UV test on jade—is it really reliable?

[GuitarGirl22]

Hello! I am very new to Jade collecting and I saw on YouTube some people who take a UV light to test the jade to see if it has any dyes or polymers. Have any of you tried this technique and do you think it is a tried and true hundred percent effective way of seeing if you’re Jade is fake? I just bought a beautiful pendant for $300 and was assured it was antique and real. But I think I got scammed. It glows like a glow stick. I’m so disappointed and don’t know if I should return to local shop. Any advice would be really appreciated!

 

[shelovesinclusions]

Absence of UV reaction isn't assurance that it's untreated, as there are non-UV reactive treatments. If it is strongly glowing all over ("like a glow stick") it is an indicator of B or B&C.

Some of the wax used in fissure smoothing will glow, but can still be considered A grade jadeite. That wax will usually only cause places that would be a pit or line to glow. As well, natural jadeite can have its own uncommon UV reaction that is very subtle.

This is just my experience with my own collection.

 

[voce]

Absence of UV reaction isn't assurance that it's untreated, as there are non-UV reactive treatments. If it is strongly glowing all over ("like a glow stick") it is an indicator of B or B&C.

Some of the wax used in fissure smoothing will glow, but can still be considered A grade jadeite. That wax will usually only cause places that would be a pit or line to glow. As well, natural jadeite can have its own uncommon UV reaction that is very subtle.

This is just my experience with my own collection.

@Frost @fredflintstone
@ChaiK @icy_jade @Silvermom @mellowyellowgirl @Burmesedaze @Lovinggems @joycece and anyone else more knowledgeable about jadeite...

I'm on the fence about this bangle... On the one hand I love how it looks, but on the other hand I've seen it fluoresce (not too the point of glo stick, but still some, and uniformly.

I thought it might be type C and has been dyed, due to the fluorescence. Could it be a natural UV reaction? Attaching pictures because I really need help with the decision of to return or not to return. With discounts, I bought this for $665 plus taxes.

The bangle in question is top right.


Certificate is below. It checks out on the website, but that website had not been updated since 2019.


I would super duper love this bangle if it's truly type A.

 

[GuitarGirl22]

Absence of UV reaction isn't assurance that it's untreated, as there are non-UV reactive treatments. If it is strongly glowing all over ("like a glow stick") it is an indicator of B or B&C.

Some of the wax used in fissure smoothing will glow, but can still be considered A grade jadeite. That wax will usually only cause places that would be a pit or line to glow. As well, natural jadeite can have its own uncommon UV reaction that is very subtle.

This is just my experience with my own collection.

Thanks. I think it’s not good jade. I’m really bummed. The place has been around forever I don’t believe they intentionally scammed me but it’s pretty glowing. I may try to return….

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@voce so the entire bangle glows? Evenly?

Does the rest of it glow like it's glowing in the pic?

That's probably not a good sign if so much if it is glowing.

I have a pair of donut earrings. Bright green and completely inert except for two tiny dots on one of the donuts. We are talking like two pinheads that glowed like a glow stick. In that instance I was confident that it was real and the two pinheads were just an impurity imbedded in the Jade.

But if the entire thing glows it's probably been treated.

 

[voce]

@mellowyellowgirl the bangle is not bright green. But yeah, the entire bangle faintly glows green, and I had written it off as type C, as it's good crystal with no obvious sign of polymer as far as I can tell, and I was ready to ship it back earlier today.

However, what @MissSarah said about uncommon natural UV reactions has me wondering and reconsidering.

I've tested the hardness and sound. There are little specks in the lavender that I tried capturing in the second photo.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@voce do you have anything that you're 100% confident is A grade and does that glow at all?

What year is the certificate from?

Thinking it loud here......

 

[voce]

@voce do you have anything that you're 100% confident is A grade and does that glow at all?

What year is the certificate from?

Thinking it loud here......

To answer your question, no.

The certificate doesn't have a date. Automatic red flag?

