Evaluating jadeite (feicui)

[Odyssey44]

I love the idea of a big bubble, and this one really does look like a bubble.
However. I’m not comfortable with the No Return policy.
My instinct is that this ring is going to look even more desaturated in daylight
Under the indoor lights, it already looks quite pale
The photo supposedly shows some leaves on the left side, but I am not sure it is an outdoor shot.
I’ve also seen videos which show how vendors typically photograph or take videos of lavender jadeite. They use a mix of red and blue lights, which creates magenta and makes the jadeite look more intensely coloured. This can be done either indoors or outdoors
Lavender Jadeite often looks better in photos than in real life. So I suspect that when you see this ring in person, it will be even paler and may not even be counted as lavender.
So I think it’s better to pass on this one, especially since returns are not accepted. Enjoy the thrill of the hunt!

Thank you for your wisdom Crimson and I will definitely pass on this one! The hunt continues!

 

[Crimson]

Sounds like a nice find, @nyapple. Now I am curious too!
If you don’t mind, could you share a photo?
Thank you.

 

[Bookwyrm]

Lavender jadeite is hard to photograph accurately.
Here, I’ll be using photos of pieces that I have seen in person, and that I can say are accurately photographed. I shall also try to point to examples of the shades shown in the jadeite rainbow poster.


To start, this is a light pinkish purple. This is how the pinkish purple jadeites usually look. This seems to be a cross between
粉紫色 (pinkish purple) and
淡紫色 (light purple)

Lavender Jade Ruby Diamond Ring - On Cheong Jewellery

On Cheong Jewellery offers a wide suite of jewellery ranging from bracelets to earrings, jadeite to sapphires! Each piece is intricately crafted only by experienced craftsmen to ensure your pieces will last the test of time and cherished for generations.

oncheong.com

Anything more pink than the above might be described as red-purple 红紫色or pinkish -purple. 粉紫色
However, they most likely have a painted foil back — a trusted jadeite dealer from China told me so. I showed her a photo like the one below and she immediately replied, “Don’t buy! Probably painted backing” . This kind of dark pink or reddish purple does exist but is extremely rare. So it is better to be skeptical and cautious.



The more blue-ish or violet kind of jadeite has a following.
I would say my purple spinning ring is bluish purple. 蓝紫色 it also colour-shifts a bit

This is a lavender 紫罗兰 from Classic Jade. This photo was taken outdoors. I can recognise the surroundings. Classic Jade has highly accurate photos.I appreciate them for that.


Finally the so-called imperial purple tends to be quite saturated. I noticed that even when shops have them, they are not the ones that are displayed. They are also not as expensive as the non– imperial purple pieces because they tend to have coarser grains.
Fine-grained intense lavender jadeite is hard to find. Dealers suggest buying for colour, rather than for texture, when it comes to lavender Jadeite. A fine-grained, icy-glutinous texture gives you colour stability. More translucent stones run the risk of dying in the light.

Wow, your ring is so unique and the details along the edges are beautiful! SO cool it spins too!

 

[Bookwyrm]

This is a bit random, but something I’ve been wondering about for a while: Is it just me or does green jadeite look more vibrant/glowy against a dark background? I feel like my pear jadeite looks better and more glowy sitting its black box than on my finger - it’s quite weird!

Do you think jadeite also performs better in warmer lighting conditions?

 

[Crimson]

Hi @Bookwyrm! So nice to see you here again. Yes, the lavender ring spins. There is an auspicious saying in Chinese , “时来运转‘’ which means when the time comes. luck will turn (for the better). There are two swallows and other Chinese characters (一生相守 “for a lifetime”) in the black gold and diamonds that encircle the jadeite. I love it because it is so rich in symbolism including the bi which also resembles a coin.

