds the ability to recall them.

• Modern crystal lore treats it as a stone of intuition, thought to sharpen a person's first instinct about others.

• In stone lore it is believed to cool anger and to slow down a reaction one might regret.

• Tibetan prayer beads are sometimes strung from amethyst, and crystal lore keeps it close for meditation and any practice that asks for stillness.

• Popular belief associates it with comfort in grief and with sitting quietly through a loss.

• It is said to help a person keep their own counsel in an argument rather than be swept along.

• Church tradition connects it with sobriety and humble piety, which is why it suited clerical rings.

• Camillo Leonardi wrote in 1502 that it keeps soldiers from harm and helps hunters take their quarry.

• Modern crystal lore holds that it clears heavy, stagnant atmospheres in a room.

• It is thought to encourage honest self-assessment without cruelty towards oneself.

• Crystal lore describes it as a stone that helps a decision settle overnight.

Amethyst stands for clarity, restraint and quiet inner authority. It appeals to people who think for a living, who are trying to steady a habit, or who want a stone that calms without making them sleepy. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.65

Chakras: Third eye, Crown

Care: Clean with lukewarm soapy water and a soft brush. Some amethyst fades in prolonged strong light, so keep it out of direct sun; avoid heat, steam and sudden temperature changes.

Tiger's eye is quartz with a silky, moving band of light running across it. The effect, called chatoyancy, comes from parallel fibres of crocidolite, a blue asbestos-type mineral, that grew together with the quartz in cracks of ancient rock. As iron in the fibres oxidised, the blue turned to gold, and light reflecting off those fibres gathers into a bright stripe that slides as the stone is turned, like the slit pupil of a cat. The classic colour is golden brown with darker bands, though gentle heating also produces red tiger's eye, and the unaltered blue-grey form is known as hawk's eye.

The great source is the Northern Cape of South Africa, where the stone occurs in ancient banded ironstone. Western Australia, India, Brazil, Namibia and Myanmar supply material too. Because it cuts and polishes well and costs little, tiger's eye is a popular choice for beads, cabochons and carved ornaments.

The stone is usually cut as a domed cabochon or a bead with the fibres running the right way, because faceting does not show the effect well. A well-cut piece shows a bright band of light gliding across the dome, and that craftsmanship is most of what separates a good specimen from an ordinary one.

Properties of tiger's eye

• In modern crystal lore it is worn as a stone of courage, taking its reputation from the animal it is named after.

• Folk belief holds that it protects the wearer from ill will, and in some places it is believed to ward off the evil eye.

• In the East, stones with a moving line of light, such as the cat's-eye, were thought to bring good fortune, and tiger's eye shows the same effect.

• It is said to sharpen practical judgement when money is involved.

• In modern crystal lore it is linked with willpower and with resisting a tempting shortcut.

• In stone lore it is believed to give a clear head and to help a person see what is really being asked.

• It has a reputation for balancing extremes of mood, neither over-excited nor flat.

• Popular belief connects it with confidence in front of an audience.

• Modern crystal lore recommends it to those beginning a business or taking a calculated risk.

• It is thought to steady the nerves before a decision that cannot be undone.

• Folk tradition treats it as a charm for good luck in trade and negotiation.

• It is said to help a person keep their aim in view during a long project.

• Traditional belief holds that it eases self-doubt in someone with real ability.

• In modern crystal lore it is carried as a grounding stone for unfamiliar situations.

Tiger's eye symbolises courage, clear judgement and self-reliance. It suits people making decisions under pressure, anyone starting out in business, and those who want a striking stone that wears well every day. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 6.5 - 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.58 - 2.64

Chakras: Sacral, Solar plexus

Care: Clean with lukewarm water and a soft brush, then dry well. Avoid strong heat, which can change the colour, and long strong sun, which can fade dyed pieces.