 

[Bron357]

My 5 cents.
if you love the bangle and aren’t totally “bummed” if it’s not A Grade, keep it.
My understanding is that some modern treatments can be very difficult to identify. I recall that it was Sotheby’s or Christie’s that even got fooled by a Jade bangle. It turned out to be treated after checking the molecular structure. Yeah, pretty high level testing!
I have learnt that using a good loupe and checking the surface of the Jade it can indicate if bleaching and polymer treatment has occurred. To impregnate polymer (B grade) and coloured polymer (B + C grade) they need fissures to do so. These can seen using magnification. Lotus Gemology has some photos.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Ok I just checked two of my China certificates have dates, two don't. Depends on the lab I think.

 

[GuitarGirl22]

Hi I’m sorry I think I confused where I was responding on this thread. I bought a pendant. I’m bummed because I liked it. Paid $300 and maybe it’s worth nothing. It lights up purple. I have no idea what I’m doing!. That said. I want to learn so I can invest in a bangle this Christmas!

 

[voce]

My 5 cents.
if you love the bangle and aren’t totally “bummed” if it’s not A Grade, keep it.
My understanding is that some modern treatments can be very difficult to identify. I recall that it was Sotheby’s or Christie’s that even got fooled by a Jade bangle. It turned out to be treated after checking the molecular structure. Yeah, pretty high level testing!
I have learnt that using a good loupe and checking the surface of the Jade it can indicate if bleaching and polymer treatment has occurred. To impregnate polymer (B grade) and coloured polymer (B + C grade) they need fissures to do so. These can seen using magnification. Lotus Gemology has some photos.

I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for, but I see no fissures.

 

[voce]

Hi I’m sorry I think I confused where I was responding on this thread. I bought a pendant. I’m bummed because I liked it. Paid $300 and maybe it’s worth nothing. It lights up purple. I have no idea what I’m doing!. That said. I want to learn so I can invest in a bangle this Christmas!

Purple could just be a reflection of the UV. I think fluorescence refers to green glow.

 

[icy_jade]

The Chinese sites say that if the jadeite reacts to UV, it’s not grade A. If it doesn’t react, it also may not be grade A. You need a good cert to be sure. From what I’ve heard from the trade, I don’t trust China certs.

Did a test on my stuff. All my certified grade A jade don’t react to UV (no reflection, nothing). I have a grade C (dyed only) that also don’t react.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

The Chinese sites say that if the jadeite reacts to UV, it’s not grade A. If it doesn’t react, it also may not be grade A. You need a good cert to be sure. From what I’ve heard from the trade, I don’t trust China certs.

Did a test on my stuff. All my certified grade A jade don’t react to UV (no reflection, nothing). I have a grade C (dyed only) that also don’t react.

Can I see your grade C one! Just for curiosity sake!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@voce have you thought of trying a place that's more reliable like Kathy Jade or one of the Singapore places? I looked at Li Hong Jade and thought it looked decent. You can get them sent to the Singapore lab which is really good from what I've heard.

 

[icy_jade]

Can I see your grade C one! Just for curiosity sake!

You mean just what it looks like or with UV? With UV also no reaction ya

 

[Lovinggems]

@GuitarGirl22 and @voce , I'm a jade newbie but in your cases I would just return both pieces.

@voce the lab of your certificate, from what I've read from other posts, isn't properly verified, there should be a numeric string under the CMA logo, or maybe it doesn't even exist. Looks like there're a myriad of labs out there and certs aren't worth the paper they're printed on, or they may be altogether fake certificates.

Was reading a post, even a verified lab was giving A grade certs to non-a-grade jade (allegedly).

If I'm buying a bangle from China, to be safe, I'll only buy if the seller will send it to NGTC.

Ladies in the UK, US, Singapore etc can send it to a reputable lab and confirm it's an untreated piece, especially since jade isn't inexpensive.

I bought my bangle some years ago from Kathy jade and have them send it to Lai Tai An, maybe some of the Singapore stores are a better option for most overseas buyers wanting to buy online.

 

[icy_jade]

@GuitarGirl22 @voce

If it glows, I will return. But that’s because personally I am not ok with treated jade. It’s a mind clean thing, just like why I like untreated/unheated sapphires.

Another thing worth considering is how stable the treatment is and whether the jadeite can stand up to daily wear and abuse. Type A jadeite is very hardy, the treated ones less so. I wear my bangles 24/7 so only Type A can stand up to the daily wear.

You have to decide if you are fine with treatment and whether the price you paid is fine for what it is (treated jade). If the answer is yes to both, then just wear and enjoy. If answer is no to either or both, then return while you can.



