Jewelry Shopping in Beijing, Guilin, and Hong Kong

[snotty_pie]

I'll be heading to China (Beijing, Guilin, and Hong Kong) in May 2018 for a fun trip. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on where to shop for jade (or any other quality jewelry) for a fair price?

Thanks!

 

[Austina]

I know there’s a jade market in Nathan Road in HK, but I haven’t been for a few years now.

 

[kenny]

I'd have to learn the language ... fluently.
Then I need to learn the culture ... fluently.
Then I'd have to live and work there for decades.
Then learn TOOOOOOONS about jade and the jade market where I'm shopping.

I would spend maybe 30 years doing all this before setting a foot into such a place.

It just seems like the quintessential place/way to get ripped off for big bucks.

 

[snotty_pie]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I have relatives in the business in Bangkok, which is how I feel confident getting colored stones there.

I was hoping folks on the forum would know a reputable place with fair prices though. I am willing to pay retail prices for a quality piece if there was a place I knew I could trust.

I'd have to learn the language ... fluently.
Then I need to learn the culture ... fluently.
Then I'd have to live and work there for decades.
Then learn TOOOOOOONS about jade and the jade market where I'm shopping.

I would spend maybe 30 years doing all this before setting a foot into such a place.

It just seems like the quintessential place/way to get ripped off for big bucks.

 

[Dancing Fire]

It just seems like the quintessential place/way to get ripped off for big bucks.

Kenny
Sounds like you been living there for 30 yrs...

 

[kenny]

Kenny
Sounds like you been living there for 30 yrs...

Nah.
The more liberal a person is, the smarter (s)he is.

 

[kenny]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I have relatives in the business in Bangkok, which is how I feel confident getting colored stones there.

I was hoping folks on the forum would know a reputable place with fair prices though. I am willing to pay retail prices for a quality piece if there was a place I knew I could trust.

Perhaps China is not like places in the world you are used to.
Perhaps businesses in China extract maximum money from every customer instead employing the concept you call "fair prices".
DF, how am I doing?

There's a term, "They saw you coming."

If I were you I'd give up on the idea of buying jade in China ... "real" ivory too.
I'd just enjoy the food and take lots of pics.

I recommend the same for tourists naive enough to rush to NYC's diamond district to buy diamonds.
There too ... they saw you coming.

 

[mochiko42]

I know there’s a jade market in Nathan Road in HK, but I haven’t been for a few years now.

That jade market is primarily marketed to foreign tourists who don't know much about jade and generally sells lots of souvenirs/trinkets including poor quality (type B and C) jade. You might be able to get some jade slightly better than mediocre quality or freshwater pearls there but you'll have to know what you're looking for. If you want to buy high quality type A jadeite I wouldn't bother going there. I would only buy cheap gifts for kids there

 

[Dancing Fire]

Perhaps China is not like places in the world you are used to.
Perhaps every business in China extracts maximum money out of every customer instead employing the concept you call "fair prices".
DF, does that translate?

Buying jades/jewelry in China is like buying buy diamonds from my uncle George in a dark alley...

 

[mochiko42]

What kind of jadeite /what kind of price range are you looking at? You can get a jade bangle for everything from US$100, $1000, $10,000 and $100,000. Different stores/places for each of these.

Here is a beautiful bangle that sold a couple of months ago in HK for US$118,000. Just some eye candy.

 

[mochiko42]

Buying jades/jewelry in China is like buying buy diamonds from my uncle George in a dark alley...

I would add the qualifier that this is the case if you don't know what you're doing. There are plenty of people who buy jade in China and don't get ripped off, it is the largest market in the world. It's not that useful to make sweeping assumptions about an entire country of 1 billion people.

 

[snotty_pie]

Haha, definitely not US$118K. Probably $5K-$15K for a souvenir. If there's no way I won't get ripped off, I'll probably just avoid buying anything altogether.

What kind of jadeite /what kind of price range are you looking at? You can get a jade bangle for everything from US$100, $1000, $10,000 and $100,000. Different stores/places for each of these.

Here is a beautiful bangle that sold a couple of months ago in HK for US$118,000. Just some eye candy.