Obsidian is volcanic glass. When lava rich in silica cools so fast that its atoms have no time to arrange themselves into crystals, the result is a natural glass with no crystal structure at all. It is usually jet black and glossy, but there are beautiful variants: snowflake obsidian with white sprays of cristobalite, mahogany obsidian streaked with iron-stained brown, sheen obsidian that flashes gold or silver where tiny gas bubbles lie in layers, and rainbow obsidian whose colour bands come from layers of microscopic crystals.

Because glass breaks along smooth curved surfaces, obsidian can be flaked to an edge only a few nanometres thick, many times sharper than a surgical scalpel. That property made it one of the most important materials in the ancient world. Anatolian obsidian from around Çatalhöyük was traded across the Near East nine thousand years ago and polished into some of the earliest mirrors known; the Aztecs set it into the blades of the macuahuitl and into the divining mirrors of the god Tezcatlipoca. Mexico, Iceland, Turkey, Italy and the western United States all have significant deposits.

The same sharpness means broken pieces need respect. Obsidian is not very hard and chips easily if knocked against a hard surface, so a polished piece is best stored on its own.

Properties of obsidian

• It is traditionally treated as a mirror stone that shows a person what they have been avoiding.

• In modern crystal lore, it forms a shield against ill will directed at the wearer.

• Aztec priests used polished obsidian mirrors for divination, and the Elizabethan scholar John Dee kept one for scrying.

• It is said to cut through self-deception the way its edge cuts through anything else.

• In modern crystal lore, it is linked with the root chakra and with a firm sense of one's own limits.

• In stone lore it is believed to absorb the residue of a tense encounter.

• It has a reputation for supporting someone working through an old and difficult memory.

• In modern crystal lore, it is connected with clean endings, a stone to carry when a chapter has to close.

• In modern crystal lore, it is recommended to those who take on other people's moods too readily.

• It is thought to help a person say no without a long explanation.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone of truth-telling, however unwelcome.

• Apache tears, smooth obsidian pebbles of the American Southwest, are named for a legend of tears turned to stone.

• Traditional belief holds that it grounds a person after an emotional shock.

• It is said to make solitude feel restorative rather than lonely.

Obsidian symbolises protection, honesty and the courage to look directly at things. It appeals to people doing inner work, to anyone who prefers a dramatic black stone, and to those drawn to a material that shaped human history long before metal did. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 5 - 5.5

Composition: mostly SiO₂ (70% or more), volcanic glass

Specific gravity: 2.35 - 2.60

Chakras: Root

Care: Clean with lukewarm water, mild soap and a soft brush, then dry well. It is brittle and heat-sensitive: avoid knocks, sudden heat and ultrasonic cleaners.

Sapphire is corundum, the mineral that is also ruby, and every colour of corundum except red is called sapphire. The classic deep blue comes from tiny amounts of iron and titanium in the crystal, but sapphires also appear in pink, yellow, green, orange and white, and the rare pink-orange padparadscha of Sri Lanka is prized above many blue ones. Among natural gems only diamond is harder, so a sapphire resists scratches for generations; some stones also show a six-rayed star that glides across the dome when the light moves.

The most admired blues have been named after their homes. Kashmir sapphires, found after a landslide high in the Himalayas around 1881, have a velvety cornflower colour, and the best of that deposit was worked out within a few years. Burmese stones from Mogok are a rich royal blue, and Ceylon stones from Sri Lanka, where gems have been dug for at least two thousand years, are lighter and brighter. Madagascar, Thailand, Australia and Montana in the United States are among other sources.

The name goes back to the Greek sappheiros, and in the ancient world it probably meant lapis lazuli rather than the blue gem we know today. In medieval Europe the sapphire became the stone of the Church, worn by bishops as a sign of heaven, and kings and queens chose it for rings that stood for truth and loyalty. An old tradition says the Law given to Moses was engraved on tablets of sapphire, though the stone meant there was probably lapis lazuli.

Properties of sapphire

• It is traditionally called the stone of wisdom and of heaven.

• Folk belief holds that it sharpens focus and helps a person think before speaking.

• According to Marbode, a bishop of Rennes in the twelfth century, fraud was banished from its presence, and bishops wore it in their rings.

