Shining in its own style
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The Chinese knew about jadeite, travelers had brought back some jadeite from Burma as early as the thirteenth century. But China was turning inward at that time and this foreign Kingfisher Stone, referring to the brightly colored feathers of the bird, was not considered to be real jade. It only became popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth century when trade with Burma opened up again.
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Today it is jadeite jade that is considered the real jade, commanding prices much higher than nephrite because it comes in much more vivid green colors and finer translucency than nephrite jade.
Gamble on Jadeite
Jadeite dealers are some of the world's largest gamblers. Boulders are sold intact, with only a tiny window cut in the side to expose a small section of the interior. The buyer has no idea what lies inside: valuable green jadeite or perhaps only white or brown-stained inexpensive material. He has only his instinct, and on that basis he pays hundreds of thousands of dollars for what may turn out to be the deal of the year or a huge loss.
The top jadeite jade is usually cut into smooth dome shapes called cabochons. Jadeite bangles are also very popular in Asian countries. Beads are also very beautiful and some important jadeite necklaces made during the art deco period have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars in auctions in the past few years.
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Because of its smooth even texture, jade has long been a preferred object for carving. The most common shape is the flat donut-shaped disc called a pi, which is commonly worn as a necklace.
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Jade is most often sold by the piece rather than per carat. Although the overall color is the most important value factor, attention is also paid to translucency, texture, and also to pattern. Certain patterns, including moss in snow, are highly valued.
The value of Jadeite and how does the treatment affects its value?
Some will buy precious stones as an investment, for example, diamond and is recent years has proven to be profitable, actually the price of jadeite rises about 100% to 50% per year. But only all natural jadeite can be looked upon as an investment asset, Grade A jadeite. If the jadeite is treated, it can only act as an ordinary accessory or ordinary product, no longer a precious stone, because its texture is damaged and its durability is greatly reduced. After it has been worn for a certain period of time, irregular tension micro-cracks will als appear. It is the reason why the price of all natural jadeite is far higher than treated ones, which is the difference between precious stone and an ordinary accessory.
If you want to buy jadeite as investment or buy a real precious stone, remember to choose grade A jadeite.
