Specific Gravity of Grade B Jadeite

[Burmesedaze]

Amazing how the seller gets away with it!!

 

[Seaglow]

Ok, so my YY purchase arrived. I’ll give a thorough feedback because there’s higher risk in TT purchases.

First, it didn’t have any lab report of sorts despite it being not a bargain item. I’m ok with it because I can do testing but maybe you could request one in your purchases. Spectrum showed chromium content but undyed (dyed jadeite shows broader band at red and covers the purple to blue portion, while natural jadeite with chromium have 3 thinner bands). Refractive index is also jadeite and magnification shows texture indicative of Type A, also no dye concentrations. Magnification also shows 5 colors in mottling....white, imperial green, bluish green, darker and paler green. Texture is more glassy than icy so very nice, but color is not evenly distributed. The backing that opens is very convenient for testing.
Second, the setting is in thick gold no less than 10 grams from my estimate, (total is 18.154 grams) an nicely done than I expected. I was expecting more commercial but it’s more tending to fine jewelry. Melees tested for diamonds (good quality) and the square yellow melee on top tested yellow sapphire, the surrounding yellow micro melees are yellow diamonds.
Third, size of stone is 38mm length. When buying landscape pendants, I think a decent size is no less than 35mm. The bigger the pendant, price seems to drastically increase if the stone has nice, bright green color. Fine green carved pendants as expected, are on the thinner side. Other colors can be thick without backing, but fine greens are usually 2mm up. My purchase is around 3mm thick, with depression on carvings and thicker on mountains. So not very thick. The size though is on the bigger side at 38 x 32.1mm. Note sizes when you purchase landscapes because it may not reflect on the photos. I’ve attached a photo on size comparison compared to my bin purchases. Lavenders and icy jades tend to be thicker and bigger but hardly greens. If there is any consolation, I don’t think you can carve Type B jadeite or any other stone at 1mm-3mm thickness as I haven’t seen any material done this way (otherwise, there would be a lot of quartz and cheap Type Bs or whatsoever carved like such. I think only natural, untreated jadeite and maybe fine nephrite are durable enough to carved this way. Glass and plastic can be molded though).
Fourth, overall look when worn shows mostly bright green and even imperial color in some lighting conditions despite the different patches of color in the stone, thus I think the premium in price apart from size. The carving is better than I expected, the color though is not as bright as the selling photos in most lighting but it is indeed that bright in sunlight and strong light. Stone tend to glow in some light and maintains the green color in all lighting conditions. I think without the patch of white on the upper right, the piece would drastically increase in price, though I chose this piece specifically for the character.

In LED light.

Compared with bin purchases.


Backing open and in strong light source. You can see the rootlike mottling and texture.


Under cloudy, outdoor light.


Under daylight equivalent light.


Under magnification. You can see variations in green color and fine graining.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Thanks for that very thorough review @Seaglow

Strange they didn't even include one of those standard reports but then I think your actual testing of it gives us more piece of mind anyway!

 

[Duyen]

Amazing how the seller gets away with it!!

I had a closer look at his feedback this morning : what actually saved him are the past 12 months transactions where only 2 people have given a negative fb, that are the basis of calculation for his 99.2% positive grade.
However, if you look at the transactions dated more than 12 months ago, there are more negative fb, highlighting that his merchandise can be fake.
A key learning for me thanks to that case : when buying with eBay, just not look at the global grade, but go through all negative transactions older than the past 12 months’ ones.

 

[Duyen]

Ok, so my YY purchase arrived. I’ll give a thorough feedback because there’s higher risk in TT purchases.

