Looking to purchase antique art deco jade pendant

[Seastheday]

Hi all, I’ve been bitten by the jadeite bug! Bought some jadeite earrings that didn’t work out, so turning my attention to jadeite pendants instead.

I really want to acquire an antique jadeite piece, preferably Art Deco era. Can compromise on color in exchange for nice carving.

My priorities:
1. Nice non-modern themed carving that’s not religious (no Buddhas, etc). I prefer floral carvings over animals
2. Stone be of at least “medium” PS quality in terms of translucence/water. I prefer green color but it does not need to be imperial green or even toned. I love uneven moss in snow, apple green, pea green, etc.
3. Untreated grade A jadeite only
4. Preferably in antique mounting that’s simple (not too many diamonds to distract from the jade), platinum preferred over yellow gold for my skin tone. Can’t do white gold due to nickel allergy.

But it has been difficult finding a piece that meets all the boxes.

Case in point, here are some pieces where I love the carving but the jade is so opaque and dry:


This one again, love the carving and the color is personally pleasing to me, but jade water/translucence is just meh in quality:


This one doesn’t come with a certificate for the jadeite and to be honest IMHO I’m not certain the jade part itself is a true antique (carving style COULD be more modern, the fox is a bit stylized):


This one I like the antique mounting but the jade itself is not super exciting as it’s quite opaque with some brown speckling:


This is a dream museum piece (not for sale!) but this would be what I’m looking for in terms of quality of jade and elegant simplicity of mounting, maybe a smaller version of this (I’m a very small woman so a piece of jade that’s less than 1 inch will more than suffice!) so I don’t break the bank:

 

[Seastheday]

If I may tag some jade lovers who have helped me immensely in my jadeite earring hunt (again, I love the look of the earrings I bought, they are just too heavy for my ears, but I’m hopeful PS will work its magic for me again!)

@Crimson @mellowyellowgirl @HockeyMama @Autumn in New England @MMtwo @LilAlex

Budget up to $20,000 USD for now although I’m afraid that may not be enough when it comes to the highly competitive market of untreated jadeite AND throwing in the antique factor (champagne taste, beer budget?), so if I’m being unreasonable, please do give me a reality check!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

What kind of style are you looking for? It’s a heavy rock so anything will feel weighty unless you get the thin slivers off jadeite (I have some and they are light but unimpressive) or small stud type earrings.

 

[Seastheday]

What kind of style are you looking for? It’s a heavy rock so anything will feel weighty unless you get the thin slivers off jadeite (I have some and they are light but unimpressive) or small stud type earrings.

Thanks for your help! I think I’m giving up on the earrings because I had my ears pierced for the first time and don’t like the feeling of earrings, haha. Expensive mistake!

Hence moving forward to pendants instead.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Thanks for your help! I think I’m giving up on the earrings because I had my ears pierced for the first time and don’t like the feeling of earrings, haha. Expensive mistake!

Hence moving forward to pendants instead.

Whoops! I’m so sorry I thought I was in the earrings thread! Ha! I was so confused! I was like: Girl why are you spending $20k on earrings if you can’t wear them and at $20K they will be dead heavy

Did you want to start with something cheap and cheerful to get into the swing of things first and see if you like them?

I didn’t like jadeite pendants (too heavy and clunky for my outfits). Gave them all to my sister and opted for beads instead.

 

[Seastheday]

Whoops! I’m so sorry I thought I was in the earrings thread! Ha! I was so confused! I was like: Girl why are you spending $20k on earrings if you can’t wear them and at $20K they will be dead heavy

Are you after any shapes in particular?

Did you want to start with something cheap and cheerful to get into the swing of things first and see if you like them?

I didn’t like jadeite pendants (too heavy and clunky for my outfits). Gave them all to my sister and opted for beads instead.

I like floral motifs. I tried on a pendant at an antique store recently and didn’t mind the weight too much on my neck. I’m a quite boring dresser (usually a dark colored top varying from silk blouses in summer to wool/cashmere in winter, a good monochromatic backdrop for jewelry perhaps!) so can’t do cheerful haha.

 

[Autumn in New England]

I'm not as well-versed in jadeite as I am transparent CS (as much as I love it). So I think I should leave it to the experts. I just wanted to wish you the best of luck and say that I can't wait to see the results of your search!!

