Specific Gravity of Grade B Jadeite

[Bluegemz]

Wow, these are lovely. Bluegemz, can I ask what you would pick in a bangle? People say translucency is important. What about colour? Thank you for your thoughts.

It really depends on the type of jade. I think often of the elements of water, air, Earth which are so well expressed in various jade bangles. In general, I love finer grain, but make exceptions to this. I don’t mind less translucence in bangles, but I’ve purchased both. I like transitions most in bangles, while in cabs, more uniformity is preferred, It’s ok with me if bangles have some tooth to the texture, especially with stronger color. Those have an earthy strength. Translucence often means less saturated color, which gives a more dreamy look.

For lavenders and blues, if I’m going for strong color, I wouldn’t mind less translucence. If it’s a light and watery/ethereal look, more translucence less color. But too much translucence without strong color can also be too see through and not make a strong enough statement.

For floating flowers, some translucence is great to really see the pattern, but composition and color, and contrasts of colors come first.

The greens I’ve chosen have never bright green. Ive chosen more grey green or blue green colors. In this case, I am attracted to both translucence with less saturated color, and strong color with strong body texture.

What do you prefer?

 

[ChaiK]

I am trying to decide. Bangles are so ridiculously priced nowadays. Tomorrow, I will show you what I have. Night time. Difficult to take pictures. I don’t know much about jade. I like green. I like strong colours. Erm....I like them all.

 

[Bluegemz]

I am trying to decide. Bangles are so ridiculously priced nowadays. Tomorrow, I will show you what I have. Night time. Difficult to take pictures. I don’t know much about jade. I like green. I like strong colours. Erm....I like them all.

Ooh, looking forward to seeing!

 

[ChaiK]

I like this type sometimes. Unfortunately, bangles now are priced so exorbitantly. I am not sure why.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Ooh is that yours? It's so pretty!!!!!

 

[Bluegemz]

I like this type sometimes. Unfortunately, bangles now are priced so exorbitantly. I am not sure why.

Really lively and lovely! They are so expensive these days and for the past years too. Jade cutters always try to make bangles from the boulders first, unless the jade is too thin or super high quality cabochon material. Bangles are so popular. It takes a good amount of material to make a bangle, so we have to pay. If I were to buy another, it would be a deeper blue lavender bangle. The next step up would be very expensive, so I’m not even looking right now lol.

 

[ChaiK]

Ooh is that yours? It's so pretty!!!!!

Yes, that is mine. Thank you. I love your wonderful beautiful new ring.

 

[ChaiK]

Really lively and lovely! They are so expensive these days and for the past years too. Jade cutters always try to make bangles from the boulders first, unless the jade is too thin or super high quality cabochon material. Bangles are so popular. It takes a good amount of material to make a bangle, so we have to pay. If I were to buy another, it would be a deeper blue lavender bangle. The next step up would be very expensive, so I’m not even looking right now lol.

But if the rough consisted of this type of material as shown in my bangle, I think the cabochon won't cost a lot. And so the bangle must cost equivalent in terms of carat weight of the cost of this type of cabs (that is what I read somewhere, can't remember where).

Yet I have seen bangles like this costing USD6 000 - very heart stopping.

https://jasminejadeite.com/collecti...nmar-grade-a-jadeite-bangle-59-9mm-l-06081203

Especially when I bought mine more than twenty years ago in Singapore, for SGD188. The aunty selling it lived near my mum. Both my mum and the seller thought this was a terrible bangle. Too thick with dual colours - undesirable. The seller aunty just said something like ok, for you, 188, so good luck for me. Every time I wear it, I am reminded of how lucky I am.

 

[Burmesedaze]

That's because jade rough was plentiful then. This isn't that translucent but has a nice green. It was a lucky find! Did you ever send it in to check if it's A or B jade?
Hah the tri coloured ones are considered lucky and sell for mucho.

