It’s here! Platinum and Jadeite earrings!

[Seastheday]

Hi all, updating folks on the pair of jadeite earrings I won recently at auction:

First, for anyone interested in a recap, here is the auction detail:






Here are some of my photos:

1. This shows the jade color closest to what my eyes see. Curious re what folks would call this shade of jadeite? Looking at posts by @Crimson and @icy_jade I would guess Apple Jade? I’m a complete noob to all this btw. This is the first (hopefully real!) jade piece I’ve purchased, so apologies for my ignorance in advance!



2. This is one of the earrings backlit. I…have no idea what I’m doing here lol. I see some texture. Any clues here or obvious signs of dye? They seem so well matched in my opinion in color that I’m assuming for the low price I paid they are prob not grade A jadeite?



3. For fun, I ordered this weekend a long wave uv light after reading posts on uv and jade by @mellowyellowgirl and @voce. While some of the diamonds lit up, the jade looks inert to me? (I think that’s a good thing? I was reading that polymers/resin/wax treatments light up. But I think some dyes do not light up, so obviously not a fail proof method):







4. This piece is described as art deco era. I took some photos of the diamonds in the setting. They look like single cuts to me, which per Google were common in art deco pieces? Although, to be honest the floral-esque design looks more Edwardian to my eyes but then again I know very little. Curious what folks think regarding age of this piece. The gold ear wires and screw backs look to be a later addition, soldered on from the looks of it.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Oh how interesting! I didn't realize they were unpierced/screwbacks. What a clever mechanism. Are they comfy? In any event, the stones looks even nicer in your photos. I am no jade connoisseur (unfortunately), but they look gorgeous to me! I'm sure our resident aficionados will have lots to say. Congrats!!

 

[Seastheday]

Thanks everyone!

@Autumn in New England they are surprisingly comfy! I’m on the fence on whether or not to convert them to posts, although my OCDness objects to the slight gold wire visible on the top of the ear.

I included a better photo of the setting below (I think it would be easy for a jeweler to take off the soldered on bit of yellow gold to the back of the platinum setting, and install a platinum post? Or is that pretty labor intensive based on the type of original solder used? Any ideas re ballpark price for a job like that?)

 

[Seastheday]

Here are some better photos of the color for everyone, in daylight today. The photos last night were under crummy indoor evening light.

This is in indoor daylight. I can see now there’s a slight mismatch in color (one is darker), although I think I’m ok with that.



This is in direct sunlight indoors:

 

[Seastheday]

I really like them! I do have 21 days to return them if necessary in the event they are not jade, but the listing does not guarantee grade of jade. I think I would only return if they are not Jadeite jade (meaning glass or synthetic or another type of mineral like chrysoprase), since the auction listing listed them as Jade.

1. For the experts: Does this look like real jadeite? Or would I need to send to lab to verify this?

2. If this is real jadeite, I have no idea what grade of jade this is. I’d be thrilled if it’s type A but I think that may be a pipe dream at only $2000? Is $2000 still a fair price if this was type b or c or d jade? Do the pictures above provide any clues to grade to be “kinda sure” (I’m not looking for 100% certainty which I think only elaborate testing by a lab would confirm/refute? I think at this price point prob not worth sending to lab?)

3. How would folks grade the color, translucency, color matching?

Overall I love the look and will likely keep. just nerding out a bit with the gemology aspect and hoping to learn more about jade from fellow jade lovers—looking forward to folks chiming in!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Oh yeah, they can easily be converted. I'd say maybe $150? I can't speak to the quality or any possible treatments, but they definitely look like genuine jadeite to me.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

I'm glad you can wear these. I'm old enough to remember this type of earring, first on they're fine, in an hour it's a toothache outside your mouth.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

OMG they are absolutely gorgeous!!!!!

So so so lovely!!!! I definitely can’t make a call as to whether they are A grade. Is it really important for you to know?

At this price point it’s extremely hard to call however if you don’t intend to resell and go through the drama of sending to a lab, you can sensibly deduce that they are likely to be A grade because they are set in platinum.

 

[Seastheday]

OMG they are absolutely gorgeous!!!!!