• It is said to bring a cool head to someone who tends to worry or overthink.

• Traditional accounts link it with loyalty and with vows that are meant to be kept.

• In stone lore it is believed to help a person study, plan and keep working steadily.

• It has a long reputation as a protective stone against envy and bad intentions.

• Popular belief connects it with truthful speech and sincere friendship.

• Modern crystal guides recommend it to anyone whose work depends on care and accuracy.

• It is thought to quiet an anxious mind and make decisions feel clearer.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone of calm when a person is under pressure.

• It was believed to cool tempers and to settle quarrels before they grow.

• Traditional belief holds that it supports a quiet, modest kind of self-discipline.

• It is said to bring a sense of order to a cluttered day or a cluttered mind.

Sapphire symbolises wisdom, sincerity and steady attention. It suits careful, thoughtful people, anyone beginning a long period of study or demanding work, and those who like a blue with real depth. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 9

Composition: Al₂O₃

Specific gravity: 3.97 - 4.05

Chakras: Throat, Third eye

Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush, then dry well. Heat and light do not harm natural stones, but filled or dyed ones need only a damp cloth.

Citrine is the yellow to golden-brown variety of quartz, coloured by traces of iron. The name comes from the French citron, the lemon, though the stone's range runs well past lemon into honey, amber and a warm madeira brown. Natural citrine is genuinely uncommon; most of what is sold under the name is amethyst or smoky quartz that has been heated, either in the earth or in a workshop, until the iron changes state and the purple turns to gold. Heated material tends towards a reddish orange, while natural citrine is usually a paler, cooler yellow.

Brazil is the principal source, with Bolivia producing the striking ametrine, a single crystal half amethyst and half citrine divided by a sharp line. Citrine was especially popular in Victorian Scottish jewellery, and because it is clear and affordable it is often cut as a large, boldly shaped gem for cocktail rings, where its warm colour carries a big stone without looking heavy.

Citrine is hard and durable, easy to wear daily, but some citrine can lose colour after long exposure to intense light. Kept out of a bright window, it should hold its colour well.

Properties of citrine

• It is traditionally called the merchant's stone, from the belief that it helps accumulate wealth and success.

• Folk belief holds that it encourages a generous rather than an anxious attitude to money.

• In modern crystal lore, it lifts the spirits on a grey day the way its colour suggests.

• It is said to bring a warm, settled feeling, like an afternoon in the sun.

• In modern crystal lore it is linked with the solar plexus chakra and with a warm sense of personal confidence.

• In modern stone lore it is said to be one of the few stones that rarely needs clearing.

• It has a reputation for supporting creative work that has stalled.

• Popular belief connects it with fresh starts in business and in study.

• Crystal healers today recommend it to people who undervalue what they do.

• It is thought to help someone ask for what they are worth without apology.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone of good humour that makes a difficult day bearable.

• Europeans once believed citrine could soothe tempers and calm the wearer, partly because it was confused with topaz.

• In modern crystal lore it is said to lift the flatness that follows a long grey season.

• It is said to encourage practical optimism, the kind that leads to action.

Citrine symbolises abundance, warmth and cheerful self-belief. It appeals to people in business, to anyone who wants a bright stone in a dark month, and to those who prefer a gem that is hard-wearing as well as sunny. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 7

Composition: SiO₂

Specific gravity: 2.65

Chakras: Sacral, Solar plexus

Care: Clean with lukewarm soapy water and a soft brush. Some citrine fades in prolonged strong light, so keep it out of direct sun; avoid heat, steam and sudden temperature changes.

Topaz is an aluminium silicate containing fluorine, and it is one of the hardest of the commonly worn gemstones. It grows in tall, well-shaped prismatic crystals, sometimes to remarkable size, and it has a perfect cleavage in one direction that cutters must respect. Colourless topaz is the most abundant form, but the stone also occurs in sherry brown, pale blue, pink, rare red and, among the most prized, the golden orange to pinkish orange that the trade calls imperial topaz.

