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- Dec 26, 2017
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- 1,883
It's quite difficult to find higher quality jadeite in the USA. Western jewelry markets developed with emeralds supplying the demand for green, whereas Asian markets, and China in particular, have valued green jadeite for centuries. There just isn't the market here for jadeite, and any really good pieces that do show up are often shipped off to auction in the much stronger Hong Kong market. DW and I had been searching for both green and lavender jadeite for some years without success. One has to be very careful because there's lots of beautiful "jadeite" in the US, but much of it is impregnated with polymer and dyed, (Type “B” or “C”). A GIA cert stating untreated Type “A” jadeite costs less than a $100, and with it a seller can add a zero to the price. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why any particular piece doesn’t have a cert! 
One does not expect any jewelry “deals” in California seaside towns that cater to well-heeled tourists. The prices are usually commensurate with their rents! However, on a long weekend trip to La Jolla last summer DW actually did just that. One of the jewelry stores we walked past had its doors open in welcome, so we decided to pop in and take a browse around. To our surprise they had a small display of jadeite jewelry pieces, but when we started to ask our sales assistant some technical questions, she immediately called over the owner. Turns out the owner was a fellow jadeite lover, and we got along so well a long and interesting conversation ensued. After a time, he asked us to wait while he went to his safe in the back to get a green jadeite cabochon he had recently received from an estate. He had just got it back from GIA but hadn’t yet had time to work on the design of a setting. To cut a long story short, we were presented with a gorgeous 3.11ct green cabochon, DW fell in love, and we were able to make a deal all parties were happy with.
The absolute best green jadeite is known as ‘Imperial Jadeite” and usually requires at least a five figure spend. DW’s stone is not that high a quality, but it has good even color and glow, with nice translucence, or good "water" as they say in China. I learned that bit, together with all the rest of my jadeite knowledge from @ChaiK's specific gravity thread.
We have the benefit of never having actually seen an Imperial in real life, so this stone was plenty good for us, and fit our budget perfectly. 
We purchased this stone on the actual date of our 40th, so DW made out pretty good on this anniversary!
We worked with Amy at David Klass on the setting and after one or two false starts it turned out perfectly.
My ancient I-phone will only focus on the jadeite, leaving the setting out of focus. However, Amy's studio photos do exactly the opposite.
One of the things we learned from our PS jadeite experts is the shape and size of the dome is a significant part of a jadeite stone's beauty. In browsing Asian online jewelers, I noticed most settings had the cabochon elevated above the surrounding halo so the dome could be more easily viewed and appreciated. Amy was able to incorporate that feature into her design and also ensure the diamonds were prong set in exactly the right position to ensure any cab overhang didn't hide any part of the diamonds.
One does not expect any jewelry “deals” in California seaside towns that cater to well-heeled tourists. The prices are usually commensurate with their rents! However, on a long weekend trip to La Jolla last summer DW actually did just that. One of the jewelry stores we walked past had its doors open in welcome, so we decided to pop in and take a browse around. To our surprise they had a small display of jadeite jewelry pieces, but when we started to ask our sales assistant some technical questions, she immediately called over the owner. Turns out the owner was a fellow jadeite lover, and we got along so well a long and interesting conversation ensued. After a time, he asked us to wait while he went to his safe in the back to get a green jadeite cabochon he had recently received from an estate. He had just got it back from GIA but hadn’t yet had time to work on the design of a setting. To cut a long story short, we were presented with a gorgeous 3.11ct green cabochon, DW fell in love, and we were able to make a deal all parties were happy with.
The absolute best green jadeite is known as ‘Imperial Jadeite” and usually requires at least a five figure spend. DW’s stone is not that high a quality, but it has good even color and glow, with nice translucence, or good "water" as they say in China. I learned that bit, together with all the rest of my jadeite knowledge from @ChaiK's specific gravity thread.
We have the benefit of never having actually seen an Imperial in real life, so this stone was plenty good for us, and fit our budget perfectly. We purchased this stone on the actual date of our 40th, so DW made out pretty good on this anniversary!
We worked with Amy at David Klass on the setting and after one or two false starts it turned out perfectly.
My ancient I-phone will only focus on the jadeite, leaving the setting out of focus. However, Amy's studio photos do exactly the opposite.
One of the things we learned from our PS jadeite experts is the shape and size of the dome is a significant part of a jadeite stone's beauty. In browsing Asian online jewelers, I noticed most settings had the cabochon elevated above the surrounding halo so the dome could be more easily viewed and appreciated. Amy was able to incorporate that feature into her design and also ensure the diamonds were prong set in exactly the right position to ensure any cab overhang didn't hide any part of the diamonds.
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