For years, jade was the jewellery equivalent of the quiet girl: beautiful, yet perhaps a little misunderstood. It was, after all, stubbornly associated with an older generation.
That is changing fast. The gemstone is experiencing a resurgence in popularity amidst the younger generation.
Before getting into why everyone suddenly wants a jade piece, it is worth clarifying what jade actually is. Because, strictly speaking, “jade” is not one single thing.
The name is an umbrella term for two entirely different minerals: jadeite and nephrite. They look similar enough to be grouped together, but geologically, they are unrelated. Jadeite is the rarer and generally more valuable of the two, prized for its glassy translucency and intense colour. It comes in a broad spectrum of shades, including the vivid emerald green most people picture when they hear the word “jade”. The finest examples—often referred to as “imperial jade”—can command enormous prices, with Myanmar historically the most famous source.
Nephrite, meanwhile, is the older and more widespread variety, and the type more commonly found across Asia, including Korea. Its colours tend towards the softer and earthier: creamy ivory, warm brown, muted green and grey. Less flashy than its jadeite counterpart, perhaps, but arguably better suited to the understated, quietly personal aesthetic now finding favour with younger shoppers.
Korean jade, specifically, is a native nephrite known as Chuncheon Ok, named after the region in Gangwon Province where it is mined. Its signature ivory-and-warm-brown palette has become part of its appeal, fitting neatly into a generation increasingly drawn to jewellery that feels subtle rather than showy.
The revival had already been quietly gathering momentum, but celebrity sightings helped push jade further into the mainstream. Blackpink’s Jennie, for one, wore jade pendant earrings in the music video for Less than a Lover, while BTS’s March 2026 reunion performance—its first group appearance on stage in nearly four years—provided another particularly visible moment. V wore seven jade rings, which caught the light each time he gripped the microphone.
The rings came from Yeijak, a Korean jade jewellery brand that subsequently saw renewed interest in the stone. The brand, however, has been quick to point out that BTS accelerated the trend that was already under way, noting that overseas interest had been building since late 2024.
And perhaps that is the key to understanding jade’s appeal now: celebrity endorsement may have made the trend more visible, but it cannot fully explain why it has resonated so strongly.
Unlike diamonds, jade is difficult to standardise. Every stone has its own colour, clouding, streaks and patterns, meaning no two pieces are exactly alike. For a generation increasingly drawn to individuality over uniformity, that is a significant part of the appeal. Many shoppers prefer to choose their jade in person, trying on different stones to see how their colour shifts against the skin.
The experience is almost the opposite of buying jewellery by specification alone. There is no single ideal stone that everyone is chasing. Instead, there is the question of which one feels like yours.
There is also a cultural layer to the revival that goes beyond aesthetics. Jade has been worn in Asia for centuries as a symbol of protection and good fortune, with associations that stretch from royal courts to everyday family traditions. For the younger generation, then, wearing jade can be both a fashion choice and a way of reconnecting with something already embedded in their cultural memory. What once belonged to their grandmothers’ jewellery boxes has returned—not unchanged, but reinterpreted.
Colour is helping, too. Beyond the classic deep green most closely associated with jade, today’s shoppers can choose from lavender, yellow, brown, white, black and soft ivory tones that slip easily into an everyday wardrobe. The designs have evolved accordingly, moving well beyond traditional rings and pendants into animal-shaped charms, linked bracelets and other styles unmistakably designed with a younger customer in mind.
Perhaps that is why jade’s comeback feels different from a straightforward nostalgia trend. Gen Z is not simply borrowing from the past; it is choosing what to keep from it. And in jade—a gemstone shaped by luck, lineage, individuality and the simple pleasure of finding a stone unlike anyone else’s—they may have found something surprisingly modern after all.
This story first appeared in Grazia Singapore.
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