The name may come from Topazios, the old Greek name of an island in the Red Sea now called Zabargad (where the stone actually mined was peridot, long confused with topaz), or from the Sanskrit tapas, meaning fire. Ouro Preto in Brazil has been the great source of imperial topaz for more than two centuries, and the Ural mountains, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Myanmar contribute other colours. Most bright blue topaz on the market is colourless material that has been irradiated and heated, a treatment developed in the twentieth century that made a once-rare colour widely available.

Its hardness resists scratching, but the cleavage means a sharp knock in the wrong direction can split it cleanly, so a protective setting suits it best. Steam and ultrasonic cleaners are avoided for the same reason, and brown, yellow and treated stones are kept out of prolonged strong sun and heat because they can fade.

Properties of topaz

• In modern crystal lore it is described as a stone of clarity and honest intention.

• Folk belief holds that it strengthens the will of someone who has been drifting.

• From the 1300s to the 1600s, Europeans thought it could thwart magic spells and dispel anger.

• It is said to warm the disposition and to make a reserved person more approachable.

• In modern crystal lore it is linked with the solar plexus and with a well-founded confidence.

• In stone lore it is believed to sharpen the ability to set a goal and name it plainly.

• It has a reputation as a stone of good fortune, particularly the golden variety.

• In modern crystal lore it is connected with generosity and an open-handed spirit.

• Many people in India have believed that topaz worn above the heart brings long life, beauty and intelligence.

• It is thought to steady the nerves of someone under public scrutiny.

• A thirteenth-century treatise credits a falcon engraved on a topaz with winning the goodwill of kings and princes.

• Topaz is November's birthstone, and an old birthstone verse calls it the emblem of friends and lovers true.

• The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength.

• It is said to help a person forgive themselves for an old error of judgement.

Topaz symbolises clear purpose, warmth and good fortune earned rather than stumbled upon. It appeals to people who want a hard, brilliant stone that they are happy to wear with a little care, to anyone drawn to golden or sky-blue tones, and to those who like a gem with an unusually clean look. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 8

Composition: Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂

Specific gravity: 3.49 - 3.57

Chakras: Solar plexus, Throat

Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Avoid steam, ultrasonic cleaners, sudden heat changes and hard knocks. Long sun or heat can fade brown and treated stones.

Turquoise is an opaque copper aluminium phosphate, and it is the copper that gives it the sky blue that no other stone quite matches. The colour shifts towards green as iron replaces some of the aluminium, and many specimens are crossed by a web of veins in gold, brown or black, the remains of the host rock. That webbing, called matrix, means no two pieces look alike. The name reached English through French, pierre turquoise, the Turkish stone, because the earliest supplies arrived in Europe by way of Turkey rather than from Turkey itself.

Turquoise has been worn for at least six thousand years. Egyptian expeditions worked the Sinai for it, the mines of Nishapur in Iran produced the intense blue that became the standard of quality, and Tibetan and Central Asian craftsmen set it into ritual objects. In the American Southwest, Pueblo, Navajo and Zuni silversmiths built an entire jewellery tradition around it, and their silver-and-turquoise work is now recognised worldwide.

Two things must be understood about this stone. It is soft, only 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale, so it scratches and chips more readily than most gems. And it is genuinely porous: it absorbs oil, perfume and perspiration, which can turn the blue towards green, and high heat can discolour it or damage its surface. Much commercial turquoise is stabilised with resin for this reason, and untreated material is never soaked or worn in the shower. Warm soapy water is safe for cleaning, but steam and ultrasonic cleaners are not.

Properties of turquoise

• In modern crystal lore it is regarded as a stone of calm that takes the edge off restlessness.

• Folk belief holds that it comforts those in mourning and makes the days easier to get through.

• In modern crystal lore, it steadies a person after a sudden shock or upheaval.

• It is said to restore the vitality of a wearer who has been running on empty.

• In modern crystal lore, it is described as a stone of wisdom that favours unhurried, considered thinking.

• In many cultures it was worn as an amulet against the evil eye.

• In modern crystal lore, it is associated with the throat chakra and with saying what one actually needs.

