I have three jadeite bangles, one that I recently purchased the other week. And I never really thought before to look up more about the practice of jadeite mining, until now. I stumbled upon this interesting, short documentary about where and how the jadeite from Myanmar is mined: - so I wondered how others on this thread feel about our love for jadeite and how it’s sourced.
The Reputable jade Sellers list
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That's a very good question... and I am conflicted, often, to be honest. This post will probably be deleted, as it is off-topic, but there are many serious problems re: the conditions in Burma/Myanmar to consider.
I’d hope that if the jade is sourced from Myanmar, that the items are also made there...in hopes that local crafts people can also benefit.
Some cutting/carving is done in Kachin State, Mandalay, yes. Some is done in China, and some is done wherever a skilled cutter who has purchased or has access to a jade rough resides.
Since this is a topic that is not connected to reputable sellers, and will be considered by the moderators as "off-topic", I recommend that anyone/everyone interested in the jadeite mining and carving industry hit Google and YouTube. There is plenty of info there. Primarily, there are two kinds of miners: those who work for companies that are largely Chinese owned, and independent miners who work for themselves, or for local businessmen.
If a stranger walked up to me on the street and asked me if Myanmar (still known to the US and the UK as Burma, and known as Miandian to the Chinese) is the country that profits most from the jadeite industry, my answer would be "No".
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Good eye, jadegirl! Sad to hear this tends to happen with some sellers, even those considered reputable for the quality of the jade. I am more cautious now to place things in my "favourites" list.Re: jadeitebear's discovery on JadeiteRoom store - Nice work, Bear! Hate to say it, but I once spotted something a bit similar with ultj. I bought a lovely and unusual bangle early last winter from them. I love it, and wrote a nice review about it. Before purchasing, I noticed that the bangle's sisters were in the same price range. A couple of weeks after my purchase, I noticed that the sister bangles had all been upped by $200 apiece, albeit they were not quite as remarkable in appearance as the one I had purchased. Could my purchase have brought the owner to a realization that these sisters had all been listed for a long time, and were overdue for a price increase? Maybe not, as the bangle I had chosen only had three (3) "favourites", and I was one of those three individuals, even though the bangle had 100% very fine crystals, no chips, no stone lines, and was listed as having "no flaws". And it doesn't have any flaws. It is technically perfect in that regard. I still hold ultj in good regard, but I did notice this. Ruby (formerly rubyinparadise).
PS: Still quite happy I purchased mine for $200 less, regardless of why this happened.
Hey has anyone bought from chenhantaobao97 from ebay? They’ve been active since 2011 and I’m alittle suspicious regarding their water/icy variants for their price despite their store info saying they source it directly from the mine.
Additionally some of their jadeites don’t seem to have their iconic microcrystalline structure when shone under light (which I know some have very fine grain so this is a possibility but the price is really suspect) even though the seller provided the certificate for it.
Additionally some of their jadeites don’t seem to have their iconic microcrystalline structure when shone under light (which I know some have very fine grain so this is a possibility but the price is really suspect) even though the seller provided the certificate for it.
Happy new year ! I've been following this thread forever ! Always come here first before buying any jade items.
I've recently found a bangle from Maithongjewelry (Benjamart, the owner) on etsy ! I know this shop has been brought up before where people had experience with non grade A jade items.
The bangle i'm interested in has a certificate option as well,but usually cost 30$ more to get it. I don't need the certificate at all and wonder if anyone has purchased an item there with a certificate but ended up getting "fake jade" ? THANK YOU !
I've recently found a bangle from Maithongjewelry (Benjamart, the owner) on etsy ! I know this shop has been brought up before where people had experience with non grade A jade items.
The bangle i'm interested in has a certificate option as well,but usually cost 30$ more to get it. I don't need the certificate at all and wonder if anyone has purchased an item there with a certificate but ended up getting "fake jade" ? THANK YOU !
Yes actually. I know a user who only had one post and it was a bangle with a cert saying it was grade A, but turned out to be B+C when sent to GIA for testing. Believe it was Maithong or someone else..
So all in all if you’re really better off going with some sellers listed as reputable, or sellers whom you trust will sell you untreated jade. If you want my personal opinion I’d say Gojade (also their sister shop antijade), chenhantaobao97 (be careful with their images as they make their jades in photos look vibrant than they are in reality), preciousjadeite (she have her own facebook, and wechat account where she broadcasts the jade market she roams around and you can ask her to buy some jades for you and do bespoke options I believe), chineseoldshop (seller has very poor english so miscommunication and reminder to ship your jades is more than likely to happen, they also sell some rather risque products too so proceed with caution maybe
), matsalice (a member here and a jade lover who sells a good variety of jades), Ultimate Jadeite, All About Jade, AAAJadeShop, and Yokdee Jadeite.The last four sellers always have certificates ready and you can always ask for an additional one if you want to just be sure, and they have some eye-candy pieces with some not so candy-like prices that are for either investment purposes, or to showcase it if you ever do wish to splurge on such luxurious looking jades!