 

[Crimson]

@Seastheday, I agree with your assessments of the pendants above. The blue-green looking ones look suspect. The last one is the best.
I think $20,000 is a comfy budget for a pendant. For antique and vintage, you could consider Gem Gardener.

Jade | Old Cut Diamonds | Peranakan Jewellery | Antique Fine Jewelry | Gem Gardener

An antique fine jewelry store like no other. In store: old cut diamonds, Peranakan jewellery, jade bangles, antique jade & more. Ships worldwide.

www.gemgardener.com

Please also consider non-vintage! These two,stores are having a sale for Mother’s Day.
Kathy Jade 15% off at https://www.kathyjade.com/
On Cheong Up to 30% off at https://oncheong.com/ (@maryjane here’s the sale! You can get your cousin to look for items for you)
Have fun searching

 

[Seastheday]

@Seastheday, I agree with your assessments of the pendants above. The blue-green looking ones look suspect. The last one is the best.
I think $20,000 is a comfy budget for a pendant. For antique and vintage, you could consider Gem Gardener.

Jade | Old Cut Diamonds | Peranakan Jewellery | Antique Fine Jewelry | Gem Gardener

An antique fine jewelry store like no other. In store: old cut diamonds, Peranakan jewellery, jade bangles, antique jade & more. Ships worldwide.

www.gemgardener.com

Please also consider non-vintage! These two,stores are having a sale for Mother’s Day.
Kathy Jade 15% off at https://www.kathyjade.com/
On Cheong Up to 30% off at https://oncheong.com/ (@maryjane here’s the sale! You can get your cousin to look for items for you)
Have fun searching

Thank you so much!

I really like this one (sadly already sold); I like how it’s more petite (4 cm) which would suit me better, and although not particularly translucent, the apple green is quite pleasing to my eye, and the floral motif and the custom carved backing are quite charming. Would love to find something just like this:

 

[Seastheday]

This one on Gem Gardner below is for sale also, just under $9000:
1) I like the carving but thinks maybe at 6 cm may be too big/heavy?
2) Not sure re age--description only says vintage (feel like it’s so hard to date this jadeite piece since it does not have any settings to help date it as one would with some of the Art Deco pieces I shared above; this white gold bail looks custom/modern and I don’t like it personally).

I feel like the stone quality of this piece is better than the one above, but I like the smaller floral one above better for some reason. I know people recommend against buying jade that has a gold backing since the gold backing is often to hide flaws of the stone or make the color more concentrated, but I feel like for the floral piece in my post above, the gold backing adds artistic merit due to the beauty of the craftsmanship of the gold backing itself.

@Crimson @mellowyellowgirl what do you ladies think
1) How would you grade the quality of this stone?
2 How does one date jadeite based on carving quality/type? Meaning, can this type of carving found in modern jadeite pieces too (ie maybe not worth paying the vintage premium UNLESS there is something more distinctive about the carving that would date it as a true antique piece?). With other stones (sapphires, rubies) the cut can sometimes help date a piece (ie old mine cut on a diamond vs a modern brilliant)--but with jade this feels impossible (for me at least) to do.



Meanwhile I've reached out to vendor to clarify age, treatment, and a photo of it being worn so I can see how it looks in terms of scale. Will keep everyone posted!

 

[Seastheday]

Link to piece above: https://www.gemgardener.com/catalog/vintage-jadeite-jade-translucent-pendant-bamboo/

 

[Catmom]

I have no knowledge of jade but Lang Antiques has several Art Deco jade necklaces you could check out.

 

[Seastheday]

I have no knowledge of jade but Lang Antiques has several Art Deco jade necklaces you could check out.

Thanks for the lead, will do!

 

[Seastheday]

I’m quite disappointed/disheartened by the inferior quality of jade in antique pieces.

For instance, I love this setting but for $5000 USD the jade itself really doesn’t do much for me:



Why is it so hard to find good quality jadeite in circa 1900-1940s non-Asian pieces? Can someone give me a history lesson here? Was it because top jadeite quality really wasn’t accessible to most folks outside of Asia? Was it simply Western consumer lack of awareness re jadeite quality? Short of museum quality Cartier pieces, I’m really not finding any great jadeite in antique pieces that’s accessible to someone like me (aka nobody of importance lol).

 

[Crimson]

I’m quite disappointed/disheartened by the inferior quality of jade in antique pieces.

