Need some advice on a jade piece

[lilmosun]

A friend is responsible for selling off his mother's jewelry.

He was just going to sell to a gold scrap dealer but decided to send the box me to see if any was worth keeping intact (in which case he said I buy from him or sell for whatever I thought he could get on the secondary market).

Amongst the pieces was this jade heart pendant. The setting is similar to the Chinese jade pendants passed down in my family but although very translucent, the jade is much lighter in color and mottled. He said his mother has had it as long as he remembers and it may have even been his grandmothers.

Is the jade worth anything and if so, how do I get an idea of value?

 

[pregcurious]

Jade should be assessed microscopically for treatment, by someone who is an expert in colored stones, if not jade. While you could get a gem report to confirm that it is untreated jade from a place like GIA, they will not provide an appraisal of the value. (GIA is less expensive than AGL. AGL has an added cost for jade testing, above their standard $60 for unset, colored stones of a certain size.) The gold standard for jade testing is Mason Kay, but they only test for the trade.

If you live near McLean, VA, there is an independent appraiser named Martin Fuller. He has consulted for the Smithsonian, and is well known as a colored gemstone appraiser. If you don't live near VA, you could mail the item to him. His appraisal will probably cost you $200. I know that is a lot. You could also send him a picture and ask him if it is worth appraising. If it is glassy, untreated trade, I think it could be worth it. If it is highly treated and/or opaque, it may not be worth it.

http://martinfullerappraisals.com/

 

[liao]

before telling you the approximate value of your pendant, do you have any certificate accompany with that stone? if not, try to contact some big university in your area, and ask for x-ray fluorescence analysis for your jade. If you are in europe/hongkong, I will send this jade to gubelin (keep in mind, gubelin's fee for certificate is expensive). I will never send jade to GIA and GRS.

Nevertheless, there are a little area in the middle bottom part of the jade which look like an imperial jade quality. it may worth more than the whole moss in snow jade.

 

[pregcurious]

Hi Liao, how come you would never send jade to GIA? Are they very much behind Gubelin? What about AGL?

 

[liao]

Hi Liao, how come you would never send jade to GIA? Are they very much behind Gubelin? What about AGL?

The only time when I send jade to GIA was around the end of 2003 to 2005 (or 2006 or 2007, I cannot remember exactly), and I only send it to GIA new york. There was a pretty decent gemologist in charge of GIA new york at that time. Even at that time, GIA new york still behind gubelin in term of jade. About AGL, I never deal with them until last week.

 

[pregcurious]

Okay, that makes a little more sense to me. I have sent a jade to GIA NY, because I thought they were reputable for jade. Because I live in the US, I don't think I would send a stone to Gubelin. In the case of the original poster, I think it might not be practical for them to send to Gubelin if they are not located in Europe, and their piece may be highly treated.

 

[liao]

Okay, that makes a little more sense to me. I have sent a jade to GIA NY, because I thought they were reputable for jade. Because I live in the US, I don't think I would send a stone to Gubelin. In the case of the original poster, I think it might not be practical for them to send to Gubelin if they are not located in Europe, and their piece may be highly treated.

don't get me wrong. I will not send jade to GIA new york after 2005/2006/2007. Seriously, I cannot remember which year is it

diamond is the only thing that I will not hesitate on getting GIA cert

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.

 

[lilmosun]

No certificate. His mother came over from China over 60 years ago and this was hers. He said he thinks his grandmother had one and it might have even be hers.

I live in the US and occasionally get down to VA, but I doubt he will want to pay $200 for an evaluation (given his plan was to sell stuff off for scrap). In fact, this all started when I got sent a picture of this pendant asking "Want this? Maybe you can make something out of it".

I went nuts and said this wasn't something he should give away. So he ended up sending it along with her other pieces...telling me to pay or sell for whatever I felt was fair.

 

[liao]

several color/clarity enhancement had exist from the beginning of 20th century or older. The cheapest way to identify your jade is by contacting some big university in your area. I was lucky when I lived in europe, because one of my friend was one of the faculty member of a big university. So, the x ray fluorescence test only cost me a dinner for two

 

[lilmosun]

So what department in the university would do such a test? And what would they look for? Also would someone color/clarity enhance and leave it so mottled looking?