 

[snotty_pie]

I'm definitely planning on enjoying food too! I have my birthday dinner reserved at T'ang Court already

Perhaps China is not like places in the world you are used to.
Perhaps businesses in China extract maximum money from every customer instead employing the concept you call "fair prices".
DF, how am I doing?

There's a term, "They saw you coming."

If I were you I'd give up on the idea of buying jade in China ... "real" ivory too.
I'd just enjoy the food and take lots of pics.

I recommend the same for tourists naive enough to rush to NYC's diamond district to buy diamonds.
There too ... they saw you coming.

 

[arkieb1]

I'd have to learn the language ... fluently.
Then I need to learn the culture ... fluently.
Then I'd have to live and work there for decades.
Then learn TOOOOOOONS about jade and the jade market where I'm shopping.

I would spend maybe 30 years doing all this before setting a foot into such a place.

It just seems like the quintessential place/way to get ripped off for big bucks.

You just need to take DF with you......

 

[mochiko42]

@kenny fyi, China has recently banned ivory sales. Great news for the elephants!

@snotty_pie it's too bad you're not visiting HK when there's a jewelry show in town (March, June, Sept and Nov). They're always fun to visit. I would look at jade pieces that come with the relevant lab reports.
With your budget, I'd just get something nice by Wallace Chan, Wendy Yue or another iconic designer!

In HK you can check the stretch of Queens Road Central between Pottinger Street and Bonham Strand. There is a wide selection of big chain jewelers and local independent jewellery shops along that road.

 

[snotty_pie]

Thank you Mochiko42! Yes, I was hoping to time my trip with a gem show, but it's tough to schedule time off for my husband and me at the same time. Boo!

@kenny fyi, China has recently banned ivory sales. Great news for the elephants!

@snotty_pie it's too bad you're not visiting HK when there's a jewelry show in town (March, June, Sept and Nov). They're always fun to visit. I would look at jade pieces that come with the relevant lab reports.
With your budget, I'd just get something nice by Wallace Chan, Wendy Yue or another iconic designer!

In HK you can check the stretch of Queens Road Central between Pottinger Street and Bonham Strand. There is a wide selection of big chain jewelers and local independent jewellery shops along that road.

 

[kenny]

I would add the qualifier that this is the case if you don't know what you're doing. There are plenty of people who buy jade in China and don't get ripped off, it is the largest market in the world. It's not that useful to make sweeping assumptions about an entire country of 1 billion people.

Uhm, DUH!

... so, how exactly, Mr/Ms. Superior-PC, does your post protect the OP from getting ripped off?


BTW, your caveat of "I would add the qualifier that this is the case if you don't know what you're doing" was already added by me when I posted:

" ...I'd have to learn the language ... fluently.
Then I need to learn the culture ... fluently.
Then I'd have to live and work there for decades.
Then learn TOOOOOOONS about jade and the jade market where I'm shopping.

I would spend maybe 30 years doing all this before setting a foot into such a place.

It just seems like the quintessential place/way to get ripped off for big bucks."

 

[mochiko42]

Uhm, DUH!

... and how exactly, Mr/Ms. Superior-PC, does your post protect the OP from getting ripped off?

I'm not saying that it's not risky to buy jade in China if you are not well informed. All I am saying is that it is possible to buy jade in China and not be ripped off. Same like buying diamonds in the US. You can choose to shop at Jared's or be informed and go to vendors who provide proper authentication and paperwork. My posts might not be that helpful but neither is it helpful to make such generalizations. (I'm not talking about your post, Kenny, your post was quite accurate assessment IMO. I was referring to DF's post where he made a sweeping statement that buying jade in China was like buying from someone in a dark alley. If I misunderstood, I apologize. English is not my native language so my English language skills are not as fluent or accomplished as others on PS. )

 

[mochiko42]

@snotty_pie

If you buy an expensive piece of jade please make sure you get the paperwork. There are many labs in HK so there is no excuse for the vendor not to have the papers.

