Rocks and polymineral aggregates
Rocks or aggregates composed of several minerals; a single chemical formula cannot represent the whole material.
What this family is
No single formula represents lapis lazuli, because every material in this family is several minerals at once. Lapis is chiefly lazurite; hanbaiyu is a traditional Chinese name for white marble and is not jade; unakite is an altered epidote-feldspar-quartz rock that may not be named Unakite Jasper; lava stone is vesicular volcanic rock.
Scope of this family
Rocks or aggregates composed of several minerals; a single chemical formula cannot represent the whole material.
Representative members (16)
The standard materials in this family: mineral species, varieties, rocks and other materials whose name identifies what they are. Trade names are listed separately below.
Common confusions
Names in this family that do not by themselves say what the material is, and man-made or assembled products recorded against its materials. Each line says what the item actually is.
Trade names in this family
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| Name | Type of name | What it actually is |
|---|---|---|
| Beige Marble | Commercial / trade name | A traditional trade name containing the Chinese word for jade; the mainstream view is that it is a calcite carbonate rock, corresponding to "Marble" in GB/T 16552—2017 Table A.2, but the material still awaits identification. |
| White Marble (Hanbaiyu) | Trade name: colour / appearance variety | White marble sold under a traditional Chinese name. GB/T 16552-2017 Table A.2 records it as "Hanbaiyu Marble"; the name contains the word "yu" but does not mean jade. |
Member entries (18)
Market names not to be used as a product name
Recorded on member entries of this family. Each name links to the entry whose page explains the ruling and its source.
All misleading and prohibited trade names across the site: Misleading and prohibited trade names
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| Market name | Recorded on | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mi Huang Jade | Beige Marble | Not to be used in any position |
| New jade | Serpentine | Not to be used in any position |
| Unakite jasper | Unakite | Not to be used in any position |
| Xiuyan jade | Xiu Yu / Serpentine | Not to be used in any position |
Treatments recorded on member entries
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| Treatment | Member entries | Disclosure requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Heated / Heat-treated | Shoushan Stone | Heating is a common treatment, and acceptance varies by material. Whether heated ruby or sapphire must be declared separately depends on which code is followed (see the comparison on this page); unstable colour or foreign residues must be disclosed. |
| Filled / Fracture-filled | Balin Stone, Beige Marble, Changhua Stone, Chicken-blood Stone, Lantian Yu / Lantian Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Marble, Qingtian Stone, Serpentine, Shoushan Stone, White Marble (Hanbaiyu), Xiu Yu / Serpentine | Name the filler (resin, oil, polymer, glass or lead glass) and bear in mind that fillings can be unstable and may deteriorate or change colour over time. LMHC Information Sheet #3 treats corundum with glass in two ways: glass in fissures or cavities is still reported on natural corundum as a filling, and only a badly fractured single piece infused throughout, or small fragments bound together with glass, is reported as a manufactured product. |
| Dyed | Balin Stone, Beige Marble, Changhua Stone, Chicken-blood Stone, Lantian Yu / Lantian Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Marble, Qingtian Stone, Serpentine, Shoushan Stone, White Marble (Hanbaiyu), Xiu Yu / Serpentine | Must be disclosed. Dye may fade, bleed or dissolve in solvents (alcohol, acetone), and dyed material must not be labelled "natural colour"; dyed jadeite counts as B/C jade and must be conspicuously labelled; dyed agate and chalcedony are extremely common. |
| Coated | Balin Stone, Beige Marble, Changhua Stone, Chicken-blood Stone, Lantian Yu / Lantian Jade, Marble, Qingtian Stone, Shoushan Stone, White Marble (Hanbaiyu) | Must be disclosed. Coatings may be abraded, flake off or discolour, and coating is not a permanent enhancement; the coating material must be disclosed (e.g. Mystic Topaz is coated topaz), and the treated effect must not be implied to be natural. |
| Waxed | Lapis Lazuli, Marble, Serpentine | Must be disclosed. CIBJO's care annex counts wax among the treatments that are not permanent, so the matching care must also be passed on to the buyer: keep it away from solvents, household chemicals and heat. |
Care codes on member entries
Member entries cite these CIBJO special-care codes: special-care code a, special-care code b, special-care code c, special-care code d, special-care code e, special-care code f, special-care code h, special-care code j, special-care code k. General gem care gives the full wording of every code.
Where members are recorded
Some member entries record the localities where their materials are found; Recorded localities shows them on a sketch map and lists them by continent.
Names
- 简体中文
- 岩石与多矿物集合体
- 繁體中文
- 岩石與多礦物集合體
- English
- Rocks and polymineral aggregates
- 日本語
- 岩石・多鉱物集合体
Authority source
- Authority source
- Review status
- Reviewed against CIBJO, GB/T and IMA boundaries.
Distribution across the other axes
All 18 members share these values:
- Origin class
- Natural materials
- Material domain
- Natural inorganic gem materials
- Mineral chemical class
- Mixed / composition-dependent
Identity level
- Rock / mineral aggregate (14)
- Mineral / gemstone variety (2)
- Commercial / trade name (1)
- Trade name: colour / appearance variety (1)
Construction or treatment status
- Natural identity; treatment status unknown (16)
- Natural; treatment common (require certificate to distinguish) (2)