Part of the Beijing Series of Articles, the result of a media Tour organized by Sponsors Philippine Airlines, Panda Travel, Marco Polo Hotels, and American Tourister Luggage.
The World of Jade
When polished and professionally worked, it is a beautiful luminous gemstone. For many, it symbolizes love and virtue. For the Chinese, it symbolizes the Confucian virtues of wisdom, justice, and compassion, although its first known use was in arrowheads and axes.
The Aztecs and many other pre-Columbian American cultures valued it more highly than gold. In many cultures, from the Egyptians to the Maoris of New Zealand, it is believed to be a lucky, protective stone.
Trade with the East brought this gemstone to Europe in the 16th Century, but it was the Spaniards, who found another source in Central America, that gave its name: Piedra de Hijada, later shortened to simply "Jade."
But it's not always what you think it is.
Until about 1786, most Jade in China was Nephrite, a similar looking mineral, but with a different composition. In fact, both minerals look so similar that it was only in the late 19th Century that it was determined that the "Jade" in China was a different "Jade" from that mined in Burma.
In Mandarin, Jadeite is known as "ying yu," hard Jade, and Nephrite is known as "ruan yu," soft Jade. The word "Yu," by itself, means precious ornamental rock, a description that can be applied to any valuable stone.
True Jade is Jadeite, a sodium-rich aluminous pyroxene, obtained mainly from northern Burma, but with minor sources throughout the world. Jadeite is a metamorphous rock formed under specific conditions of high-pressure and low temperature.
The colors of jadeite vary: Yellow to gold, pink to blue lavenders, rusty reds, light to dark greens, pure white, brown, and black are jadeite colors. It is slightly harder than Nephrite, with a hardness rating of 7.
Nephrite is a fine-grained, calcium-rich, magnesium and iron aluminous amphibole with a hardness of 6.5. It is also a metamorphous rock, but unlike Jadeite, it does not require specific conditions of pressure and cold to form. It is available in fewer colors than Jadeite: Creamy white, and shades of green, brown and black.
Some colors of Nephrite are hard to distinguish from Jadeite by visual inspection, but an ultraviolet money checker can distinguish the two: Jadeite flouresces weakly like human teeth, Nephrite does not flouresce. The sheen of a finished piece is another distinguishing feature: Jadeite is glass like, while Nephrite finishes to a fine luster.
In the US, only Jadeite and Nephrite can be labelled "Jade," but disreputable traders often mislabel other more common stones "jade varieties" to confuse the unwary. Reputable dealers will not use the following misleading terms: Amazon Jade, Colorado Jade: Green Feldspar; American Jade: Californite (Green Idocrase); Mexican Jade: Green-dyed Calcite; Indian Jade: Adventurine; Korea Jade: Serpentine; Oregon or Swiss Jade: Chalcedony; and Transvaal Jade: Green hydroglossular garnet.
Most of these stones are softer than Jadeite and Nephrite and will not scratch glass (hardness 5) .
The best Nephrite from China is a creamy white variety known as "mutton fat." Spinach Nephrite, the color of the cooked vegetable, is also popular. Ancient Chinese jade items made before the 1800's are usually Nephrite.
Believed to preserve the body after death, Chinese emperors had burial suits made of Nephrite, and filled their tombs with items of this material.
Since 1786, true Jadeite has been imported into China from northern Burma. Every year, the Myanmar Gems Enterprise holds an auction of rough Jade for registered Jade dealers. Jade dealers are seasoned gamblers: The rough stone looks like an ordinary boulder with a small window ground into the surface, only when the stone is cut up will the buyer know whether he's purchased a valuable raw material or a low grade rock.
Burmese Jadeite quickly replaced Chinese Nephrite as the Imperial variety of Jade because of its superior luminosity, translucency, and hardness, hence its prestigious status in Chinese jewelry, where it is sold alongside local Nephrite. Before the 1800s, only Chinese Nephrite was considered true Jade, but the adoption by the Imperial household of the Burmese Jadeite reversed the situation.
Imperial Jade is the most expensive, colored a specific emerald-like green with an inner glow not found in other stones. The more uniform the green in an Imperial Jade piece, the greater its value. Some pieces can be worth millions, and it is rare that you will find a true Imperial Jade quality piece except in Museums.
Uniformity of color usually enhances value, but there are also unique color patterns that are highly sought after. The next most valuable colors are in the pink to lavender range, followed by the lighter and darker greens. Spotty greens (moss in snow) are highly sought after.
Because certain colors are more valuable than others, some merchants dye the Jade. Dyed jade is difficult to detect with the naked eye, but a magnifying loupe will show color accumulation along grain boundaries in a dyed stone. A Chelsea filter, a tool of Jade merchants, will show red streaks in a dyed stone.
When buying a piece that is claimed to be natural in color, have the seller mark on the receipt or certificate that the Jade is "natural color."
Microscopic flaws, dark spots, veins, splotches, and cracks in a Jadeite piece may dramatically reduce an item's value, but honest dealers price their items accordingly, noting the item's characteristics in the certificate of authenticity.
Jade pieces with barely detectable flaws provide excellent value as jewelry accents, but a true collector will want only the most perfect items.
Surface waxing is the only method of enhancement acceptable to serious collectors, but bleaching and acid treaments, dyeing, and heating may be used to alter the material.
It is important that if any of these techniques (other than waxing) are used, these are disclosed by the Jade merchant as these may reduce its value as a collection item.
Given the pitfalls of buying Jade, it is important to deal only with reputable merchants and Jade factories. Honest dealers price accordingly and describe the characteristics of the item you've purchased in the receipt or accompanying certificate. They will not misrepresent an item in order to obtain a higher price, but will take the time to explain why seemingly identical items have widely varying prices.
Visits to reputable Jade and Jewelry factories are included in many of Panda Travel's China Tours. Through its partnership with China Panorama, Panda Travel provides an affordable, exciting and informative perspective of Ancient and Modern China.
Philippine Airlines flies four times weekly to Beijing. For extra Mabuhay Miles credits, book your stay at a Marco Polo Hotel, and bring along American Tourister luggage. American Tourister is Samsonite's value priced line of durable luggage.