There is GIA and GRS in HK but most jade will be assessed by a local lab. Here is a list of locally accredited labs:

Asian Gemmological Institute and Laboratory Ltd.
CAC (Hong Kong) Gems Laboratory Ltd.
China Gems Laboratory Ltd.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Co. Ltd. – Chow Tai Fook Fei Cui Testing Centre
Hong Kong Gems Laboratory Company Ltd.
Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory Ltd.
Jewellery Trade Laboratory Ltd.
NGTC (HK) Ltd.
http://www.hkctc.gov.hk/en/pst_jewellery_c.html

 

[canuk-gal]

I'm not saying that it's not risky to buy jade in China if you are not well informed. All I am saying is that it is possible to buy jade in China and not be ripped off. Same like buying diamonds in the US. You can choose to shop at Jared's or be informed and go to vendors who provide proper authentication and paperwork. My posts might not be that helpful but neither is it helpful to make such generalizations. (I'm not talking about your post, Kenny, your post was quite accurate assessment IMO. I was referring to DF's post where he made a sweeping statement that buying jade in China was like buying from someone in a dark alley. If I misunderstood, I apologize. English is not my native language so my English language skills are not as fluent or accomplished as others on PS. )

Mochiko42: There isn't anything incomprehensible about you said.


Corollary..oh there isn't any where Kenny and DF posts..together.

 

[jadesilver]

Check out Lao Feng Xiang. They have a store in Hong Kong. I visited their Shanghai branch on a recommendation from a local, my friend. I had a great experience and the ladies were lovely even when I insisted that I only want to pay max USD$400 for a jade bangle. I wanted something that was glowy and translucent - that type of jade is quite expensive but I’ve seen some from other sellers in my country that fulfill that criteria at my price range, I think those were from Myanmar. Couldn’t find that in China. I have a translucent-looking jade bangle already so I decided not to go ahead with the purchase since it wasn’t a “deal” for me.

Don’t expect to get “deals” on jade in China - I found the prices quite expensive for what I was looking for. Starts about 400USD for a low-ish quality jade bangle. I visited searching for a lavender jade bangle, they have a lot at different price ranges. You won’t be cheated into inferior/fake goods, but the prices are not “deals”. You will see locals purchasing from Lao Feng Xiang.

 

[mochiko42]

Check out Lao Feng Xiang. They have a store in Hong Kong. I visited their Shanghai branch on a recommendation from a local, my friend. I had a great experience and the ladies were lovely even when I insisted that I only want to pay max USD$400 for a jade bangle. I wanted something that was glowy and translucent - that type of jade is quite expensive but I’ve seen some from other sellers in my country that fulfill that criteria at my price range, I think those were from Myanmar. Couldn’t find that in China. I have a translucent-looking jade bangle already so I decided not to go ahead with the purchase since it wasn’t a “deal” for me.

Don’t expect to get “deals” on jade in China - I found the prices quite expensive for what I was looking for. Starts about 400USD for a low-ish quality jade bangle. I visited searching for a lavender jade bangle, they have a lot at different price ranges. You won’t be cheated into inferior/fake goods, but the prices are not “deals”. You will see locals purchasing from Lao Feng Xiang.

I agree, LXF is worth checking out. Not cheap but nice.

 

[snotty_pie]

Thank you for the recommendation!

Check out Lao Feng Xiang. They have a store in Hong Kong. I visited their Shanghai branch on a recommendation from a local, my friend. I had a great experience and the ladies were lovely even when I insisted that I only want to pay max USD$400 for a jade bangle. I wanted something that was glowy and translucent - that type of jade is quite expensive but I’ve seen some from other sellers in my country that fulfill that criteria at my price range, I think those were from Myanmar. Couldn’t find that in China. I have a translucent-looking jade bangle already so I decided not to go ahead with the purchase since it wasn’t a “deal” for me.

Don’t expect to get “deals” on jade in China - I found the prices quite expensive for what I was looking for. Starts about 400USD for a low-ish quality jade bangle. I visited searching for a lavender jade bangle, they have a lot at different price ranges. You won’t be cheated into inferior/fake goods, but the prices are not “deals”. You will see locals purchasing from Lao Feng Xiang.

 

[jadesilver]

Jade scam - there are Chinese people from my country going on tours in China including people who are knowledgeable about jade and even they have fallen for the scam. And yes, it is possible to have jade as a hobby, purchase and sell valuable pieces successfully and yet still be scammed on certain pieces. They have a young girl pretend to be the CEO’s daughter and give crazy discounts.
https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/how-we-got-scammed-out-of-100-000-in-shanghai-fbfbc6954549

A bit more information about jade in China.
https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/13xnia/i_want_to_buy_some_jade_any_advice/

Basically there’s a lot of types of jade and you would never know if it’s decent or not just by looking at it. I don’t think lab reports really help with knowing what price is fair either.