 

[ChaiK]

Oh, I should check it. I have not done so. It looks the same after 20 years and I wear it all the time. I should go to GCS at New Bond Street. Been meaning to go.

 

[prs]

Anyone here ever heard of Stone Group Laboratories? It appears Lang Antiques is now using them to certify their Grade A jadeite.

http://stonegrouplabs.com/wp/

 

[icy_jade]

A jadeite vendor that I’ve gotten a few pieces from has 20% off storewide. In any case worth ogling their top end stuff even if you don’t get anything.

Kathy Jade

This is the link to all their inventory as some of you can’t read Chinese.
https://www.kathyjade.com/Store/Web...gory&key=8f596982-4dca-443b-b8db-1224d435719a

 

[Bluegemz]

I wonder if that’s the same seller as Koojade?

 

[Bluegemz]

Anyone here ever heard of Stone Group Laboratories? It appears Lang Antiques is now using them to certify their Grade A jadeite.

http://stonegrouplabs.com/wp/

No experience with that lab. Hoping others can be more helpful.

 

[icy_jade]

I wonder if that’s the same seller as Koojade?

The same but a bit cheaper if you buy direct via their site.

 

[icy_jade]

Just got this bracelet

 

[icy_jade]

The same but a bit cheaper if you buy direct via their site.

And I think their eBay site doesn’t offer the same site wide 20% discount

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Just got this bracelet

Oooh that's a score! No budget but I had a blast browsing that page.

 

[icy_jade]

Oooh that's a score! No budget but I had a blast browsing that page.

Thanks not sure if it’s a deal but I love the green so I also bought a sister bracelet to stack with

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I find it impossible to evaluate jadeite online. I go to the jadeite market in Beijing sometimes with my aunt who is a collector and sometimes you just have to handle it to get a feel for the “water” of it. She will often judge by texture and feel as well as translucency. No idea how she does it lol. I swear one time I saw her lick one..

 

[prs]

Thank you for the kind compliments on my pendant. I had been looking for a lavender jade pendant for a long time when I stumbled upon it at Lang’s. I had already purchased pieces that Summer, so wasn’t planning on buying anything....as soon as I laid eyes on it I knew I absolutely HAD to have it! Total love at first sight. It wasn’t as expensive as it might have been had it been new, especially in the West, but it was still quite expensive for me. I had also seen a carved pendant piece from Mason Kay which was considerably less expensive and a totally different style, which I also loved. So I was a little conflicted, but the pendant definitely was more intriguing to me.

Re availability and pricing...nice lavenders can be hard to find, but they are out there. They ARE harder to find, especially in the West. I’ve been told that mine production is decreasing for nice lavenders. Mason Kay tend to be expensive, and thier prices represent typical prices for the Western market, which sometimes doesn’t even get the best pieces as those are taken in Asia. One can only view prices through a person in the jewelry trade, such as your local jeweler could request price info.

A very helpful lady at Mason-Kay very kindly sent me photos of their best lavender jade pieces. They have some very nice stuff, but all I can say @Bluegemz is you struck gold that day in Lang Antiques!!!! Nothing I have seen on this side of the Pacific Ocean comes even close to the color of your pendant.

 

[ChaiK]

Please can someone help me understand what is meant by water in jade? Like what is the meaning of a bangle having good water? Thank you.

 

[Bluegemz]

A very helpful lady at Mason-Kay very kindly sent me photos of their best lavender jade pieces. They have some very nice stuff, but all I can say @Bluegemz is you struck gold that day in Lang Antiques!!!! Nothing I have seen on this side of the Pacific Ocean comes even close to the color of your pendant.

Thank you! How were the lavenders at mason Kay? Really curious about what you thought of them.

 

[Seaglow]

The darkest lavender I saw at a jade factory.....

 

[Bluegemz]

The darkest lavender I saw at a jade factory.....