So so so lovely!!!! I definitely can’t make a call as to whether they are A grade. Is it really important for you to know?

At this price point it’s extremely hard to call however if you don’t intend to resell and go through the drama of sending to a lab, you can sensibly deduce that they are likely to be A grade because they are set in platinum.

Thanks very much!

I think for me, as long as it looks like jadeite, I’ll keep it as I like the color and design. The grading is just a curiosity for me.

It feels to me that this must have been loved by its prior owner, given the care the prior owner took to alter the settings in a way to prevent loss of earring with the ear wire extension. This may not have direct bearing on monetary value however. Case in point: My favorite pair of earrings are a “cheap” pair of crystal earrings. They are worth only a few hundred dollars but I love them since I wore them on my first trip to Paris so I suppose I associate them with my (lost) youth aka high sentimental value.

 

[Seastheday]

@Crimson you are prob super busy and I feel bad for tagging you. This is no rush at all, but as a student of your jade teaching, I’ve pored over your helpful posts and thought maybe I take a stab at grading this Jade piece, and would love feedback!

In terms of color, I circled two colors in red on your helpful color chart. I did my best but feel sort of stupid that I can’t decide which color this one is (in indoor indirect light it looks like the lower/darker one, in more dim indoor light it looks like the top/lighter one). I’m leaning towards the top/lighter one. I did some reading on my own so maybe leaning towards pea green? Not sure which one that is on your chart or that’s either of the two I circled. I was reading somewhere online that the color of jade should be determined in indoor indirect light? Anyway, apologies I don’t know Chinese so have no idea what color this would be translate to English from the chart but would love to know what color you think my earrings are (so I can ask vendors for possibly a matching necklace in this same color):



Regarding intensity/vibrancy of color, I think this is medium “Nong” and “xian yang”? See circled in chart below:



Regarding “cun”, I would say there’s definitely unevenness of color esp in one of the two drops. So low grade“cun”? I see eye visible lighter and darker patches, and faint cotton, and under magnification I see some faint brown.

Regarding “Di”-would this be grade 4? One can see threads with the naked eye.

Lastly, regarding water, I would say this is middle? It looks like cloudy spinach jelly (does that make it sticky rice? Again so sorry I can’t read the characters on the chart below, I circled the one I think maybe closest approximates what I see with my earrings (what type of pudding/porridge consistency would this be if translated?):

 

[Seastheday]

Oops, I forgot that @MMtwo helpfully translated the color chart. So I guess my earrings would be pea green?

 

[Seastheday]

I will end by saying I have NO clue what the value of the jade alone in this piece would be even if assuming grade A, based on all the above color/texture/intensity. Anyone more knowledgeable care to take a stab re price for type A jade that looks like those in the earrings above?

(I did simple math—I thought $2k seemed ok to me for some platinum setting with colored stone drops lol)

 

[LilAlex]

Look much prettier than the photos, imo. Really lovely. Congratulations and enjoy!

 

[Seastheday]

Look much prettier than the photos, imo. Really lovely. Congratulations and enjoy!

Thanks! Very appreciative of your “male gaze” and humor! (And def glad in hindsight I was talked out of getting those Ted Muehling emerald microbial earrings!)

 

[MMtwo]

I will end by saying I have NO clue what the value of the jade alone in this piece would be even if assuming grade A, based on all the above color/texture/intensity. Anyone more knowledgeable care to take a stab re price for type A jade that looks like those in the earrings above?

(I did simple math—I thought $2k seemed ok to me for some platinum setting with colored stone drops lol)

I think the price seems in line. At this age, I would also lean into untreated jadeite. They are very pretty on! Congratulations! I have bought jadeite before then absolutely had to know! If you have a sensitive scale at home, you could try a test at home to find the specific gravity. This would help sort the polymer treatment, but less so for any dye.

I recently bought two pair of jadeite earrings from the "Jade Diver" Allen Spehar. He add this note to the earrings. I will share here in part:

"I want to mention that there are a lot of things called "Jade" that are not. Even though I can tell by looking at a material or how it works with my tools if it is Jade or not, I do what is called a Specific Gravity test to make sure. It is an easy test that anyone can do if you have something in question. This is not full proof but in combination of observing a fiber/grain structure eliminates some materials like basalt that have a similar specific gravity but lack any fiber.