For instance, I love this setting but for $5000 USD the jade itself really doesn’t do much for me:



Why is it so hard to find good quality jadeite in circa 1900-1940s non-Asian pieces? Can someone give me a history lesson here? Was it because top jadeite quality really wasn’t accessible to most folks outside of Asia? Was it simply Western consumer lack of awareness re jadeite quality? Short of museum quality Cartier pieces, I’m really not finding any great jadeite in antique pieces that’s accessible to someone like me (aka nobody of importance lol).

I suggest you buy a new piece with a vintage design. The really high quality jadeite wasn’t widely available to the public then. Anyway, high quality jadeite remains rare, even today. Try On Cheong, which has some nice retro designs.
Remember that the best quality jadeite is not usually carved. Carving is a clever way of removing imperfections.

 

[Seastheday]

I suggest you buy a new piece with a vintage design. The really high quality jadeite wasn’t widely available to the public then. Anyway, high quality jadeite remains rare, even today. Try On Cheong, which has some nice retro designs.
Remember that the best quality jadeite is not usually carved. Carving is a clever way of removing imperfections.

Many thanks for the teaching as always. I now understand I’m looking for a paradox: really nice jadeite was probably not intricately carved to begin with for the reason you stated, so looking for great quality jade + intricate carving + antique provenance is like looking for one in a million.

Ah well, I suppose I will give this search up. At least good to know before I sank too much time into this search!

 

[Seastheday]

Ok, a last moment of insanity, I find myself being drawn back to the fox jade necklace:

Art Deco Jade and Pearl Sautoir, circa 1920 — Simon Teakle

An Art Deco jade and pearl sautoir necklace, the carved jadeite pendant drop depicting a fox, suspended from three row seed pearl strands and jade bead detail, mounted in platinum Circa 1920 22 inches long $12,500

www.simonteakle.com

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IMHO I’m not even entirely certain the piece is a true antique—it’s being sold by vendor as 1920s: the fox seems a little suspect (looks kinda modern, no?), but the rest of the carving style minus the fox does seem more suggestive of an older style possibly dating back to the deco era (although again, I can also see a present day jade carver emulating this style aka making an antique inspired piece—I’m not a fan of antique “wannabes”).

No certificate is the biggest red flag to me. I don’t understand why the heck someone would try to sell a $12500 piece without one! Treatment or no treatment would be key in deciding value.

Sorry for rambling!

Bottom line, I really like the look of it, but don’t think I should risk this amount of money for a piece with unknown jade treatment status.

@Crimson and @mellowyellowgirl:
1) is $12500 USD a fair price to pay for this piece IF the jade is untreated? I can ask vendor if he is willing for me to purchase, send to Mason Kay (I can foot the $110 bill for that), and if treated, I then return for a full refund.
2) does the carving of piece look antique? Or do you think it’s a modern reproduction?

@LilAlex: sorry to pull you in but from my skulking otherwise on PS I feel you have one of the best eye for design here, so curious to know what you think of this piece simply in terms of aesthetics? I’m kind of really looking for a piece that’s “east meets west” as I don’t want to feel like I am appropriating Asian culture if that makes sense. Hence my reluctance to wear Buddhas, etc. I clearly love jade but want to show my appreciation for it in a respectful way. Hence why I’m really trying to look for a jade piece designed/intended for the Western market.

 

[Crimson]

Ok, a last moment of insanity, I find myself being drawn back to the fox jade necklace:

Art Deco Jade and Pearl Sautoir, circa 1920 — Simon Teakle

An Art Deco jade and pearl sautoir necklace, the carved jadeite pendant drop depicting a fox, suspended from three row seed pearl strands and jade bead detail, mounted in platinum Circa 1920 22 inches long $12,500

www.simonteakle.com

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

IMHO I’m not even entirely certain the piece is a true antique—it’s being sold by vendor as 1920s: the fox seems a little suspect (looks kinda modern, no?), but the rest of the carving style minus the fox does seem more suggestive of an older style possibly dating back to the deco era (although again, I can also see a present day jade carver emulating this style aka making an antique inspired piece—I’m not a fan of antique “wannabes”).

No certificate is the biggest red flag to me. I don’t understand why the heck someone would try to sell a $12500 piece without one! Treatment or no treatment would be key in deciding value.

Sorry for rambling!

