I have been selling Jade for since 1994. I am not a Gemmologist but have seen more Jade that the vast majority of them in this time. For the purpose of buying Jade it comes in many grades, but only two
types with different chemical formula. (see about jade for this) The first is Jadeite and the second is old jade Chinese Nephrite. I have dealt in them
both over the years. There are many different way’s to grade Jade depending who you are talking to but I have put together this
article as it makes sense to me and I hope it will
make sense to you.
There are three things to look for, first is colour & how it got it.
The second is translucence. The third is grain & inclusions.
Dear Customers
Please Don't you get ripped
OFF because there are so many people who are.
I have been having a look at the auction site's
today, which is something I don't normally have the time to do, but today I am
having some pictures of my latest stock form my trip on the
29/03/01 professionally taken in order to give you a better view of what
you are buying. So at the moment I have time.
The results of this search are that I have found
that other people are lying to you and they are copying off my text. The
copying off of my text I find to be a compliment of sorts but please do a little detective
work in order to evaluate the truth. For example it costs me approximately
$500.00 USD per trip in expenses, air fare, food, hotel, etc. and I live
in Thailand not in some part of the states where the expenses would be double
at very least.
Also it's the luck of the draw, you can go and get a very nice
selection of good stock but on the other hand you can go only to find that
you have been beaten to it by the Chinese, and there is nothing there
worth while buying. That's OK you may say the other guy may have good
contacts and be able to pre - order. In your dreams it's just about
impossible to do this as there are no fax machines. Ok you may find that the big 5
star hotels have them but even the best and most up to date of the
suppliers of Jade only dream of such things.
There is no internet or email. Ask yourself have you
ever seen anything advertised on the Net as being sent direct from Burma.
Before you
go racking your brains the answer is no it's imposable. You have to obtain
a government invoice to get the product out of Burma with so much as a bangle, it's
the only country I know where the customs search you on the way out. So
just popping an item in the post like I do for you is totally impossible.
As far as the amount of currency
ie, the amount of
stock you can buy in one trip is concerned you are only allowed to take in
$2000.00 USD into Burma. OK I take a little
more but there is a limit to how much you can risk.
The conclusion that I
reach is that if you have a vendor in the States saying that he personally
travels to Burma to buy the stock, remember he would have to go there
every time he buys stock as there is no other way to do it, he is being frugal with the
truth. In other words if I charge $95.00 USD for a nice pendant then he
would have to charge $150.00 to $200.00 for the same item, just to cover
his expenses.
Some of the interesting but misleading descriptions
you may read, contain phrases like.
(Old Jade) This
might mean Nephrite but then again you should ask the vendor what
he means by Old Jade.
(New Jade) This is
most likely Aventurine if it's a reasonable piece but I have seen soap
stone described as this.
(Chinese Jade) This
may mean Nephrite but then again who knows?
Please
see my page all about Jade.
Jade is either Jadeite or Nephrite and you will
find the chemical composition here.
There are no other types of
Jade no matter what you may hear.
The best Jade is the most expensive gemstone in
the world. Yes Carat for Carat more expensive than diamond.
Then I see a
bangle in deep 100% the same colour Lavender described as A
Grade advertised for $55.00,USD. Please
get real. The real price in Burma for such a thing would be at least
$5000.00 USD & by
the time it got to the shops in the States it would be in the region of
50,000.00 USD. This item was for certain B+C or if not C Grade and $55.00 is not a bad price for that.
I suppose the point I am trying to make here is
that Real A Grade Jade (jadeite) is not cheap so if you see it cheap then
it's not real.
So to conclude the first thing to look for to
evaluate whether an item is real or not is look at the price vis-a-vis the
description and where it is being sold from.
If it looks like a real bargain it's not real. As my old Dad used to say
if it looks to good to be true then it probably is.
There is no one on the auction sites who knows
the value of jade better than myself, don't get me wrong there are those
who I respect
that know it as well as myself.
Grades of Jade
This refers to the type of Jade not
the quality.
First : Imperial Jade
The Holy Grail Imperial Green Jadeite, dark emerald green and translucent. The price starts around $1200.00 USD per carat.
Beautiful dark Emerald green, translucent without, or very few inclusions very
rare and very expensive.