Basically, weight the item on an accurate scale, then weight the item submerged in water after zeroing the scale and divide the weight in air(dry) by the weight in water(wet) and compare to a Specific Gravity scale of known minerals. I have one below with some.

Example: To weight a small item wet, hang the item by a string (dental floss works well) in water without touching the sides or bottom of the container. The container can be a plastic cup. Put the cup with enough water to submerge the item on a scale and zero the weight. When hanging "suspended" in the water, take the "wet" weight.

If you can zero your scale the Specific Gravity = Weight in air/Weight in water(wet after zeroed scale) or
Specific Gravity = Weight in air(dry)/Weight in air(dry)-weight in water(wet)

Specific gravity weights of Jades(Jadeite & Nephrite) and similar materials:
Jadeite: 3.3 to 3.5
Nephrite: 2.87 to 3.02
Serpentine: 2.3 to 2.67
Quartz: 2.59 to 2.65
Jasper: 2.58 to 2.91"

Myself, I would send those earrings to Mason Kay in a heartbeat for testing. Jeff Mason usually tests and will email and let you know the results, then ask if you want a certificate or not (or just email results). For $70 plus shipping you can know if they are A jade. I have started testing and getting certificates for my jadeite because if I ever wanted to sell it, without and with a certificate are two very different items for sale.

 

[Crimson]

Hi all, updating folks on the pair of jadeite earrings I won recently at auction:

First, for anyone interested in a recap, here is the auction detail:






Here are some of my photos:

1. This shows the jade color closest to what my eyes see. Curious re what folks would call this shade of jadeite? Looking at posts by @Crimson and @icy_jade I would guess Apple Jade? I’m a complete noob to all this btw. This is the first (hopefully real!) jade piece I’ve purchased, so apologies for my ignorance in

Hooray! Thanks for sharing, @Seastheday. The earrings look lovely on you. The drops are pretty.

This is one of the earrings backlit. I…have no idea what I’m doing here lol. I see some texture. Any clues here or obvious signs of dye? They seem so well matched in my opinion in color that I’m assuming for the low price I paid they are prob not grade A jadeite?

How did the seller ascertain that it was jadeite?
Assuming it is jadeite, there is something curious. The material doesn’t look highly translucent, and yet the light seems to pass through quite easily. With jadeite that is 7-8 mm across, light passes through only when the texture is highly icy or glassy, or when the jadeite has been bleached/treated, weakening the “di” (foundation) .

You are observant! The photos and your “spinach jelly” description are both informative. I hesitate to make a judgement just by looking at photos, but I would like to ask
if you think that your photos above resemble the ones I have pasted below (please ignore the diagonal line in the second photo).

 

[Crimson]

@Crimson you are prob super busy and I feel bad for tagging you. This is no rush at all, but as a student of your jade teaching, I’ve pored over your helpful posts and thought maybe I take a stab at grading this Jade piece, and would love feedback!

In terms of color, I circled two colors in red on your helpful color chart. I did my best but feel sort of stupid that I can’t decide which color this one is (in indoor indirect light it looks like the lower/darker one, in more dim indoor light it looks like the top/lighter one). I’m leaning towards the top/lighter one. I did some reading on my own so maybe leaning towards pea green? Not sure which one that is on your chart or that’s either of the two I circled. I was reading somewhere online that the color of jade should be determined in indoor indirect light? Anyway, apologies I don’t know Chinese so have no idea what color this would be translate to English from the chart but would love to know what color you think my earrings are (so I can ask vendors for possibly a matching necklace in this same color):



Regarding intensity/vibrancy of color, I think this is medium “Nong” and “xian yang”? See circled in chart below:



Regarding “cun”, I would say there’s definitely unevenness of color esp in one of the two drops. So low grade“cun”? I see eye visible lighter and darker patches, and faint cotton, and under magnification I see some faint brown.

Regarding “Di”-would this be grade 4? One can see threads with the naked eye.