First, it didn’t have any lab report of sorts despite it being not a bargain item. I’m ok with it because I can do testing but maybe you could request one in your purchases. Spectrum showed chromium content but undyed (dyed jadeite shows broader band at red and covers the purple to blue portion, while natural jadeite with chromium have 3 thinner bands). Refractive index is also jadeite and magnification shows texture indicative of Type A, also no dye concentrations. Magnification also shows 5 colors in mottling....white, imperial green, bluish green, darker and paler green. Texture is more glassy than icy so very nice, but color is not evenly distributed. The backing that opens is very convenient for testing.
Second, the setting is in thick gold no less than 10 grams from my estimate, (total is 18.154 grams) an nicely done than I expected. I was expecting more commercial but it’s more tending to fine jewelry. Melees tested for diamonds (good quality) and the square yellow melee on top tested yellow sapphire, the surrounding yellow micro melees are yellow diamonds.
Third, size of stone is 38mm length. When buying landscape pendants, I think a decent size is no less than 35mm. The bigger the pendant, price seems to drastically increase if the stone has nice, bright green color. Fine green carved pendants as expected, are on the thinner side. Other colors can be thick without backing, but fine greens are usually 2mm up. My purchase is around 3mm thick, with depression on carvings and thicker on mountains. So not very thick. The size though is on the bigger side at 38 x 32.1mm. Note sizes when you purchase landscapes because it may not reflect on the photos. I’ve attached a photo on size comparison compared to my bin purchases. Lavenders and icy jades tend to be thicker and bigger but hardly greens. If there is any consolation, I don’t think you can carve Type B jadeite or any other stone at 1mm-3mm thickness as I haven’t seen any material done this way (otherwise, there would be a lot of quartz and cheap Type Bs or whatsoever carved like such. I think only natural, untreated jadeite and maybe fine nephrite are durable enough to carved this way. Glass and plastic can be molded though).
Fourth, overall look when worn shows mostly bright green and even imperial color in some lighting conditions despite the different patches of color in the stone, thus I think the premium in price apart from size. The carving is better than I expected, the color though is not as bright as the selling photos in most lighting but it is indeed that bright in sunlight and strong light. Stone tend to glow in some light and maintains the green color in all lighting conditions. I think without the patch of white on the upper right, the piece would drastically increase in price, though I chose this piece specifically for the character.

In LED light.

Compared with bin purchases.


Backing open and in strong light source. You can see the rootlike mottling and texture.


Under cloudy, outdoor light.


Under daylight equivalent light.


Under magnification. You can see variations in green color and fine graining.

Thank you so much indeed for such an impressive report !
Does it mean that all in all, you are content with that purchase with YY ? Will you buy from her again ?
Your pendant looks gorgeous.

 

[suzanne2]

Ok, so my YY purchase arrived. I’ll give a thorough feedback because there’s higher risk in TT purchases.

First, it didn’t have any lab report of sorts despite it being not a bargain item. I’m ok with it because I can do testing but maybe you could request one in your purchases. Spectrum showed chromium content but undyed (dyed jadeite shows broader band at red and covers the purple to blue portion, while natural jadeite with chromium have 3 thinner bands). Refractive index is also jadeite and magnification shows texture indicative of Type A, also no dye concentrations. Magnification also shows 5 colors in mottling....white, imperial green, bluish green, darker and paler green. Texture is more glassy than icy so very nice, but color is not evenly distributed. The backing that opens is very convenient for testing.
Second, the setting is in thick gold no less than 10 grams from my estimate, (total is 18.154 grams) an nicely done than I expected. I was expecting more commercial but it’s more tending to fine jewelry. Melees tested for diamonds (good quality) and the square yellow melee on top tested yellow sapphire, the surrounding yellow micro melees are yellow diamonds.
Third, size of stone is 38mm length. When buying landscape pendants, I think a decent size is no less than 35mm. The bigger the pendant, price seems to drastically increase if the stone has nice, bright green color. Fine green carved pendants as expected, are on the thinner side. Other colors can be thick without backing, but fine greens are usually 2mm up. My purchase is around 3mm thick, with depression on carvings and thicker on mountains. So not very thick. The size though is on the bigger side at 38 x 32.1mm. Note sizes when you purchase landscapes because it may not reflect on the photos. I’ve attached a photo on size comparison compared to my bin purchases. Lavenders and icy jades tend to be thicker and bigger but hardly greens. If there is any consolation, I don’t think you can carve Type B jadeite or any other stone at 1mm-3mm thickness as I haven’t seen any material done this way (otherwise, there would be a lot of quartz and cheap Type Bs or whatsoever carved like such. I think only natural, untreated jadeite and maybe fine nephrite are durable enough to carved this way. Glass and plastic can be molded though).
Fourth, overall look when worn shows mostly bright green and even imperial color in some lighting conditions despite the different patches of color in the stone, thus I think the premium in price apart from size. The carving is better than I expected, the color though is not as bright as the selling photos in most lighting but it is indeed that bright in sunlight and strong light. Stone tend to glow in some light and maintains the green color in all lighting conditions. I think without the patch of white on the upper right, the piece would drastically increase in price, though I chose this piece specifically for the character.

In LED light.

Compared with bin purchases.


Backing open and in strong light source. You can see the rootlike mottling and texture.