So I can better advise my friend - are we talking hundreds or thousands if its natural? And if it is color/clarity enhanced is it simply worth the value of the gold?

Thank you for all the great advice.

 

[liao]

So what department in the university would do such a test? And what would they look for? Also would someone color/clarity enhance and leave it so mottled looking?

So I can better advise my friend - are we talking hundreds or thousands if its natural? And if it is color/clarity enhanced is it simply worth the value of the gold?

Thank you for all the great advice.

which ever department that has the machine. department of chemistry has the highest probability.

depending on the depth and quality of the "green" part that I was talking about.

If the depth of the green part is more than 3mm, and the stone is untreated jadeite. If this is the case, I will break that pendant into 2-3 parts. in today's market, you can get at least $500.

Although the chance is extremely small (and your picture does show this), if that green part can "glow" in low intensity light, something that small worth more than $10k to chinese collectors

 

[lilmosun]

I may just send it back as I can't take that kind of responsibility

Is this the type of glow you are talking about?

 

[liao]

look at my post in here

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reputable-jade-jadeite-bangle-online-vendors.207425/#p3775119']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reputable-jade-jadeite-bangle-online-vendors.207425/#p3775119[/URL]

 

[Marlow]

Nice jadeite! I love these moss in snow variety.

I think the area of imperial jade is to small to cut a cab with a uniform color. ( compare with your fingernail)

I would keep it as it is or think about a modern setting - could you buy it??

 

[JTM222]

A friend is responsible for selling off his mother's jewelry.

He was just going to sell to a gold scrap dealer but decided to send the box me to see if any was worth keeping intact (in which case he said I buy from him or sell for whatever I thought he could get on the secondary market).

Amongst the pieces was this jade heart pendant. The setting is similar to the Chinese jade pendants passed down in my family but although very translucent, the jade is much lighter in color and mottled. He said his mother has had it as long as he remembers and it may have even been his grandmothers.

Is the jade worth anything and if so, how do I get an idea of value?

Unfortunately no.

Look at the expensive jade in jewellery shops/online retailers etc. Its rich dark green with even color saturation mostly, quite the opposite to what you have.

I really cant see your piece getting much value at all.

Id suspect this piece may well carry more sentimental value to your friend than what it can be sold for.

 

[Marlow]

Moss in snow is a variety of jadeite and if A jade neither cheap nor worthless.

 

[JTM222]

Id take a look at what the GIA has to say on jade quality factors and make a decision if its worth getting it evaluated or not...tough to do so on an online forum. From what I can see, I cannot tell the texture obviously, probably does not have the best transparency because I cant see the red background in the pic, don't know the size/thickness, and the color, whilst there is a market for moss in snow, its a bit subjective.

Generally, as compared to other investments most gemstones are quite illiquid and if you do sell it, it may fetch less than expected especially taking into account auction fees, etc. Pawn shops will give you little more than a cheeseburger [ and no fries with that either] so don't bother going to them.

http://www.gia.edu/jade-quality-factor

 

[Marlow]

Thank you for the link!

I agree that selling it makes no sense. But it could be used in a another piece of jewellery. Again, this kind of jadeite is not cheap.

 

[liao]

Nice jadeite! I love these moss in snow variety.

I think the area of imperial jade is to small to cut a cab with a uniform color. ( compare with your fingernail)

I would keep it as it is or think about a modern setting - could you buy it??

In today's market where the demand of jadeite is sky high while the supply are depleting, a small untreated (I do not like to use the term 'A') with a little zoning can be sold for at least $500

 

[lilmosun]

Thanks for all the opinions and comments. Its definitely translucent, polished on both sides, about 2" high and pretty/substantial enough to want to keep whole.

