Evaluating jadeite (feicui)

[mellowyellowgirl]

Big, watery lavender Hulu — squeal!!
The texture is fantastic. The crystal is very fine.
The cut is well proportioned, too.
The jadeite is thick; it has nice volume.
Is it too big？

It’s the small one for me Crimson! I’m a tacky girl so the small one is EVERYTHING!!!! That colour!!!

 

[Pomelo]

Big, watery lavender Hulu — squeal!!
The texture is fantastic. The crystal is very fine.
The cut is well proportioned, too.
The jadeite is thick; it has nice volume.
Is it too big？

Oh my gosh. I have never seen such fine crystal with such saturated colour! Look at that watery goodness!! And the colour is great too, strong lavender with a hint of pink

How does it do under daylight? That’s the real question!

Definitely not too big! Is it a convertible ring / pendant?

 

[Seastheday]

Big, watery lavender Hulu — squeal!!
The texture is fantastic. The crystal is very fine.
The cut is well proportioned, too.
The jadeite is thick; it has nice volume.
Is it too big？

Wow, the shade is so lovely! I love how full the shape is too.

 

[aqfleur]

I love the watery glow!! So beautiful

 

[Pomelo]

@Seastheday I was looking for your thread about the pendant and realise it’s probably been deleted? Anyhoo, I was looking for inspo on Lang’s and saw they had a sale with a lot of jadeite pieces.

I don’t know if you’d be open to anything other than an art deco pendant? These are my top four, and I especially like the little fish! The carving is done very cleverly so that the patches of green mimic what you’d see in goldfish. Fish are also very auspicious. I can see it being reset easy-west as a pendant

 

[empliau]

@Seastheday I was looking for your thread about the pendant and realise it’s probably been deleted? Anyhoo, I was looking for inspo on Lang’s and saw they had a sale with a lot of jadeite pieces.

I don’t know if you’d be open to anything other than an art deco pendant? These are my top four, and I especially like the little fish! The carving is done very cleverly so that the patches of green mimic what you’d see in goldfish. Fish are also very auspicious. I can see it being reset easy-west as a pendant

Thank goodness I don't have this kind of money, or I'd buy this like a shot:

 

[Seastheday]

@Pomelo thanks so much! Yeah, I took the thread down since I told my friend, since I didn’t want her to see I was getting a whole bunch of opinions that ultimately swayed me against buying it. I don’t think she really would care, but still.

I’ve heard good things about Lang’s on this forum. I just looked more closely at their website and they do online consultations which is nice, which means I could have them pull aside a few pieces for me to look at virtually.

 

[Seastheday]

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@Pomelo you have a knack of finding twinsies of my rings!

Estate Natural Burmese Lavender Jade and Diamond Ring

This bold and beautiful estate jewel, substantially crafted in lustrous platinum, features a glossy translucent pastel lavender jade cabochon measuring 5/8 by 1/2 inch. The rare and ravishing gemstone (accompanied by a gemological report from Stone Group Laboratory stating: Natural. No...

www.langantiques.com

 

[Pomelo]

@Pomelo you have a knack of finding twinsies of my rings!

Estate Natural Burmese Lavender Jade and Diamond Ring

This bold and beautiful estate jewel, substantially crafted in lustrous platinum, features a glossy translucent pastel lavender jade cabochon measuring 5/8 by 1/2 inch. The rare and ravishing gemstone (accompanied by a gemological report from Stone Group Laboratory stating: Natural. No...

www.langantiques.com

Yours has better colour!!

 

[Crimson]

It’s the small one for me Crimson! I’m a tacky girl so the small one is EVERYTHING!!!! That colour!!!

Yes, the colour is perfect, and the little green cab on top are such fantastic quality. I can’t help thinking the Hulu would go so well with your Labubus.

Oh my gosh. I have never seen such fine crystal with such saturated colour! Look at that watery goodness!! And the colour is great too, strong lavender with a hint of pink
How does it do under daylight? That’s the real question!
Definitely not too big! Is it a convertible ring / pendant?