From:

10 Facts About Buying Jadeite Jade Bangles

Never shared before facts that sellers want to keep away from you. This guide will help you in buying authentic jade. Learn how jade is valued and to tell apart fakes. A comprehensive guide to Burmese Jadeite Jade Bangles.

www.mays.com.au

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

You mean just what it looks like or with UV? With UV also no reaction ya

Oh noes I really like that one!!! Did you know it was treated or you found out afterwards?

 

[icy_jade]

Oh noes I really like that one!!! Did you know it was treated or you found out afterwards?

Afterwards. Else I wouldn’t have bought… but at least the setting is nice so I will probably recycle or something.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Afterwards. Else I wouldn’t have bought… but at least the setting is nice so I will probably recycle or something.

Any chance you could tell us which vendor.... Just so we can keep that in mind.

 

[icy_jade]

Any chance you could tell us which vendor.... Just so we can keep that in mind.

Japanese vendor at a trade show. Cannot recall the name… but yeah, it’s made me much more careful re buying uncerted jadeite, or those with unreliable certs.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Japanese vendor at a trade show. Cannot recall the name… but yeah, it’s made me much more careful re buying incerted jadeite, or those with unreliable certs.

Sorry I keep asking about this but did you find out after you sent it to the lab or did it start fading etc so you had it tested?

 

[icy_jade]

Sorry I keep asking about this but did you find out after you sent it to the lab or did it start fading etc so you had it tested?

After I sent to lab. No fading that I can see.

So now if I see something intensely colored and too well priced, then I’m wary. Plus am also aware the UV test isn’t infallible. Ah well, lesson learnt.

 

[shelovesinclusions]

Sharing some pics of longwave UV in a few of my bangles.

This one is a grey & off white A grade from Ultimate Jadeite. It has very faint natural UV reactivity that in a few of the tougher looking white areas. I suspect those areas may be albite inclusions, but white and pale jadeite do sometimes have faint reaction from what I've read.




Next is a white and pale green A grade bangle from Kathy Jade. The glowing part that looks like a constellation (lower in the picture from the light's reflection) is from wax on an especially rough & grainy area.


Lastly is this B grade from a random Taobao seller. It is so uniformly strongly glowy it might not be clear in the picture. I would only wear it if I went to a rave.

 

[Lovinggems]

@MissSarah, thank you, great photos. l'm going to buy a uv light and try it out on my dodgy bangles.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Japanese vendor at a trade show. Cannot recall the name… but yeah, it’s made me much more careful re buying uncerted jadeite, or those with unreliable certs.

Sorry to hear that.

I was in a Rakuten phase earlier this year. Had a colleague in Tokyo returning to SG and I wanted to ride on a gem purchase through him, so I thought. I spent a few weeks surfing the site from rubies, star sapphires, paraiba to jade. Realised that a lot of their nice, even looking lavender were not A (too good for the price), no lab cert and a few sellers actually do state that, but not all. Rubies also mostly heated. I gave up on the idea in the end + hard to gauge from all these white LED light photos.

So I do think treatments are fairly well accepted there.

 

[icy_jade]

few sellers actually do state that, but not all. Rubies also mostly heated

Yes just need to focus on sellers that provide info. Like everywhere else, most rubies/sapphires are heated, so again just a matter of looking. They are not specialized in selling only untreated stones so is all within expectations. Time for buying Paraiba has passed imo. There were many just a few years ago. Now even the itty bitty ones are expensive.

 

[icy_jade]

Sharing some pics of longwave UV in a few of my bangles.

This one is a grey & off white A grade from Ultimate Jadeite. It has very faint natural UV reactivity that in a few of the tougher looking white areas. I suspect those areas may be albite inclusions, but white and pale jadeite do sometimes have faint reaction from what I've read.




Next is a white and pale green A grade bangle from Kathy Jade. The glowing part that looks like a constellation (lower in the picture from the light's reflection) is from wax on an especially rough & grainy area.


Lastly is this B grade from a random Taobao seller. It is so uniformly strongly glowy it might not be clear in the picture. I would only wear it if I went to a rave.

Wow thanks for the great pics. Didn’t know about Albite. I think with wax it’s still considered type A?

Just curious if your B jade was disclosed or did it come with some fake/unreliable cert?