Under cloudy, outdoor light.


Under daylight equivalent light.


Under magnification. You can see variations in green color and fine graining.

Second @mellowyellowgirl. Your report is WAY better than the three words we would get with a certificate. It's like having our own private professor. Go Seaglow!!

 

[Seaglow]

Thanks for that very thorough review @Seaglow

Strange they didn't even include one of those standard reports but then I think your actual testing of it gives us more piece of mind anyway!

Thank you so much indeed for such an impressive report !
Does it mean that all in all, you are content with that purchase with YY ? Will you buy from her again ?
Your pendant looks gorgeous.

If I see something I like, I will buy again because I have testing equipment at home and I’ve been thoroughly studying jade these past few months and can actually estimate quality of graining, color, and texture from photos from YY and J’s photos. YY have really nice glassy jades from Muna mine and I saw one carved and the cotton ball inclusions look like snowflakes. She also has nice clear water jades.

Still my first YY purchase is a very high-risk item. Not for the faint of heart. Payment by TT, no returns, and shipped by EMS. Note that YY has items with no returns but not all. But turned out worth it as material is really hard to find. Honestly, this material just usually bought in China, HK, and Taiwan. This type is river jade. According to @Burmesedaze, mined out. Here is a photo of the pendant with the imperial jade earrings (not high dome) I bought at the Orchid factory. You see that the pendant color is nice and can be paired with imperial jade. It can also be paired with White icy jade and lighter and darker colored greens. I really bought bi-colored coz easier to see the graining, texture, and color distribution in photos to minimise risk of dyed jade.

 

[Burmesedaze]

I like the graining and colour variation. More 3D and more "feel" to the landscape scene that is afterall supposed to be about variations in geographical relief!

Yes no more water jade no more river jade! SAD!

 

[Duyen]

Hello ladies,
What do you think of this bangle ?
Specs : 53.1x47.0 mm - 10.5 mm - 7.1 mm 6800 RMB

 

[YC]

I like the graining and colour variation. More 3D and more "feel" to the landscape scene that is afterall supposed to be about variations in geographical relief!

Yes no more water jade no more river jade! SAD!

Hi Burmesedaze and Seaglow, I am wondering what you mean by river jade. Is it icy/glassy jade ( not colour specific)?

Thanks Seaglow for your review! But no returns is definitely not for the faint-hearted or newbies.

 

[Burmesedaze]

And very fine grain.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Picked up a few more things today. These 2 were value buys. Rmb330 each.

 

[Duyen]

Picked up a few more things today. These 2 were value buys. Rmb330 each.

Hi there,
Are these buys through auctions ?
I tried once to connect, but did not understand a word of what was said or happening.
Said then to myself that I should have chosen Chinese as foreign language at school

 

[Burmesedaze]

Hi there,
Are these buys through auctions ?
I tried once to connect, but did not understand a word of what was said or happening.
Said then to myself that I should have chosen Chinese as foreign language at school

Lol it's through live stream so different traders arrange to bring their goods and the broadcasters bargain on your behalf and showcase the wares. No cert of course, but they guarantee A goods.

There was a Vietnamese lady online today that bought an item in English. I'm assuming she understood Mandarin

 

[Duyen]

Lol it's through live stream so different traders arrange to bring their goods and the broadcasters bargain on your behalf and showcase the wares. No cert of course, but they guarantee A goods.

There was a Vietnamese lady online today that bought an item in English. I'm assuming she understood Mandarin

She is better than me, then, this Vietnamese lady ! LoL
So if I am interested in buying something there without understanding Mandarin though, how exactly should I proceed ?
You are in the verge of initiating me into a brand new way of buying ! So exciting !

 

[Burmesedaze]

She is better than me, then, this Vietnamese lady ! LoL
So if I am interested in buying something there without understanding Mandarin though, how exactly should I proceed ?
You are in the verge of initiating me into a brand new way of buying ! So exciting !

Difficult because it's real time and you have to type your comments. They are also not very proficient in English.

The goods also go with the traders so I think they did this with different broadcasters.

I found a Facebook group called Jade Cafe in Chinese. Omg these livestreams are so common on it. But these are private and there's no overarching professional outfit like YY's, so I will just view but won't buy on it.

 

[Burmesedaze]

These are fun though. Wish I could do 1 in English haha.

 

[Duyen]

These are fun though. Wish I could do 1 in English haha.

So do I !