In summary, you are better off going to trusted jewellers like LFX where the prices are marked clearly and you can only bargain a little bit. If you have no knowledge of jade at all then I would just buy something cheap as a souvenir. Some of the best places to get some great jade, genuine and high-quality (the lovely translucent kind) is on Etsy estate sales. It is not that easy to move vintage jade on Etsy because English-speaking people (and online shoppers) tend to go more for diamonds, therefore the vintage jade is potentially at very nice prices for the lovely somewhat-translucent kind. Here are some I like:
https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/511729304/ladies-vintage-estate-14k-yellow-gold
https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/479956000/estate-14k-yellow-gold-multi-color-jade
I have to be honest, I went to Shanghai, China with the intention of buying a few clothes and a jade bangle and didn’t shop for months prior in preparation for that, I went EVERYWHERE (wholesale market for the Chinese, pearl and jade market) and found nothing at reasonable prices, I ended up online shopping for better quality items at cheaper prices (like on Etsy) in my hotel room. I got 4 beautiful silk camisoles for USD8 each (after hefty bargaining) and that was all I managed to purchase. By the way I AM Chinese lol so it wasn’t that people were jacking up the price. Things are just so expensive in Shanghai even for the locals because they have the spending power. The bride at the wedding I attended there was wearing Christian Louboutins even though she told me she saved money on her 4 custom bridal dresses by taking a train out of Shanghai to make them.

I do think that it is possible to be a foreigner and still purchase an authentic and beautiful (but not thaaat beautiful to me since this is the entry level pricing) jade bangle at maybe USD500-800 (I feel is overpriced but those are the prices the Chinese in China are paying right now). It is a very costly souvenir and uncomfortable to wear and frankly I’d rather you get some jade earrings or a pendant set in yellow or white gold. LXF certainly has some great options. They had a three-story building in the heart of Shanghai and I was the only customer on the top floor with an entire floor of jade bangles and other jade pieces. It was quite a sight to see so many cases of jade bangles in front of me.

 

[mochiko42]

Jade scam - there are Chinese people from my country going on tours in China including people who are knowledgeable about jade and even they have fallen for the scam. And yes, it is possible to have jade as a hobby, purchase and sell valuable pieces successfully and yet still be scammed on certain pieces. They have a young girl pretend to be the CEO’s daughter and give crazy discounts.
https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/how-we-got-scammed-out-of-100-000-in-shanghai-fbfbc6954549

A bit more information about jade in China.
https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/13xnia/i_want_to_buy_some_jade_any_advice/

Basically there’s a lot of types of jade and you would never know if it’s decent or not just by looking at it. I don’t think lab reports really help with knowing what price is fair either.

In summary, you are better off going to trusted jewellers like LFX where the prices are marked clearly and you can only bargain a little bit. If you have no knowledge of jade at all then I would just buy something cheap as a souvenir. Some of the best places to get some great jade, genuine and high-quality (the lovely translucent kind) is on Etsy estate sales. It is not that easy to move vintage jade on Etsy because English-speaking people (and online shoppers) tend to go more for diamonds, therefore the vintage jade is potentially at very nice prices for the lovely somewhat-translucent kind. Here are some I like:
https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/511729304/ladies-vintage-estate-14k-yellow-gold
https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/479956000/estate-14k-yellow-gold-multi-color-jade
I have to be honest, I went to Shanghai, China with the intention of buying a few clothes and a jade bangle and didn’t shop for months prior in preparation for that, I went EVERYWHERE (wholesale market for the Chinese, pearl and jade market) and found nothing at reasonable prices, I ended up online shopping for better quality items at cheaper prices (like on Etsy) in my hotel room. I got 4 beautiful silk camisoles for USD8 each (after hefty bargaining) and that was all I managed to purchase. By the way I AM Chinese lol so it wasn’t that people were jacking up the price. Things are just so expensive in Shanghai even for the locals because they have the spending power. The bride at the wedding I attended there was wearing Christian Louboutins even though she told me she saved money on her 4 custom bridal dresses by taking a train out of Shanghai to make them.