Second : A
The A grade Jadeite. Varying in Natural Colour, Green, Red, Yellow,
Lavender Black & White. This is untreated natural stone. However not always
the nicest looking stone you can find. Remember it can be A Grade and look
like, well you know what.
Third : B
B Grade, Jadeite mainly found in Hong Kong treated.
That is to say they take out the impurities and replacing with translucent resin
natural good colour that it will not lose. This is what the world is buying whether
they know it or not. This often has no translucence.
But recently I have seen a massive amount of terrible quality in this range.
My rule of thumb here is if I can’t see it, it’s OK.
Fourth : B + C
B + C The same as above but coloured resin is added to enhance the colour
Fifth : C
C Grade, Jadeite treated often badly.
Commercial Quality, It really doesn’t matter much treated and untreated you just pay more for untreated. Again it will keep its colour or at least the product you buy from me will.
Sixth :
Probably not Jade at all of any sort. Probably Quartz dyed.
Dyed horribly for the tourists who obviously wouldn’t know it from a stick of Blackpool rock (a holiday town in the north of England)
and will probably lose it’s colour before it goes through your Customs on the way
home. However you do get some nice ornaments in good quality green Quartz.
Seventh : Nephrite
Old Jade or the real name Nephrite. Originally found in China but now all over
the world.
This probably should not be under the last item because you can buy beautiful
dark spinach green cabochons in untreated product very cheaply. Some of the
ornaments & carvings are of extremely high quality and are not that cheap.
Quality of Jade
Translucence with 1 being the
best, 1 to 10.
Please do remember to take into account the
thickness of the item ie, it's a lot easier for a piece that is 1/8th"
thick than something that is 3/8th" thick like a bangle for instance.
Just about nothing I sell achieves (2) let alone (1) anything that rates a 1 will
cost more than $3000.00 USD, even from me.
1 |
Like glass with no inclusions |
6 |
Excellent but a little lower than 5 |
2 |
Like glass with some inclusions |
7 |
Good this mean that when you hold it up to
the light it shines through. |
3 |
Like glass with inclusions |
8 |
A little less than 7 |
4 |
Almost like glass |
9 |
Some means that you can see some light
through some part |
5 |
Excellent |
10 |
None |
Lustre and finish, with 1 being the
best 1 to 10.
Just about nothing I do achieves (2) let alone (1).
Anything that rates a 1 will cost more than $3000.00 USD, even purchased
from me.
1 |
Like glass |
6 |
Excellent but a little lower than 5 |
2 |
Like glass with some Orange peal texture |
7 |
Good this mean over all. |
3 |
Like glass with Orange peal texture |
8 |
A little less than 7 |
4 |
Almost like glass |
9 |
Means that parts are not so good |
5 |
Excellent |
10 |
Means the finish is cheap |
This doesn't refer to the Grade i.e., the type of Jade it refers to the quality of the piece in the
ad.
This is just the way I value the item on the Ad. Only very expensive Jade
rates a (3) let alone (1) anything that gets a 1 will cost more than
$10,000.00 USD for the smallest item, even purchased from me.
(1) Imperial Jade
A perfect piece is Dark Green with perfect translucence
and no inclusions. So rare so expensive. A small piece is worth a Kings ransom.
(2) Imperial Jade
This you can find carved or in cabochons. With
excellent translucency but not perfect with some inclusions.
(3) Imperial Jade
Colour.
The colour of imperial Jade but low translucence
with a lot of inclusions but a good carving or well finished cabochon.
(4) High quality Jade
This goes across the colour spectrum. Excellent translucence,
excellent colour which is even across the piece, Excellent quality of
carving and finish.
(5) High quality Jade but a little
lower than (4)
This goes across the colour spectrum. Excellent
Translucency , excellent quality finish and Excellent carving and finish, but one item may be a little off
the standard of (4).
(6) Medium Quality Jade
This goes across the colour spectrum. Lower translucency
but good colour, but may be uneven or of different colours. Good
carving and finish.
(7) Medium Quality Jade but a
little lower than (6)
This goes across the colour spectrum. Lower translucency
than (6) good colour, but may be uneven or of different colours. Good
carving and finish. One of these may be a little off the standard.
(8) Cheaper Jade
Little or no translucency, poorer carving and finish,
colour not as nice as above.
If you would like any more information please don’t hesitate to get in touch all the details are above.
All of the above only applies to new ads at the
moment. I will try to up date the older ads as time goes on.
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