Any Jade expert? What's the value of this jade?

[lucida23]

I chanced upon this jade stone in a reputable gemstone store in my country. Actually all the while I was looking for a sapphire.. however, this jade did caught my attention. The sales person classify this as Imperial Jade grade. I could see the glow in the jade. It's very pretty. However, later i got to know that a gold plate is placed below the jade. The salesperson explained that this is to make the jade reflect light better else due to its transparency, the light with gets to my skin and will not reflect well if open mounted. So I'm wondering if the glow i see is the reflection from the gold plate.... I'm not sure if this is a usual practice for jade as I thought if the jade is very translucent, it should be mounted on open casing with the bottom not close up. Nevertheless, the sales person did say he can take out the gem from the ring so that I can see it's a solid piece.

I mean I do believe its a solid piece as this is a very reputable shop. I can see its a very translucent jade also. However, I think the depth of the jade is probably not very thick. The most important thing is that I'm not sure if it is really worth the price its been quoted. I'm not familiar with price of jade though I did went to some local jade shops and the price is pretty high also for nice pieces.. I just want one nice coloured stone and I'm not sure if this is the one...

Anyway, the jade did come with a reputable certification. Following is the description:

Natural Jadeite (Type A)
Measurement approx: 7.78 x 7.56 mm (depth not determinable due to mounting)
Color: Green
Transparency: highly translucent



What do you think the price range of this stone is? Bearing in mind that the depth might be around 2mm - as per what the salesperson estimated.

 

[sisxixon]

It's very, very difficult to evaluate gemstones from just a picture, and it's just as hard to evaluate the quality of jade in person. A lot of modern treatment techniques are difficult for the average consumer to detect.

That said, if this *is* real jade it's a whopper of a piece!

 

[kenny]

Anyway, the jade did come with a reputable certification. Following is the description:

This 'cert' may not be worth the paper it's printed on, or it be a substantial and reputable document that backs up the price.
It depends entirely on the entity that issued it.

May I ask the name of the laboratory that issued the grading report?
Was it GIA, AGL, GRD, or Gübelin?
Those are among the more reputable gem labs.

If the 'cert' is from a less-reputable lab, or an appraiser (especially if hired and paid by the seller), it carries less weight than a grading report from the above labs.
Some sellers may tell you a 'cert' is reputable when it is not.
In fact, that's the whole point of a good lab; they are independent!

Well-informed buyers insist that the best stones go to the best labs to support the high price.

 

[lucida23]

Hmm.. The lab is an independent lab in my country. So I have no issues with it.

I think my problem is i'm not sure if I want to pay that amount for this piece... If I get a sapphire or maybe a burma spinel, the size is much bigger for the same price and more sparkly also :p...

 

[minousbijoux]

It looks like a lovely stone, though admittedly I don't know much about jade. I DO know that there may be better places for evaluation of jade than the typical gemstone labs like AGL and GIA. If I were you, I would contact Mason Kay and ask for their suggestions as I believe they are one of the preeminent authorities on jade:

http://www.masonkay.com/contact/index.php

 

[chrono]

The problem is that it is an extremely thin slice of jadeite...

 

[lucida23]

Hi Chrono,

Yes. I realised that.. so I decided not to get it. Hmm.. still on the lookout for that special colour stone..