The JADE thread!

How does one go about polishing jade?
I had to polish one jadeite bangle by hands with sand paper grit from 1000 through 7000 not long ago. That princess bangle had shiny finish in the inner but the outside was roughy and so flat that it did not reflect light. I could have used my dog toe grinder (basically a dremel) but I would have to figure out away to glue pieces of sand paper on the wheel OR I must buy diamond grits or some type of abrasive of various grits-thing was that these stuff would cost me a lot because well I could not buy just 1 or 2 oz of one grit...they come in pound. Meanwhile, the sand paper cost me less than $20 for the entire budget. So yeah I was too cheap. It took me 40 hours to do my bangle from 1000 through 7000 grits to put on a finish that I would say “almost” semi glossy....the look is not as glossy and glassy as the stuff we see, but the feel was satisfying. A lot like the feel of white nephrite. It would have taken much less time with dremel and yup less likely to get aching arms.
 
An opaque jadeite bangle this week. I’m fascinated by its patterns
What got me hooked from early days of collecting jadeite was this opaque type with distinguishing patterns. Somehow I like pattern on the D shape bangle even if they usually come in white/grey base with green of different intensity. With princess cut, it must have either decent translucency OR attractive/somewhat uniform in color. Princess is the best cut for highly translucent jade though because it shows the glow the best. However, my first run in with jade was a purchase of yellow/green rabbit jadeite pendant with a broken stone loop when I was 7 years old. Spotted in an antique shop with mama. It was like 1 cent in US currency but I had to beg mom because she found it crazy to spend any amount on something “broken”.
 
I love the bright green, CR!

Your bangle looks lovely and the best part is that you are happy with it, but I totally understand that you want to know that you CAN remove it if you want to. Keep trying every few days and the bangle just might surprise you and slip off when you don't expect it so I agree that always trying over the bed is a good idea just in case, though this CA heat right now can't possibly help. Vicky has got so much great advice, thanks for sharing!

Wearing my new separator. It's mahogany wood with silver banding and I like everything about it except the hollow wood sound when it hits the jade.
View attachment 4516718

Lovely!!! I love the colors of your beaded bracelet too! Btw, I’ve seen a jadeite bangle with a carving similar to yours at the jade shop I visited last month. I must get a closer look at it next time hehe
 
I had to polish one jadeite bangle by hands with sand paper grit from 1000 through 7000 not long ago. That princess bangle had shiny finish in the inner but the outside was roughy and so flat that it did not reflect light. I could have used my dog toe grinder (basically a dremel) but I would have to figure out away to glue pieces of sand paper on the wheel OR I must buy diamond grits or some type of abrasive of various grits-thing was that these stuff would cost me a lot because well I could not buy just 1 or 2 oz of one grit...they come in pound. Meanwhile, the sand paper cost me less than $20 for the entire budget. So yeah I was too cheap. It took me 40 hours to do my bangle from 1000 through 7000 grits to put on a finish that I would say “almost” semi glossy....the look is not as glossy and glassy as the stuff we see, but the feel was satisfying. A lot like the feel of white nephrite. It would have taken much less time with dremel and yup less likely to get aching arms.

Glad that your hard labour paid off! :biggrin:
 
  • Like
Reactions: jadeitebear
What got me hooked from early days of collecting jadeite was this opaque type with distinguishing patterns. Somehow I like pattern on the D shape bangle even if they usually come in white/grey base with green of different intensity. With princess cut, it must have either decent translucency OR attractive/somewhat uniform in color. Princess is the best cut for highly translucent jade though because it shows the glow the best. However, my first run in with jade was a purchase of yellow/green rabbit jadeite pendant with a broken stone loop when I was 7 years old. Spotted in an antique shop with mama. It was like 1 cent in US currency but I had to beg mom because she found it crazy to spend any amount on something “broken”.

Sounds like a great deal! Wonderful that you’ve had an eye for jade since young!
 
  • Like
Reactions: jadeitebear
Wow I can't imagine polishing my own jade or even hand knotting pearls. I am definitely impressed!!!

I love the bright green, CR!

Your bangle looks lovely and the best part is that you are happy with it, but I totally understand that you want to know that you CAN remove it if you want to. Keep trying every few days and thearing my new separator. It's mahogany wood with silver banding and I like everything about it except the hollow wood sound when it hits the jade.
View attachment 4516718
Just want to say this is a great stack! I like the shape of the beads and am intrigued by the idea of a wooden spacer.

A different view of my new bangle... I think of this as the back side, since you barely see the dark patches. Today was only the second time I wore it out! I wear my older bangle most days... gotta get a photo of the two of them together for comparison. Before I give up on it, trying to give this new one a chance by learning to appreciate it for what it is, instead of dwelling on how it's different than I expected.
IMG_20190816_144814.jpg
 
Is it your own handcraft necklace? Very cool contemporary design. I still cannot learn the knotting for pearl strands!

Thanks so much! Yes, it is my own handcraft necklace - I call it Duality as the other side has sterling silver clasps so that I can use it for both gold and silver items. I bought the clasps online from Rio Grande, the pearls from Fandapearl on Etsy and the gold ring from Tous.

Pearl knotting is easy. I received a couple of invaluable tips on how to learn and where to buy my knotting supplies from a fellow forum member on the pearl lover’s forum here on purseblog. Hence, I learned how to knot pearls from this site (very detailed step by step) https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/s...inging-Pearls-on-Beader-s-Secret-or-Power-Pro and I bought my pearl knotting starter kit from PatriciaSaabDesigns on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/560521154/beaders-secret-pearl-knotting-starter?ref=yr_purchases

I just learned last year. Very easy! I’ve knotted many pearl necklaces.

Here are more pictures of Duality
 

Attachments

  • F265C392-54FD-48B4-AFBB-4EC02A5AE88F.jpeg
    F265C392-54FD-48B4-AFBB-4EC02A5AE88F.jpeg
    158.1 KB · Views: 139
  • CCB43613-D78F-4246-A845-B4ABC09390FD.jpeg
    CCB43613-D78F-4246-A845-B4ABC09390FD.jpeg
    155.2 KB · Views: 140
  • B3C0AD2A-39F2-4E38-90D5-4F1CACE92839.jpeg
    B3C0AD2A-39F2-4E38-90D5-4F1CACE92839.jpeg
    60.1 KB · Views: 135
Wow I can't imagine polishing my own jade or even hand knotting pearls. I am definitely impressed!!!


Just want to say this is a great stack! I like the shape of the beads and am intrigued by the idea of a wooden spacer.

A different view of my new bangle... I think of this as the back side, since you barely see the dark patches. Today was only the second time I wore it out! I wear my older bangle most days... gotta get a photo of the two of them together for comparison. Before I give up on it, trying to give this new one a chance by learning to appreciate it for what it is, instead of dwelling on how it's different than I expected.
View attachment 4517889

It doesn't look big in this shot and the colour is very sweet too