the JADE thread!

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#61
JKP: Smoke is gorgeous! I swear I have the memory span of a goldfish right now because I didn't remember how gorgeous it was. Where did you get it again?

Jade4Me: I really like your spring green bangle. Too bad it's too large. Maybe you can buy a smaller bangle and wear them stacked?

Allan is a artisan (I'm not sure what the proper term for what he does is... jewelry carving???) in CA. His FB has more recent photos of his works: https://www.facebook.com/allan.spehar/photos_all . Just about every single Yukon Snow bangle in his gallery (that's the green stone with the gold and white flecks) has gone to a jade sister here on the forums thanks to Claire. :biggrin:

NYCP: Geez, I thought buying a house out here in san francisco area was bad... glad I don't have to try it in NYC. Also... I hope you don't mind but I want to try to get my nails done like yours with the ladybugs. i love it so much! :biggrin: I'm trying to find a good place out here to do gel nails.

Molly0: It looks amazing! More photos pls!

Dynasty: Wow! Your FIL is so lucky to have you that you are a donor match and willing to make such an amazing thing. Good luck! And I think this definitely calls for a few jade gifts from the family.

Miss Oinky: I saw that bangle and was admiring it! I think that's a pretty legit seller. I do think the bangle is probably not as lavender as the photos are showing based on the certification photo. It looks a lot like my Silkie in that the lavender show up beautifully in photos but in real life, it mostly looks pale green and white. The lavender only seems to show up in certain lighting. (Which I personally love but I imagine if the lavender were more prominent, that price would be a lot higher.) It's a great price for a lovely bangle though.

Claire: Ugh, I'd have been melting down through the whole process. Your gamble paid off but I can't imagine the stress of spending so much money, not knowing if things are proceeding properly! Do you have any photos of the place we can see?!

JKP: I hear you about traveling with kids. Just getting out the door to visit the great grandparents (who live 20 minutes away) is this big ordeal and takes 3x as long as it used to before we had kids. The thought of attempting an overseas vacation makes my head just want to implode. :lol:
 
#62
Dynasty said:
Here is my newest babies, just bought 2 days ago
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Those bangles are amazing! And you are an amazing person to do such an unselfish act to help your father-in-law! Donating a kidney is major medical surgery! I wish you and your father-in-law the best of luck, and to a fast and speedy recovery. :smile:
 
#63
Vixy said:
A big welcome to Jade4me, I'm so glad you found us :smile:


Your spring green is so pretty! Do you have one that you wear all the time or do you rotate them often? I agree that bangles should be displayed when not worn. I have them scattered on my dresser and have been looking for a stand as well. I found a few that might do the trick from the Container Store, if you want to check it out.
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Thank you! I don't wear any of my bangles very often and when I do, maybe only once overnight. Though now I know from this thread that one should not wear B or B+C bangles very long because of the chemicals used to process them. :sad: So now I'll make sure to take them off every night. I'll take a look at the Container Store website later!
 
#64
clairejune said:
Hi Jade4me....I have insights into jojo. They are an enormous company with thousands of bangles. Sometimes they are not the best at updating their site until they get a new 'load' of bangles and then the website can be missing many pages for a day or two.

I have bought 4 bangles from them and have been very happy with what I got, though there are others who were surprised by the bangles they received. My advice would be this.

1) Find a number of bangles that you are interested in and inquire about them all at once. They will tell you what is available.
2) Perhaps consider describing what you are looking for and the qualities that you prefer. I did this once and "jack" helped me find my favorite bangle that I adore. I never would have seen it otherwise as it was not listed on the new site.
3) Ask about the true colors (as photographing jade is hard and buying from pictures can be misleading). Also ask about any flaws like stone lines, chips etc.
4) Always negotiate down. Though they do not offer this option online, it is possible through messaging. On expensive items you can maybe get up to 40% off but less on cheaper items because the profit margin is less.
5) Be absolutely sure that you want the bangle that you negotiate for because they don't offer any returns once you negotiate down. If you want to be able to return/refund, then it's best to either pay the whole price or buy from a smaller vendor. This is because they give you a whole sale price and I doubt they have the accounting set up for returns since this whole sale business is done through back transfers.

There are smaller sellers that sell grade A and offer more flexibility...though jojo has the advantage of an enormous selection. They always have new things because they are a jade boulder processing factory, so they are cutting the boulders.
Ultimate Jadeite Etsy
GeGe designs Etsy
Desire Treasures (both ebay and home site)
3jade Ebay

Probably more that I have forgotten. Do keep us posted! We love to see things that inspire each other, even if it's just for eye candy.