I do think that it is possible to be a foreigner and still purchase an authentic and beautiful (but not thaaat beautiful to me since this is the entry level pricing) jade bangle at maybe USD500-800 (I feel is overpriced but those are the prices the Chinese in China are paying right now). It is a very costly souvenir and uncomfortable to wear and frankly I’d rather you get some jade earrings or a pendant set in yellow or white gold. LXF certainly has some great options. They had a three-story building in the heart of Shanghai and I was the only customer on the top floor with an entire floor of jade bangles and other jade pieces. It was quite a sight to see so many cases of jade bangles in front of me.

I live in Hong Kong and I find Shanghai too expensive when I got visit my cousins up there! I agree, it's safest to buy from an established jeweler like Lxf, I also like some of the designs at Chow Tai Fook and the other usual suspects but their prices at least in Hong Kong make me hesitate (since I know a large chunk of the price goes to rent and advertising). You could also try Yue Hwa which is the Chinese cultural arts/crafts dept store, they will also have some jade in a range of prices but there are no deals, you get what you pay for.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Jade scam - there are Chinese people from my country going on tours in China including people who are knowledgeable about jade and even they have fallen for the scam. And yes, it is possible to have jade as a hobby, purchase and sell valuable pieces successfully and yet still be scammed on certain pieces. They have a young girl pretend to be the CEO’s daughter and give crazy discounts.
https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/how-we-got-scammed-out-of-100-000-in-shanghai-fbfbc6954549

Yup, just bunch of BS!. My sister was there a month ago. Don't buy if you can't afford to flush the money down the toilet.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I used to live a few months a year in Beijing. I still take several trips each year to shanghai/shenzhen/hefei/beijing.

Shopping in china was generally awful. Due to the high import taxes most stuff in the expensive shopping districts like wangfujing and sanlitun is massively marked up. I have a few lovely hand carved combs/brushes and silk scarves, but even that was hit and miss (it took a few goes before I found the right shops, and these items are still $100-150 each. So hit and miss was a bit painful at the start).
Food and drinks are great, and I would stick with that. In beijing the atmosphere bar is quite good. I generally also like blue frog for cocktails and brunch (can be found all over china, but I like the one in sanlitun).

 

[snotty_pie]

I have plans to sample lots of Peking duck and hot pot as well

I used to live a few months a year in Beijing. I still take several trips each year to shanghai/shenzhen/hefei/beijing.

Shopping in china was generally awful. Due to the high import taxes most stuff in the expensive shopping districts like wangfujing and sanlitun is massively marked up. I have a few lovely hand carved combs/brushes and silk scarves, but even that was hit and miss (it took a few goes before I found the right shops, and these items are still $100-150 each. So hit and miss was a bit painful at the start).
Food and drinks are great, and I would stick with that. In beijing the atmosphere bar is quite good. I generally also like blue frog for cocktails and brunch (can be found all over china, but I like the one in sanlitun).

 

[jadesilver]

I have plans to sample lots of Peking duck and hot pot as well

Food is so much cooler and more worth spending on than buying jewelry if you’ll be ripped off! Definitely research the best place for Peking duck in Beijing. And fried dumplings. And meat buns on the street in hole-in-the-wall shops. The dumplings and daily meat buns were the highlight of my trip. Wander into a random hole-in-the-wall shop that seems crowded and order stuff by pointing at other people’s tables haha. The food will probably be delicious xD also if you see any buns for sale EAT THEM hahah gosh so delicious (had to limit myself to 1-2 per day). We had them while having a walking breakfast, my favorite kind where you just walk around and buy whatever you can see on your walk.

Hot pot is not exciting for me because you can make it at home xD Have an amazing time!!

 

[mochiko42]

Mott 32 and Seventh Son are good for dim sum in Hong Kong.

HK has many different cuisines you can try.

The restaurant of the Shanghai Fraternal Association also has some of the best Shanghainese food in the world (even better than many restaurants in SH I think!) but you need to find someone to take you as it's a private members only club.

If you like steak you should also try Blue Butcher, they have the most amazing steak from aged Rubio Gallega beef from Lugo in northwestern Spain. Only a few restaurants around the world offer this type of beef.

For hot pot I recommend Megan's Kitchen.

(my husband is an editor of a restaurant guide in HK and Singapore so we eat out a lot!)