• Apache tradition held that a turquoise fixed to a bow or gun sent the shot straight to its mark.

• Medieval writers said it kept a rider or walker from injury in a fall, and Turks hung it on horses' bridles as an amulet.

• It is thought to smooth over friction between people living or working closely together.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone of reconciliation and easy agreement.

• In Persia, where its name meant the Victorious, it was esteemed as a stone of good omen that brought good luck.

• Traditional belief holds that a stone changing colour was warning its owner of something.

• It is said to help a person recover their footing after a period of overload.

Turquoise symbolises peace, inner balance and protection. It appeals to people looking for quiet after a hard stretch, to anyone drawn to a colour with six thousand years of history, and to those who like a soft, warm stone that sits comfortably against the skin. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 5 - 6

Composition: CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O

Specific gravity: 2.40 - 2.90

Chakras: Throat, Heart, Third eye

Care: Clean with warm soapy water and dry well. Never use steam or ultrasonic cleaners. Heat, solvents, cosmetics and skin oils can discolour it; treated pieces are damaged by heat or solvents.

Jade is not one mineral but two, and the distinction was only established in 1863. Jadeite is a pyroxene, rarer, harder and capable of the translucent emerald green known as imperial jade. Nephrite is an amphibole, more common, slightly softer, and typically a creamy white to spinach green. Both are built of densely interlocked microscopic crystals, fibrous in nephrite and granular in jadeite, and that structure makes jade extraordinarily tough: it resists breaking better than almost any other gem material, even though it is not the hardest.

China has revered nephrite for more than seven thousand years, carving it into ritual discs and tubes long before bronze was worked there, and later into seals and burial suits. Jadeite reached China from Myanmar only in the eighteenth century, quickly became a favourite at the Qing court, and fine jadeite is today one of the most valuable gems of all. On the other side of the world, Maori carvers in New Zealand shaped nephrite into hei-tiki pendants and adzes that passed down through families as taonga, treasures. The European name is a curiosity: Spanish colonists in the Americas called it piedra de ijada, the stone of the flank, from a belief about its use, and jade is a shortening of that.

Jade takes a soft, waxy polish rather than a glassy one. Both varieties wear well, though dyed and impregnated material is common in the trade and needs gentler treatment than natural stone.

Properties of jade

• It is traditionally prized in Chinese custom as a stone of good fortune and of virtue, valued above gold.

• Chinese folk belief holds that it protects the wearer and that a bangle breaking has taken a blow on their behalf.

• In modern crystal lore, it encourages moderation and a balanced way of living.

• In Chinese tradition it is a symbol of long life, and it is said to bring a calm approach to ageing.

• In modern crystal lore, it is linked with the heart chakra and with generosity that does not draw attention to itself.

• In stone lore it is believed to steady a household through a period of difficulty.

• It has a reputation for encouraging wisdom of the practical rather than theoretical kind.

• Popular belief connects it with harmony between family members.

• In the Book of Rites, Confucius compared the qualities of jade to the virtues of a gentleman, among them kindness, wisdom, integrity and courage.

• It is thought to soothe irritability at the end of a long day.

• Folk tradition treats it as a stone passed between generations, gathering meaning as it goes.

• It was carved into pendants for children as a lifelong guardian.

• In Chinese custom, small pieces of jade are carried to be handled often, in the belief that something of the stone's virtue passes to its owner.

• It is said to make prosperity feel like enough rather than never quite enough.

Jade symbolises good fortune, moderation and quiet continuity between generations. It appeals to people who value tradition, to anyone who wants an exceptionally tough stone for constant wear, and to those drawn to a soft green that never looks loud. The uses described here belong to tradition and folk belief and are not a substitute for medical advice.

Hardness: 6 - 7

Composition: NaAlSi₂O₆ / Ca₂(Mg,Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂

Specific gravity: 2.90 - 3.38

Chakras: Heart

Care: Wash in warm soapy water and dry well. Natural jade is light-stable, but dyed or treated pieces are delicate: avoid heat, acids and ultrasonic cleaners.