Yes, I think some saturated green jadeites might look better in warm light. Same with emeralds. I notice the lights at emerald dealers’ displays are usually warm. It enhances the green.
Here are some pics which show effects of different lights on my jadeite ring and some emeralds. The first 2 photos are of the same emerald.
This honest and established dealer provided different lights for examining the stones. It is a huge business to business supplier.
Last pic — The assistant was interested in my jadeite ring , LOL.

 

[Pomelo]

Hi @Bookwyrm! So nice to see you here again. Yes, the lavender ring spins. There is an auspicious saying in Chinese , “时来运转‘’ which means when the time comes. luck will turn (for the better). There are two swallows and other Chinese characters (一生相守 “for a lifetime”) in the black gold and diamonds that encircle the jadeite. I love it because it is so rich in symbolism including the bi which also resembles a coin.

Yes, I think some saturated green jadeites might look better in warm light. Same with emeralds. I notice the lights at emerald dealers’ displays are usually warm. It enhances the green.
Here are some pics which show effects of different lights on my jadeite ring and some emeralds. The first 2 photos are of the same emerald.
This honest and established dealer provided different lights for examining the stones. It is a huge business to business supplier.
Last pic — The assistant was interested in my jadeite ring , LOL.

Thanks for sharing Crimson! I bought a pocket light tool which has three settings for white, yellow and UV light. I’m hoping that’ll come in handy when I’m at the HK jewellery show next week!

 

[Bookwyrm]

Wow, I always learn something new each time I pop into this thread!

 

[Bookwyrm]

So nice to see you here again. Yes, the lavender ring spins. There is an auspicious saying in Chinese , “时来运转‘’ which means when the time comes. luck will turn (for the better). There are two swallows and other Chinese characters (一生相守 “for a lifetime”) in the black gold and diamonds that encircle the jadeite. I love it because it is so rich in symbolism including the bi which also resembles a coin.

Oops that was supposed to be in reply to this

Hi @Bookwyrm! So nice to see you here again. Yes, the lavender ring spins. There is an auspicious saying in Chinese , “时来运转‘’ which means when the time comes. luck will turn (for the better). There are two swallows and other Chinese characters (一生相守 “for a lifetime”) in the black gold and diamonds that encircle the jadeite. I love it because it is so rich in symbolism including the bi which also resembles a coin.

Yes, I think some saturated green jadeites might look better in warm light. Same with emeralds. I notice the lights at emerald dealers’ displays are usually warm. It enhances the green.
Here are some pics which show effects of different lights on my jadeite ring and some emeralds. The first 2 photos are of the same emerald.
This honest and established dealer provided different lights for examining the stones. It is a huge business to business supplier.
Last pic — The assistant was interested in my jadeite ring , LOL.

I would gawk and stare too! You have the nicest jadeite pieces I’ve seen!

Just curious, I was wondering if you happened to have any pictures of your rubies in different lighting conditions too…do they perform better than your spinels in indoors lighting?

 

[draganpower]

Hi all, it has been a while since I shared on this forum. I just wanted to show you some of the jadeite I bought. I dont remember what I showed you so Ill just show you what I bought this year.

If you notice my tiny collection compared to others, I am more into translucent, transparent jadeite vs bright apple green/imperial green. Lets be frank, I can't afford it either lol.

I bought this Icy light green leaf from Kathy Jade and got it custom set with platinum and a smal green icy cabachon


My wrists are too big for bangles, or I have to spend a lot of money for a larger one so I bought some bead bracelets instead

Left to Right:
Icy colourless wuji multiwrap bracelet
Light Lavender twice wrap/necklace
Guatemalan multi colour blue bead bracelet


And my most prized Jadeite which I am going to make into rings are:
Glassy/transparent cab
Black translucent omphacite (it lights up green when you shine light on it!)

 

[Pomelo]

Hi all, it has been a while since I shared on this forum. I just wanted to show you some of the jadeite I bought. I dont remember what I showed you so Ill just show you what I bought this year.