I love your other bangles btw! The fresh green one is a beauty!!
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Thank you so much for the wealth of info above! I did a quick search on ebay for a jade bangle stand and the store Uni_jade came up for selling bangles from Hong Kong. Are they reputable?

I hope Spring Green is A grade as she is very pretty to look at. It would be nice if at least ONE of my 4 bangles is A grade. But they didn't cost enough to justify sending them out for testing. Would any UV flashlight do to check jadeite?
 
#65
Dynasty, wow those are AMAZING!!! And once again, as in keeping with your style, just so unique and beautiful! How do you find these amazing bangles? I'm so impressed!! Congratulations! I hope you know that your courage and kindness makes you deserve those bangles 110%

Thanks Silver Mom, Vixy, AJmeow and JKP for the support about the Italian property! Vixy, it so happened that the place we bought is very large, so eventually my parents bought a percentage and they travel there every year for a few months and maintain it. I couldn't be more grateful for this arrangement as the place is 500+ (maybe older) years old and things always need upkeep big time. We do rent it out as a vacation rental and it's great for the opera season as it sleeps at least 7 or 8.
 
#66
Jade4me, Uni_jade sells some bad quality bangles along with some descent ones. I bought 2 there quite cheaply and I was shocked at how ugly they were. Only partially jadeite (jadeite is an agglomerate stone which needs at least 80% jadeite to be called jadeite. There are mixers of less jadeite then that.) This is what we received....maybe some jadeite mixed with some other minerals. The polish was abysmally bad and they were totally uneven. I would recommend buying with caution from them for the quality, though I do believe the things are A grade.

Regarding the UV, you should get a dual wave uv light because some polymer will only show under short wave, and vice versa. Do it when it's dark in the room. Some bits might glow, which could be dirt or other minerals, but if the whole thing glows then you know it's treated.

Keep in mind though, that this test is pretty good, but not 100%. There are a range of polymers that were and are used. But I would say if it's treated, it has a good chance of glowing. There are other treatment signs that I can go through if the UV light test doesn't make it clear. The only sure thing to do is to send them in though if you want total certainty.
 
#67
Dynasty,
You are definitely an angel. :heart: Will be praying for you and your fil.
My fil had kidney transplants in China -- twice -- many years ago. :hugs:

MollyO,
Hope your father will get better soon.
BTW, love your Ellen -- I could definitely see the lavender, and the bits of green. Very pretty.

druzy,
I think I know how you feel about bangle size that is a bit bigger. I could wear my Spring without lotion or plastic bag. Spring is beautiful, but it's not "perfect". :thinking: That's why I'm still looking... looking... looking... sigh

JKP,
Thank you for info on narrower width. I think I'm going to give it a try -- something to stack with Spring.

BnG,
How lucky that you got to get Custard and Cream!! They look so sweet and of course Tiffin's comment about 'cendol' makes me crave.
 
#71
Sorry they are so small..they don't do much to convey the sense of space, but you get a rough idea. If anyone wants better pictures I can post them. Amazingly, Home and Garden TV featured the property along with a couple of others during a special about buying/fixing up residences in Italy. I did all of the wall painting, and many of the other 'repairs' when I got there. It was filthy, hadn't been lived in in like 50 years...with wall paper falling down. It took me 7 months of non stop work.
 
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#72
clairejune said:
Sorry they are so small..they don't do much to convey the sense of space, but you get a rough idea. If anyone wants better pictures I can post them. Amazingly, Home and Garden TV featured the property along with a couple of others during a special about buying/fixing up residences in Italy. I did all of the wall painting, and much of the other 'repairs' when I got there. It was filthy, hadn't been lived in in like 50 years...with wall paper falling down. It took me 7 months of non stop work.
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Oh, wow. Totally WOW, dear talented Claire!!

The house really shows classic European style. Your artistic personal style also shows throughout the house -- from the soft seafoam green double door and lavender curtain, the Tuscany orange, the whole color palette -- traditional yet romantic!! I'm utterly in awe.

The city where it is located is like a dream. You and your family are really blessed to be able to own this amazing property.

Thank you so much for sharing with us.
 
#73
Dynasty said:
Hello my dear, I'm in Boston Massachusetts now to do some test, I'm gonna donate my kidney for my father in law so that will keep me busy ;)
Two days ago I bought one pair of bangles in Boston :smile:
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So sorry that your FIL needs it and totally admire your willingness to donate! You are a beautiful woman in and out!
 
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