Yes, I so thrilled. It’s just a ring, not convertible, and it has a wide shank to prevent the ring from swiveling around. The jadeite holds its colour under different lighting conditions. I should have taken more photos of jadeite but I was highly distracted because I was also examining a 4-carat plus unheated Mogok ruby with D diamonds. The Managing Director of the company spent much time with me chatting about gem prices and trends, and he was eager to show me the ruby too (see pics below).

 

[Crimson]

Wow, the shade is so lovely! I love how full the shape is too.

Yes, it is beautifully curved and full. It looks juicy!
I must say the proportions of the carving are very good - especially when compared with calabash (pic below).

I love the watery glow!! So beautiful

It’s quite apt that it is so watery, because the hulu was traditionally used as container for liquids, such as water, wine, or even medicine.

 

[Pomelo]

Yes, the colour is perfect, and the little green cab on top are such fantastic quality. I can’t help thinking the Hulu would go so well with your Labubus.



Yes, I so thrilled. It’s just a ring, not convertible, and it has a wide shank to prevent the ring from swiveling around. The jadeite holds its colour under different lighting conditions. I should have taken more photos of jadeite but I was highly distracted because I was also examining a 4-carat plus unheated Mogok ruby. The Managing Director of the company spent much time with me chatting about gem prices and trends, and he was eager to show me the ruby too (see pics below).

Hehehe do tell us more about your trip and what you thought of the items!

Out of interest, do you know what you’ll be seeing beforehand, so you bring pieces from your existing collection to compare and contrast?

I see you brought your lavender bi ring and ruby to see a lavender hulu and ruby!

 

[Crimson]

Hehehe do tell us more about your trip and what you thought of the items!

Out of interest, do you know what you’ll be seeing beforehand, so you bring pieces from your existing collection to compare and contrast?

I see you brought your lavender bi ring and ruby to see a lavender hulu and ruby!

Haha, so observant, @Pomelo.
I did wear my Crimson, which is a 4+ carat , Burmese unheated ruby from the same shop, to compare it with the newly arrived Burmese ruby. The MD had told me about the new ruby as soon as it was in the works. So I was looking forward to seeing It. I usually bring a reference gem for comparison.
I wore the lavender spinning ring because the MD I had chatted about it in our last conversation. He told me I had bought the best and most interesting pieces from the store Because he does much of the sourcing,, he remembers details about his favourite gems, and about who now owns them.

 

[Seastheday]

What do folks think about this piece? Sold over 10 years ago at Christie’s auction for US$4000.

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5631134

“A JADEITE BROOCH/PENDANT
SET WITH A CARVED JADEITE LOTUS OF BRIGHT GREEN COLOUR AND VERY GOOD TRANSLUCENCY, MOUNTED IN WHITE GOLD, (MAY BE WORN AS A PENDANT), 3.5 CM WIDTH
ACCOMPANIED BY REPORT NO. KJ75641 DATED 21 AUGUST 2012 FROM THE HONG KONG JADE & STONE LABORATORY STATING THAT THE CARVING IS NATURAL JADEITE AND NO POLYMER IS DETECTED”

I have a weakness for carved jade, even though I know that the stones chosen for carving are usually those with flaws and fractures. But I like this piece’s color (apple green?), water (less than glutinous but higher than pea consistency? I don’t know what category this is then), intensity (low-medium), workmanship (I love the design but I can see how it’s maybe a touch too thin/fragile, so prob original stone had a lot of flaws needing to be cut away), and foundation (low grade 4 given I can see black spots).

I feel like here is where I am unable to reconcile my preference for antique carved jade with the likely presence of cracks….@Pomelo @Starstruck8 @Crimson would this brooch likely have surface cracks?

Is my preference/search an oxymoron? Is it possible to find an antique carved jade piece with no surface imperfections/cracks? (Priced accordingly high, no doubt, if such exists?)

Or should I just accept that most of these carved pieces will have surface cracks and I should say, limit my budget to a few thousand dollars, so I am not disappointed and feel like I’m still getting reasonable value for money while you still giving into my aesthetic preference?

 

[Pomelo]

What do folks think about this piece? Sold over 10 years ago at Christie’s auction for US$4000.