He made it clear that there is no sentimental value - his mom wasn't into jewelry and thus not how he remembers her. He understands that you can only expect a fraction of what something sells for on the secondary market unless its rare. Like I said, he planned to sell whatever I didn't want to some unknown storefront. He'd just rather I got a bargain price over some stranger. I just don't want to steal it either.

So yes - I can buy the pendant or sell it....just have no idea what a fair price would be.

 

[MelodySaw]

This is a beautiful piece. $500 is a fair price that I would pay.

 

[lilmosun]

This is a beautiful piece. $500 is a fair price that I would pay.

You seem to have the vendor eye!

After sharing with the info on this thread with my friend, he said he didn't think it was worth sending to a lab and would take $150-$200. I took it to the gem show today - a couple of vendors that I know who sell jade said its an old Chinese piece...estimates were $500 and up. The vendor with the $500 estimate immediately offered to but it off me for $200 so I know my friend can get more than he is asking. So I will offer a little more than he's asking but also let him know I could try to sell it for more.

Thanks so much for all the help. I shopped around a few of the better pieces my friend was going to scrap and he's going to be very happy to learn that they are worth a bit more than he thought (like the long strand of pearls he wasn't sure were real are actually nice akoyas)

 

[pregcurious]

If he has any kids, or there are any grandchildren, please consider saying the jewelry for them. I treasure my mother and grandmother's jewelry, and have no interest in buying premade jewelry because I have their jewelry. (I only collect colored gemstones, and have not set any to wear.)

 

[lilmosun]

If he has any kids, or there are any grandchildren, please consider saying the jewelry for them. I treasure my mother and grandmother's jewelry, and have no interest in buying premade jewelry because I have their jewelry. (I only collect colored gemstones, and have not set any to wear.)

I agree. That was my immediate response when he said he was taking it to some storefront to sell as scrap...at which point we agreed I should look at first. And when I saw what he had, I suggested again. No kids, no grandchildren and he insists no sentimental value in terms of jewelry...he even sent me her engagement ring. Even the vendors I was showing the various pieces to were shaking their heads saying it was crazy as he would only get a fraction of the value. While some of it isn't worth much beyond the gold, there were a few nicer pieces like this.

 

[pregcurious]

Okay, that makes a little more sense to me. I have sent a jade to GIA NY, because I thought they were reputable for jade. Because I live in the US, I don't think I would send a stone to Gubelin. In the case of the original poster, I think it might not be practical for them to send to Gubelin if they are not located in Europe, and their piece may be highly treated.

don't get me wrong. I will not send jade to GIA new york after 2005/2006/2007. Seriously, I cannot remember which year is it

diamond is the only thing that I will not hesitate on getting GIA cert

Thanks to Marlow, we may want to reconsider any advice from Liao. Please see the thread regarding Liao:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/liao-is-a-liar.209159/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/liao-is-a-liar.209159/[/URL]

One need only go to the GIA site to see how seriously they are taking jadeite. For example, this article is related to a visit GIA made this past year:
http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-largest-jadeite-carving-lucas

In general, AGL is preferred in the US for colored gemstones, and Mason Kay is the international expert in examining jadeite, but I think it's also reasonable to send jadeite pieces of lower value to GIA. Mason Kay only accepts pieces from the trade, and the prices for AGL reports on jadeite are higher than GIA. I don't remember the cost at this time, but you can call AGL and GIA for the most recent prices.

 

[lilmosun]

Thanks pregcurious.

No worries, I didn't break the jade into pieces. 99% sure it's natural jadeite..my friend is Chinese and it was his moms.plus the gold tested 22k as expected for this type of piece. Not one jade vendor at intergem questioned authenticity. Of all the pieces, this was the one my friend wanted me to have, so I won't sell unless someone wants to pay enough where I would feel obligated sell.

 

[Marlow]

This piece is very beautiful and many think like me that "moss in show" is one of the most beautiful varieties of jadeite.
It has a nice distribution. Keep it as it is.

 

[chrono]

I would leave it untouched; it is a beautiful piece of jadeite.

 

[Marlow]

Wanna post some of my moss in snow jadeite

The small pears are only 0,8 mm !! thick