My own personal experience with Benjamart Maithong was very negative. She has little or no respect for her customers. I would avoid her, as there are many seriously nice and authentic sellers available.
Thank you so much for the info ! I usually buy from Ultimatejadeite, but I do find their prices a little high. I've always wondered about Gojade/antijade and Unijade, the prices make me a little doubtful though. Gojade sells bangles for dirt cheap when they're in an auction and Unijade sells some bangles that can cost as low as 40$..... Am I the only one? haha
and Jadegirl ! I would love to know more about your experience, I'm really hooked on this one bangle she has and I can seem to find anything sort of similar and also within my 200$ budget.
I think i've read on this forum that you can ask Ultimatejadeite to find bangles that can fit within a person's price range? if so, please let me know !
and Jadegirl ! I would love to know more about your experience, I'm really hooked on this one bangle she has and I can seem to find anything sort of similar and also within my 200$ budget.
I think i've read on this forum that you can ask Ultimatejadeite to find bangles that can fit within a person's price range? if so, please let me know !
You know, I thought so too regarding gojade and their sister shops, but personally I can see why as they seem to be more of “commercial” quality (as in some have features that people wouldn’t really like in a jade such as lack of color, has no lustre, flaw lines), although I have seen gojade have items that are really up there as well (their most expensive is at $12k USD for an icy Guanyin) I’ve personally had great experiences with gojade since their jades has come in as said in pictures and descriptions. Although if you aren’t a fan of UV fluorescence on crevices on the jade (due to wax seeping in some cracks and pits) then I would avoid gojade.
As for Ultimate Jadeite, I think they’re more fair in haggling (just don’t lowball obviously lol) and I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have bangles in your preference and size! Jade sellers usually have more than what they usually put up for show and sale. (Especially Brick and Mortar stores)
JADESEIKO, do you mean my experience with Benjamart Maithong? One year ago she took forever to ship, and when the package finally arrived, the drawstring bag inside WAS EMPTY. Seriously. She forgot to put the jade band I had purchased in the bag before shipping, and it took 3 weeks to arrive. I wrote to her, and she said that was not possible, and that couldn't have happened. Awhile later she wrote again, and she said "Yes, I can now confirm that you don't have the ring, as I just found it." That was really rich, lol! I have been on Etsy for 12 years, and she questioned my honesty. Who would lie about something like that? I asked for a refund, as I took this as an omen that I had just dodged a bullet, and got my money back. I later learned that she frequently sells polymer impregnated items.
Ultimate Jadeite, no problems, and songsong0104 / mats_alice on eBay is my favourite seller, and I also like her personally (very much), so I have purchased many items from her. She's honest, and no treated jadeite from her, ever. My only trouble is deciding what to wear each day, or each week, as I can only wear one at a time.
For $200 dollars, you can get a really good (and icy!) bangle from her. She recently had a gorgeous and translucent apple green bangle for $450 dollars, but unfortunately it was/is 60mm inner diameter, and I am 56mm to 58mm maximum.Re: Etsy Seller VIERNNA: Purchased a sweet thin "jade" band from her at Christmastime. Pretty band, but it is AGATE, not jadeite. Just an FYI.
Helloing to all!
Helloing to all!
Hello! Has anyone bought from Jadeiteroom on Etsy? And if so, how has the quality of your item been? In the fall, I bought a cheaper bangle from them. Seems totally fine for what I paid. There was/is a more expensive one that I was eyeing.. it was $1000 then it jumped to $1500. In the description, it had a "keyword" that said vintage. When I asked if it was indeed vintage, she said it's new. That the only reason for labelling it as vintage was to increase the possibility of it coming up in search results. Eventually it got sold....
But today, I noticed that the exact same item is back in the listing for sale. Same photos, it has the same item number, (but it no longer says it's vintage). Maybe the person who bought it returned it? Although on the Jadeiteroom Etsy site, it says no returns or exchanges..
Just wondering about the legitimacy of the items/shop if any of you have had further experience. Thanks!
But today, I noticed that the exact same item is back in the listing for sale. Same photos, it has the same item number, (but it no longer says it's vintage). Maybe the person who bought it returned it? Although on the Jadeiteroom Etsy site, it says no returns or exchanges..
Just wondering about the legitimacy of the items/shop if any of you have had further experience. Thanks!
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I have bought 3 bangles and a pendant from JadeiteRoom on Etsy. The most expensive item I've bought so far is a US$400 jadeite bangle before a 10% discount. All my bangles have come with a certificate. I have not taken them for testing because they seem ok to me.
Some other users of this forum noticed that some of their favourite items increased in price and when asked, Ling replied that sourcing is now more expensive - you can look for those posts a few pages back or so - it wasn't too long ago that it was posted. As a result, now when I like an item, I don't favourite it any more. I just view it again from my Recently Viewed items on Etsy