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5631134

“A JADEITE BROOCH/PENDANT
SET WITH A CARVED JADEITE LOTUS OF BRIGHT GREEN COLOUR AND VERY GOOD TRANSLUCENCY, MOUNTED IN WHITE GOLD, (MAY BE WORN AS A PENDANT), 3.5 CM WIDTH
ACCOMPANIED BY REPORT NO. KJ75641 DATED 21 AUGUST 2012 FROM THE HONG KONG JADE & STONE LABORATORY STATING THAT THE CARVING IS NATURAL JADEITE AND NO POLYMER IS DETECTED”

I have a weakness for carved jade, even though I know that the stones chosen for carving are usually those with flaws and fractures. But I like this piece’s color (apple green?), water (less than glutinous but higher than pea consistency? I don’t know what category this is then), intensity (low-medium), workmanship (I love the design but I can see how it’s maybe a touch too thin/fragile, so prob original stone had a lot of flaws needing to be cut away), and foundation (low grade 4 given I can see black spots).

I feel like here is where I am unable to reconcile my preference for antique carved jade with the likely presence of cracks….@Pomelo @Starstruck8 @Crimson would this brooch likely have surface cracks?

Is my preference/search an oxymoron? Is it possible to find an antique carved jade piece with no surface imperfections/cracks? (Priced accordingly high, no doubt, if such exists?)

Or should I just accept that most of these carved pieces will have surface cracks and I should say, limit my budget to a few thousand dollars, so I am not disappointed and feel like I’m still getting reasonable value for money while you still giving into my aesthetic preference?

To be honest I’ve not really looked at carved pieces of jadeite (more nephrite, but the material is not so full of cracks normally) so it’s hard for me to say.

But don’t give up! One will turn up in the future and at a reasonable price point, especially if you’re looking for something small at around an inch! Smaller pieces should have less cracks too

 

[Pomelo]

@Seastheday this popped upon my Chinese eBay / Craigslist app.

Description says it’s art deco but it’s probably a reproduction, the hanging pendant is fire opal. No lines and no cracks. Jadeite itself is 3.3*2.0cm*0.2cm so it’s thin. Asking price around $4500 but you won’t get a Western cert with it.

Just so you have an idea, and that there are carved pieces with no cracks. Chinese consumers are very sensitive to root lines and cracks so an experienced seller like this one is usually quite upfront about it.

Forgive the quality of the screenshot, only a close-up video was available.

Your Christie’s example has better workmanship though.

ETA: just a thought… if you’re going to spend $5000+ on a piece of jadeite, why not put some of those funds towards a plane ticket to China? You can spend a day (or two, or the entirety of your trip!) looking at jade and also do some traveling
The selection will be beyond anything you’ll get access to, and prices will be much more reasonable. There is a lot of haggling in China haha.
The same goes for Singapore and Taiwan to be fair, but mainland China will have the most stock by far.

 

[Seastheday]

@Seastheday this popped upon my Chinese eBay / Craigslist app.

Description says it’s art deco but it’s probably a reproduction, the hanging pendant is fire opal. No lines and no cracks. Jadeite itself is 3.3*2.0cm*0.2cm so it’s thin. Asking price around $4500 but you won’t get a Western cert with it.

Just so you have an idea, and that there are carved pieces with no cracks. Chinese consumers are very sensitive to root lines and cracks so an experienced seller like this one is usually quite upfront about it.

Forgive the quality of the screenshot, only a close-up video was available.

Your Christie’s example has better workmanship though.

ETA: just a thought… if you’re going to spend $5000+ on a piece of jadeite, why not put some of those funds towards a plane ticket to China? You can spend a day (or two, or the entirety of your trip!) looking at jade and also do some traveling
The selection will be beyond anything you’ll get access to, and prices will be much more reasonable. There is a lot of haggling in China haha.
The same goes for Singapore and Taiwan to be fair, but mainland China will have the most stock by far.

@Pomelo thanks for generously keeping an eye out for me.

I really want a true antique piece. I think I may fold…I hate to admit it, but I think I’m looking for a needle in a haystack. I think most antique carved jade will have fractures, and if I insist on carved + antique I should make my peace with fractures, but I can’t seem to reconcile myself to the latter. So I may stop looking and harassing everyone else on this forum.