I adore that color. Wow!!!! I love the darker shades..so dramatic! That color is so rich and mysterious. What was your feeling about this color?

 

[Seaglow]

I adore that color. Wow!!!! I love the darker shades..so dramatic! That color is so rich and mysterious. What was your feeling about this color?

The darker lavenders usually don’t come transluscent. In general, lavender hardly comes transluscent. It’s a nice rich color indeed but opaque with a high price tag. I’ve been studying Type A lavender jade pricing and anything darker than usual even opaque has a high price tag. Any transluscent material with a noticeable lavender shade, also high price tag.

 

[Bluegemz]

The darker lavenders usually don’t come transluscent. In general, lavender hardly comes transluscent. It’s a nice rich color indeed but opaque with a high price tag. I’ve been studying Type A lavender jade pricing and anything darker than usual even opaque has a high price tag. Any transluscent material with a noticeable lavender shade, also high price tag.

I have noticed that, the stronger the color, the less translucent. After a threshold, it’s seems all about the color. So much beauty and presence after that threshold though! Though translucence and color is the ultimate.

 

[Bluegemz]

Please can someone help me understand what is meant by water in jade? Like what is the meaning of a bangle having good water? Thank you.

As I understand it, Water in jade describes a feeling of liquidity in the stone. Like all of the forms of water, Ice, mist, clouds and running water, jade can have these qualities. Dry jade looks very much like stone rather than gem. Water is associated with the look of moisture within the stone and is connected with grain size, growth, and in purity, as in river jade which has been in the water for millions of years.
Some jade is very ‘wet’ looking from the inside out. Others have ‘moisture’ through a misty, cloudy like glow. Some have a ‘ broken ice’ look. Again, grain growth and size, degree of compactness are inherently linked with the water quality in jadeite.

It doesn’t surprise me that people may lick jadeite to sense the water, since compactness of grain crystals, purity of the actual percentage of jadeite within the piece undoubtedly has subtle effects on how cold it feels, and the fine texture differences.

 

[icy_jade]

I find it impossible to evaluate jadeite online. I go to the jadeite market in Beijing sometimes with my aunt who is a collector and sometimes you just have to handle it to get a feel for the “water” of it. She will often judge by texture and feel as well as translucency. No idea how she does it lol. I swear one time I saw her lick one..

Please can someone help me understand what is meant by water in jade? Like what is the meaning of a bangle having good water? Thank you.

Some jade have a “dry” look? It’s the polished look except it’s not the polish. As I understand from vendors, if the jadeite is of poorer quality, more polishing will not give it the sheen/watery look.

It’s hard to explain/describe but @Bluegemz explains the feel of water really well in her post. Once you see a piece with water next to one without, you will understand.



If you look at the two pendants above for example, the donut has more “water”.

 

[Bluegemz]

Some jade have a “dry” look? It’s the polished look except it’s not the polish. As I understand from vendors, if the jadeite is of poorer quality, more polishing will not give it the sheen/watery look.

It’s hard to explain/describe but @Bluegemz explains the feel of water really well in her post. Once you see a piece with water next to one without, you will understand.



If you look at the two pendants above for example, the donut has more “water”.

I once ordered a very low quality jadeite bangle from eBay just to see what it was like in life. It was extremely dry, as in almost no water. No amount of polishing would have given it that inside out water. It must have barely been jadeite, as in less than 80% jadeite because it was barely in the specific gravity range with lots of impurities. It reminded me of low quality Maw Sit Sit in texture and grain, (a close relative of jadeite). Even in the finest examples which I have seen, Maw sit sit tends to be all color with little to no water. Some jadeite can be like this also. I was curious about whether I would find it attractive but it wasn’t for me.

Your pendants describe water well too. The darker greens, black jadeite and some lavenders are tricky because it can be hard to Intitially perceive the water with such strong pigment. As is the case with strong oil greens, the colorant really obscures the light passing through, even though some can have lovely water.