Bottom line, I really like the look of it, but don’t think I should risk this amount of money for a piece with unknown jade treatment status.

@Crimson and @mellowyellowgirl:
1) is $12500 USD a fair price to pay for this piece IF the jade is untreated? I can ask vendor if he is willing for me to purchase, send to Mason Kay (I can foot the $110 bill for that), and if treated, I then return for a full refund.
2) does the carving of piece look antique? Or do you think it’s a modern reproduction?

@LilAlex: sorry to pull you in but from my skulking otherwise on PS I feel you have one of the best eye for design here, so curious to know what you think of this piece simply in terms of aesthetics? I’m kind of really looking for a piece that’s “east meets west” as I don’t want to feel like I am appropriating Asian culture if that makes sense. Hence my reluctance to wear Buddhas, etc. I clearly love jade but want to show my appreciation for it in a respectful way. Hence why I’m really trying to look for a jade piece designed/intended for the Western market.

It is not a fox, it is a rat. Note the large ears, -plump body and thin (thinner than for a fox) tail.
If it is meant to be a fox, it is a poor carving.
I have noticed jewellers mislabeling animals in jadeite carvings.
Whether deliberate or not, I don’t know, but I suspect a fox is more likely to sell than a rat.
Rats are used in carvings because their noun in Chinese puns with “count” .
They are often depicted with auspicious objects such as money or gold ingots.
However, the object under the rat in this carving isn’t clear to me.

 

[LilAlex]

@LilAlex: sorry to pull you in...

Uh oh -- an overly-generous namecheck so I need to weigh in!

I really like the pendant element. I think it's by far the most sinuous and elegant-looking carving of the whole bunch -- although, like you, I don't know how period-correct it is. Almost an Art Nouveau vibe to me and I love the piercings and their smooth contours. This would stop me in my tracks if I were scrolling a vendor's listings.

Looks pretty fine-grained and translucent in the various pictures, and with gradations in color rather than mottling (the spheres look a little worse). Looks almost blue-green in some photos and apple-green in others. I would hope the findings are precious metal but even then not a deal-breaker if it were truly "A" jade and old.

I can't infer too much from the stylized nature of the fox, vis-a-vis age. I have trouble seeing the "thing" in lots of these ostensibly representational old jadeite carvings. I hear you on the often-fine line between appreciation and appropriation and I see zero concerns there.

Vendor is Greenwich-based and sells plenty of high-end and well-vetted stuff (e.g., $40K Hemmerle earrings, I see). Even so, I would need a report for sure. This seems like an outfit that would accommodate a client's need for a report (even if just a return guarantee if you were to send it to GIA) and would not want to risk reputational harm for misrepresentation.

ETA: I see @Crimson identifies it as a rat. That makes sense and would not dissuade me; lots of mostly-positive connotations there and, for me, it reinforces the likelihood of authenticity -- not the motif you'd pick for your Western-market fake, imo.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Definitely do not buy it without some form of reliable assessment that it’s A grade jade. Because for $12500 if it’s any other grade you essentially have a worthless piece that can be bought for $20.

Regarding the price if the piece is A grade - I personally would get something with better colour and water but in saying that we don’t shop in the same places and I’m not after a vintage piece so it’s apples and oranges. I know nothing about the price of vintage stuff and what values or attributes come with the territory. That said buy what you love ( haha that’s A grade jade) and you can never go wrong because it will always appeal to you.

 

[Seastheday]

@Crimson Rats! Just kidding, but I definitely see the marketing appeal of fox over rat for the uninformed (me!). The idea of wearing a large, sleek green rodent around one’s neck gives me pause if not for your wise tutelage regarding the rich word play which to me confers an additional dimension of heritage and history to the piece, which makes me love it more for that.

@LilAlex Thank you for letting me borrow your male gaze! You somehow always manage to more eloquently and effortlessly put into words my humbler thoughts and phrasing. I’m 100% in agreement with you. I may reach out to the vendor and see what he says regarding certification.

@mellowyellowgirl—thank you! I find your advice really helpful in its candor and practicality. I am daunted by the task at hand of trying to evaluate/price antique jade when I’m so new to all of this. I’ve only my personal preference and lack experience and knowledge. Not to be too melodramatic but I do wonder if I’m playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun, and should step back for a bit and mull over things and maybe take some more time to train my eye.