 

[Crimson]

@Seastheday , it is an intriguing piece. If it’s truly vintage, then its provenance is factored into the price.
I think this post by Richa Goya Sikri gives some idea of why these pieces appealed so much to Western designers during that time.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

There are lots of vintage carved pieces among the overseas Chinese community. Most of these are passed from one generation to another. Sometimes, they enter the market when elderly owners want to sell them, or people who inherit the pieces do so. That’s where shops like GemGardener get their pieces. This is a pair of my grandma’s earrings, shown here with some cat’s eye nephrite.

I have a friend who goes scouring for antique jewellery in pawnshops. He comes up with the most amazing finds! With vintage pieces, serendipity plays a part.
Thank you for loving jadeite so much.

 

[Starstruck8]

I think this post by Richa Goya Sikri gives some idea of why these pieces appealed so much to Western designers during that time.

That gives a good summary. It seems that the 'exoticism of the East' was very much in the air at the time, At least in the then-triumphant West... Here is a more detailed story I came across:
https://incolormagazine.com/the-many-faces-of-jade-in-western-jewelry/
The sections Jade Stolen from the Summer Place and Art Deco: The Golden Age of Jade in Western Jewelry are especially relevant.

These pages show some truly spectacular (bizarre?) examples:
https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/w...f-museum-quality-arrive-at-hong-kong-auction/

https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/w...f-museum-quality-arrive-at-hong-kong-auction/


Left: Carved ?nephrite panel with additions by Cartier.
Right: Jadeite piece with additions by Cartier.

Antique ?nephrite ink washer, repurposed as a mystery clock by Cartier.

I believe there is a Chinese idiom about adding feet to a snake...

 

[Crimson]

That gives a good summary. It seems that the 'exoticism of the East' was very much in the air at the time, At least in the then-triumphant West... Here is a more detailed story I came across:
https://incolormagazine.com/the-many-faces-of-jade-in-western-jewelry/
The sections Jade Stolen from the Summer Place and Art Deco: The Golden Age of Jade in Western Jewelry are especially relevant.

These pages show some truly spectacular (bizarre?) examples:
https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/w...f-museum-quality-arrive-at-hong-kong-auction/

https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/w...f-museum-quality-arrive-at-hong-kong-auction/


Left: Carved ?nephrite panel with additions by Cartier.
Right: Jadeite piece with additions by Cartier.

Antique ?nephrite ink washer, repurposed as a mystery clock by Cartier.

I believe there is a Chinese idiom about adding feet to a snake...

Oh this is fantastic, @Starstruck8. Thank you for the article. I was in need of some fun and intellectual stimulation. The part about Pekingese dogs made me chuckle because my god-grandparents had one too. The plunder of jewels is so much a part of colonial history, it is galling.
I agree the four items you showed are bizarre and tacky, and I don’t care for them. Yes, adding feet to a snake. 画蛇添足 means adding feet when drawing a snake,
The additions would be seen as an affront to the craftsman and carvers. On the other hand, Chinese are quite pragmatic - “They want to buy it? Let them have it.”
Irony - for my birthday I have been invited to a “Cartier experience”. Maybe I should ask them about these pieces

ETA: the top right photo shows a belt hook in the form of a dragon.
Adding the collar around the dragon is not good because it interferes with the function of the hook and it makes the dragon look like a domestic animal.
Below is a nice one that hasn’t been embellished. https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/...works-art/large-white-jade-belt-hook-10/22759

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Omg are you allowed pictures at this Cartier event @Crimson? What are you going to wear?

 

[Crimson]

Omg are you allowed pictures at this Cartier event @Crimson? What are you going to wear?

I think so, it will be a personal experience. VCA lets me take photos so I think it should be fine
Re what to wear, do you mean clothes or jewellery, @mellowyellowgirl? Long Jadeite earrings? Crimson? Minerva? When I went to VCA recently I wore Crimson and she caused a stir. Re: dress, don’t know yet. Maybe something festive or jewel tones.
So much going on. I recently skipped a big jewellery dinner (dress code: shimmery ) and a private viewing because I wanted some quiet time. Looking forward to rest and holidays!!

 

[Pomelo]

@Starstruck8 and @Crimson thanks for the info on antique jade carvings!

Starstruck’s first article had a section on Faberge and I remember one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen is a lily of the valley with nephrite petals made by Faberge. I’ve seen quite a few lily of the valley brooches at auction but none compare in fineness (to be fair, this Faberge example is truly museum-standard, the Met no less haha).