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Hello ladies,
What do you think of this bangle ?
Specs : 53.1x47.0 mm - 10.5 mm - 7.1 mm 6800 RMB

I

Did you get it??? It's really pretty if the colour is as shown. Not as much translucency though but at this price gotta give up something I guess.

 

[Duyen]

I

Did you get it??? It's really pretty if the colour is as shown. Not as much translucency though but at this price gotta give up something I guess.

No, I did not even ask them for it (yet).
Just wanted to know your advice on it so as to improve my education on jade, and I am also trying very hard not to buy anything else before receiving the first bangle, for safety’s sake

 

[prs]

FWIW Mason-Kay have just opened a retail website. https://www.mkjadejewelry.com/?SID=cm4ml8br36hbmkcq9848n922s6

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

No, I did not even ask them for it (yet).
Just wanted to know your advice on it so as to improve my education on jade, and I am also trying very hard not to buy anything else before receiving the first bangle, for safety’s sake

Haha yes that is wise. Mine are enroute to me.

I'm a bit nervous about postage so close to Christmas though!

 

[Burmesedaze]

My first batch of items arrived today, after being redirected 3 times. I Think the receiving postal service made a mistake with the address although the sender wrote correctly.

Flying back home tonight and will check on them*

 

[Duyen]

FWIW Mason-Kay have just opened a retail website. https://www.mkjadejewelry.com/?SID=cm4ml8br36hbmkcq9848n922s6

Thanks Peter.
I checked it for bangles : no big choice.
Have you found anything interesting there ?

 

[Burmesedaze]

Don't want to spam this thread with my photos, but I've posted pics of my livestream buys from the first batch

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-burma-myanmar-gemstones.226051/page-52

 

[Seaglow]

Was finally able to get sunlight photos of the pendant. Very glowy!
This is also how the pendant looks like when worn.

 

[prs]

Thanks Peter.
I checked it for bangles : no big choice.
Have you found anything interesting there ?

I'm afraid not, in fact the site is rather uninspiring!

 

[prs]

The GTC one has a big website with a certificate search function...established in 1995. Of course, I'm terribly naive and believe everyone is truthful.

Hi @suzanne2 This is the website listed on the cert http://www.gtc-china.cn/ It's all in Chinese so I don't know if they have any affiliation with a lab in the West.

This is the NY State auction in question and they have some mouthwatering items by USA standards at mouthwatering prices! Prices they have no hope of achieving with those certs. Not to mention the auction house address is a private residence, they have no website, and this is their first auction. However the items look first class. The bangles are listed separately on Page 2 starting at Lot 201...I particularly like Lot 230!
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/133173_antique-porcelain-jade-shoushan-stone-coral/

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

My earrings arrived! Very fast postage from Hong Kong to Australia, custom clearance was seamless so I would say the postage process in my case can rival J's DHL.

Earrings arrived in mint condition and am beyond thrilled with them. I'll post pics as I wear them since you guys have seen the others buy pretty much the same ones. The quality is very very very good!

No certificates to accompany the earrings though. I wonder if they were saving on postage weight or if they didn't get them certed. They sent me pics of certs for the lace earrings online. Am not bothered by the lack of certs at all. Am wondering if it's the reason why the prices are lower.

Here are the kitschy fish which I'm especially thrilled with. Total bargain bin at $200 usd a pair including postage. They are beautifully translucent and a bright fresh light green that's well saturated. The scales match as well on both sides (the photo had one fish flipped). Love love love. Feel like a kitschy consort in them

 

[suzanne2]

My earrings arrived! Very fast postage from Hong Kong to Australia, custom clearance was seamless so I would say the postage process in my case can rival J's DHL.

Earrings arrived in mint condition and am beyond thrilled with them. I'll post pics as I wear them since you guys have seen the others buy pretty much the same ones. The quality is very very very good!

No certificates to accompany the earrings though. I wonder if they were saving on postage weight or if they didn't get them certed. They sent me pics of certs for the lace earrings online. Am not bothered by the lack of certs at all. Am wondering if it's the reason why the prices are lower.

Here are the kitschy fish which I'm especially thrilled with. Total bargain bin at $200 usd a pair including postage. They are beautifully translucent and a bright fresh light green that's well saturated. The scales match as well on both sides (the photo had one fish flipped). Love love love. Feel like a kitschy consort in them

They are darling!! Kitschy consort indeed I'm super interested in how they hang from your ears with the chain thing. Hurry up and post pics!