The JADE thread!

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#3,632
Junkenpo said:
So these have just about the same size inner diameter, but Cat is a 10mm thick and the new one is only 5mm thick... I'm thinking of calling her Bubba. She's sort of shrimpy, Gumps was mentioned soo... shrimp, gump... I used to hostess at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company = Bubba. lol

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Ha cute name!

I still love Cat!!
 
#3,636
annetok said:
Hetian or Khotan is a town in the Sinkiang region in china. I haven't been there but from what I've read, nephrite from the mountains tumbled down over time and some of them ended up in the rivers. Rushing water removed the impurities from the nephrite, so over time this river jade turned white. This white nephrite is really expensive especially when the quality is mutton fat-like. :) candle or wax like white jade is much cheaper.
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Thank you for he history - yes I heard mutton jade is very expensive and sought after. It's that really creamy white that. Would love to have a bangle made of that.
 
#3,639
2boys_jademommy said:
That's great NYC P I'm glad you went for it!

Hope it will fit and look as amazing in person as on the pics. Can't wait to see your mod shots:)
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Jade4Me said:
So exciting! Which one did you decide on? Can't wait to hear about it!
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Thanks guys! I decided on the $2100 which she reduced to $1950. Have been looking for a good lavender forever so decided on the one with best color.

I opted for express shipping so it should arrive Mon! Fingers crossed!
 
#3,640
I think you made the right choice and getting the one you like best is important. Your only concern right now is the size and it should be ok. Do you think this will be your very day bangle for a while or will ice princess still be the one?
 
#3,641
ms_loKAbLue13 said:
I have a question:
Do the Hetian bangles still feel nice and heavy like jadeite??? My nephrite bangles are heavy...but they don't feel as heavy as my jadeites do...
So sorry annetok---I am still learning when it comes to Hetians and nephrites...
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Yes nephrite is also very dense and heavy! When the Hetian is mined from the mountains it is often green, black or brown (iron rich) because water hasn't washed away the minerals yet. :) I'm not sure if white nephrite occurs in mountain-mined jade.
 
#3,643
Annetok, I hope to help answer your question. mountain Jade can be very white and very pricey. In re whiteness, The Jade doesn't get washed to whiteness Because it's already white. Rivers do not wash away minerals. In fact they deposit them, which is why river Jade boulders often have a bright yellow/orange skin. In general, it's easier to stain then to wash away with jades, but nephrite is much more resistant to either then jadeite is, which is why there are very few treatments for nephrite, because they cannot be done well. River Jade is prized for its texture from moisture in the stone. I think this is the key thing, that water refines a fine texture more so. River Jade was mountain jade that crumbled into the rivers. The whiteness was there, but the moisture gets enhanced, and you can get a bright yellow skin. This is why you see extremely expensive white bangles with a touch of yellow, like Luckybunny's 'Sunny', which I would guess is a beautiful example of river jade. One should beware though because in cheaper bangles, sometimes yellow spots are dyed because people associate them with river 'seed' Jade to fetch a higher price. Usually dyed nephrite can be detected when held up to the light.

Congrats on your bangles:) love the softness. Its my guess that the gift one is serpentine. You can easily do a specific gravity test to be sure.
 
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#3,644
Some thoughts on nephrite Jade knowledge for those interested in nephrite Jade:
Understanding nephrite is a lot more complex then it seems. The term 'Hetian' refers to a Jade from a specific location. It can vary from white, grey and into green, yellow, brown and sometimes a rust color (usually from rivers). Only a small percent is excellent quality, as with any gem. Many people refer to all nephrite as 'hetian' because it's the most famous name, when in fact, most comes from Korea and BC. It's a marketing strategy, like calling sparkling wine 'champagne' to make it more attractive.
In the best qualities, finely textured Hetian is most valuable, followed by siberian, and then BC, though there are high qualities from all of those locations. And, a high quality BC bangle will be more expensive then a mid/low range Siberian, and so on. It's really case by case judgement that's needed.
It's hard to tell where a nephrite comes from because BC produces a range of colors and textures, as does Siberia. Generally though, Korean nephrite is a light green with a very slight 'porridge texture which is telling.
In nephrite qualities, there is a big difference in how shiny it can become and this has to do with how tightly it crystalized by the absence of water. This is why the very hard types like those from BC and like the Edwards can carry such a high polish, when other types cannot. Even within a location like Siberia, only some will be ideally crystalized. ( though 'ideal' is subjective, since some prefer a softer shine to a hard shine. Certainly though, tougher is better because of wear.)
If there's enough water present during formation, it will turn to serpentine, which is related, but much softer.
Texture is a very important quality, with 'moisture' in the stone being held by enough body to anchor it. On eBay, we've seen white , ' hetian' bangles for $20 . They are Bowenite bangles that are too white and too translucent, so they dont embody a sense of either body or moisture.

Over thousands of years, river water can add that fine texture and moisture, although, this can very rarely also be found to varying degrees in mountain Jade.
As one can see, there are so many variations and subtleties in judging nephrites, and the most beautiful prices have many qualities working together.
The education that it takes to understand it makes it more of a specialty market in the West, which is why jadefinejewelry offers only some to their online western market, because it takes knowledge to understand it. I still have trouble understanding why some are 5k and others 100k, when they look similar in pics.
 
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#3,645
Wow thanks Claire ! You have a way of making something very complicated easier to understand :)
So many nuances in jade can make thousands of dollars difference in price.
Still there is an aspect of jade that is very personal and this is why there is a saying that you can't put a price on jade. )something like that)
 
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