@Crimson please feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but I’ve not seen you post in the various Cartier/VCA threads before… does Crimson have a secret stash of amazing signed pieces that we don’t know about???

 

[Crimson]

Yes, Faberge had access to Siberian nephrite and make good use of it! The piece you shared is exquisite.
Here’s another item of Chinoiserie that respected the integrity of the original Jade piece and incorporated it quite naturally: Nephrite cricket caged turned compact.

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6340856

 

[Dreamer_D]

That gives a good summary. It seems that the 'exoticism of the East' was very much in the air at the time, At least in the then-triumphant West... Here is a more detailed story I came across:
https://incolormagazine.com/the-many-faces-of-jade-in-western-jewelry/
The sections Jade Stolen from the Summer Place and Art Deco: The Golden Age of Jade in Western Jewelry are especially relevant.

These pages show some truly spectacular (bizarre?) examples:
https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/w...f-museum-quality-arrive-at-hong-kong-auction/

https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/w...f-museum-quality-arrive-at-hong-kong-auction/


Left: Carved ?nephrite panel with additions by Cartier.
Right: Jadeite piece with additions by Cartier.

Antique ?nephrite ink washer, repurposed as a mystery clock by Cartier.

I believe there is a Chinese idiom about adding feet to a snake...

These Cartier additions are super ugly and reminiscent of certain gold embellishments a certain president has been adding to his house. The phrase “gilding the lily” comes to mind though there is the added layer of colonial claiming and cultural superiority/erasure as well. Bizarr and disturbing.

I haven’t read all one million pages of this thread but I notice in the recent pieces @Crimson and @mellowyellowgirl posted that the lavender jade has a different texture than the green, is this typical of the different materials? Are there different standards of desirability or is this a factor of rarity?

 

[Crimson]

I haven’t read all one million pages of this thread but I notice in the recent pieces @Crimson and @mellowyellowgirl posted that the lavender jade has a different texture than the green, is this typical of the different materials? Are there different standards of desirability or is this a factor of rarity?

@Dreamer_D, Your questions allow me to add one more post to the million
Yes. Lavender jadeite tends to come in more glutinous forms (smooth but less translucent). The texture is less watery and the crystals are less fine. They also tend to have more “cotton” - whitish crystals. The composition is different. This pic below is from this article.

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Color-Origin-of-Lavender-Jadeite-An-Alternative-Approach.pdf

My lavender “bi” ring is icy glutinous - less translucent. It has less cotton and so the colour is consistent in different kinds of lighting. This is taken in bright sunlight, an acid test of whether it “dies in the light”.


Lavender jadeite is prized for its colour, and fine texture is a big bonus.
The prices of these two lavender pieces are revealing.
The large one is extremely watery and fine. The colour is not as intense but it has that lovely blush. It is highly icy. The smaller one has perfect colour (@Autumn in New England said so!) and icy glutinous texture. So it really depends on one’s taste and needs.


To add to the the range, here is a big one from Asiatique which caters to a range of budgets. It has a more grainy texture. The price is a fraction of the other two.




Re: rarity, yes, lavender jadeite is less common than green but when it comes to high quality pieces, the gap narrows.

 

[dk168]

Not sure if anyone follows auction houses, however, this is the auction result for this lovely strand of jade beads (Christies Magnificent Jewellery Sale in Hong Kong recently):



DK

 

[Seastheday]

@Crimson thank you for sharing your grandmother’s earrings. They are lovely!

I think with a lot of antique jade on sale, they are “imperfect” (perhaps their price reflects this). Take this $22500 Cartier pin stick for instance, I love the color and simplicity, but can see a line going down vertically. Internal vs surface?

I really want a piece with no surface cracks or highly visible internal fractures but maybe such a piece will simply be astronomical in price.

Cartier Jade 18K Yellow Gold Stick Pin

Cartier London Jade and Gold Stick Pin An elegant creation by Cartier London, this exquisite stick pin features a richly saturated jade cabochon set in 18K yellow gold. The stone’s vivid, even green hue captures the light with serene depth, emphasizing jade’s enduring symbolism of purity...

dsfantiquejewelry.com