If you notice my tiny collection compared to others, I am more into translucent, transparent jadeite vs bright apple green/imperial green. Lets be frank, I can't afford it either lol.

I bought this Icy light green leaf from Kathy Jade and got it custom set with platinum and a smal green icy cabachon


My wrists are too big for bangles, or I have to spend a lot of money for a larger one so I bought some bead bracelets instead

Left to Right:
Icy colourless wuji multiwrap bracelet
Light Lavender twice wrap/necklace
Guatemalan multi colour blue bead bracelet


And my most prized Jadeite which I am going to make into rings are:
Glassy/transparent cab
Black translucent omphacite (it lights up green when you shine light on it!)

Your glassy cab looks amazing, can’t wait to see it set! What are its dimensions out of interest?

And I had no idea that really dark jade which lights up green is omphacite (I just assumed it was very dark fei cui), thank you for enlightening me.

 

[Crimson]

@draganpower the leaf pendant looks so nice on you! It is really translucent. Thanks for showing the omphacite, and your other pieces of different colours too. Beads are nice because you can stack. Imagine wearing three jadeite bangles!

@Pomelo what a great idea to go the HK show! Please share lots of photos! Yes, better to carry your own loupe and light. Is there any particular stone or items that you will be looking for? I considered going myself, but it didn’t fit my schedule.

 

[Pomelo]

@draganpower the leaf pendant looks so nice on you! It is really translucent. Thanks for showing the omphacite, and your other pieces of different colours too. Beads are nice because you can stack. Imagine wearing three jadeite bangles!

@Pomelo what a great idea to go the HK show! Please share lots of photos! Yes, better to carry your own loupe and light. Is there any particular stone or items that you will be looking for? I considered going myself, but it didn’t fit my schedule.

Hehe I’ll be sure to share!

I don’t know if it’s feasible to get everything I want at one show, but I figured that it will be the only chance for me to go to the HK for many years as it’s unlikely to fit my schedule in future.

Therefore, I’ve been frantically thinking about what I want and I think top of the list is: glowy emerald cab and rubellite (either faceted or cab). Anything else is a bonus, including blue sapphire cab, spess cab and tsavorite.

What would you be looking for if you were there?

 

[Crimson]

Hehe I’ll be sure to share!

I don’t know if it’s feasible to get everything I want at one show, but I figured that it will be the only chance for me to go to the HK for many years as it’s unlikely to fit my schedule in future.

Therefore, I’ve been frantically thinking about what I want and I think top of the list is: glowy emerald cab and rubellite (either faceted or cab). Anything else is a bonus, including blue sapphire cab, spess cab and tsavorite.

What would you be looking for if you were there?

Sounds like a nice list, Pomelo
If I were there I would look for my usual favourites, spinel and ruby, and also have a look at demantoid.
Will you be there for the duration of the entire show? If you can wait until the last day, sellers might lower prices before the show closes. It’s a bit of a gamble, though because the items you like might have sold by then.
I don’t enjoy bargaining and I have specific requirements for each kind of stone so I would rather have others source for me. My aim at shows is to browse, understand the market and train my eyes . I try not to feel pressured to buy just because I’m there.

 

[Pomelo]

Sounds like a nice list, Pomelo
If I were there I would look for my usual favourites, spinel and ruby, and also have a look at demantoid.
Will you be there for the duration of the entire show? If you can wait until the last day, sellers might lower prices before the show closes. It’s a bit of a gamble, though because the items you like might have sold by then.
I don’t enjoy bargaining and I have specific requirements for each kind of stone so I would rather have others source for me. My aim at shows is to browse, understand the market and train my eyes . I try not to feel pressured to buy just because I’m there.

I’ll only be there for one hour on Weds if my flight is not delayed, and the duration on Thurs. I won’t be there on Friday sadly.

But I agree, I don’t want to settle for a stone just because I’m at the show. I’m hoping these specimens will be my one-and-done, so if I don’t find something that makes my heart sing then I’ll keep searching