Lastly, regarding water, I would say this is middle? It looks like cloudy spinach jelly (does that make it sticky rice? Again so sorry I can’t read the characters on the chart below, I circled the one I think maybe closest approximates what I see with my earrings (what type of pudding/porridge consistency would this be if translated?):

Wow, thank you for going through the jadeite thread so thoroughly and for applying the info! You have presented an intriguing case;
Re: homogeneity or “cun” - you are right, it is not high because of the yellowish and brown parts.
Re: color, there is quite a bit of variation in different lighting conditions, but based on your first side profile photo, it looks like bean green. Spicy green is intense and quite assertive.
The texture is not glutinous. I’ll wait for your answer to my previous post

 

[dk168]

They look nicer IRL, great find!

DK

 

[Seastheday]

@MMtwo

Thanks very much for the great tips!

I think i probably can’t do specific gravity at home because the jade drops are attached to a setting? I assume it will need to be a loose stone to displace water?

On the other hand I didn’t know Mason Kay did Jade testing for non-trade folks, so great to know! I will consider sending to them since their fee ($70-includes two stones) is much less than GIA ($85 plus $70 for second stone). Have you had good experiences with sending to Mason Kay yourself? I love your fox pendant and matching earrings btw!

 

[Seastheday]

@Crimson

I’m so honored that you took the time to stop by. Your guides are incredibly helpful and I’ve definitely pored over them with great enthusiasm!

Yes, I see similar colored veins in my earrings. The veins are darker colored than the surrounding, and the veins are either a darker green or a darker brown tint. I’m assuming this means dye? And dye only without wax/polymer would not fluoresce?

Wondering why they would do brown dye for some of the colored veins (since brown is not a particularly attractive color IMHO)? Also, there is a slight mismatch in the green tint from one earring to the next. One would think if they were going to do a dye job, at least they could match them better haha. Although, I suppose the color of the dye could have degraded or changed over time and this could explain the mismatch (and the brownish tinge to some of the lines?)

Assuming the jade pieces are original to the setting, is it possible that they did dye only around the 1920s? (Ie no modern polymer/resin?). Would you need to bleach before dying?

But it is possible, of course that these drops were a later replacement too. One never knows with antique pieces which parts are original, and which parts are replacement.

My rambling bottom line thoughts:

1. I think if it is obvious this has been treated, I probably will just save my money and not send to Mason Kay, and enjoy them for what they are. I assumed they are treated since the auction house (Dupuis) is pretty big/professional, and I would think if they thought this was grade a Jade they would list this information to try to get a higher price. This listing made no reference to grade.
2. But if on the fence about possibly grade a jadeite (one can dream!), then I may bite the bullet and send it off to the lab just for purely academic interest combined with wild hopes haha.
3. Or if possible that these are not Jade, definitely let me know—then I should definitely send to the lab to make sure, since I would want to return them if they are not jade.

Can’t wait to hear back from you and learn more!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Wow, thank you for going through the jadeite thread so thoroughly and for applying the info!

I was going to say the same thing... I feel like your jade thread has become indispensable to both new and seasoned collectors!

 

[MMtwo]

@MMtwo

Thanks very much for the great tips!

I think i probably can’t do specific gravity at home because the jade drops are attached to a setting? I assume it will need to be a loose stone to displace water?

On the other hand I didn’t know Mason Kay did Jade testing for non-trade folks, so great to know! I will consider sending to them since their fee ($70-includes two stones) is much less than GIA ($85 plus $70 for second stone). Have you had good experiences with sending to Mason Kay yourself? I love your fox pendant and matching earrings btw!

Thanks so much! You might be able to get away with it weighing only the drop portion holding the metal) and submerging only the drop portion. Mason Kay has been great. Mason Kay has my fox right now. It just tested as A jadeite. All of my Kathy Jade tested A jade. I decided to get certificates for that and my icy bead strand. It is so much better if jade needs to be sold. They will also give an estimated value for an additional fee. This could be handy for insurance.

One other tidbit, I sent my lavender beads to them. Mason Kay is the only tester that will add their certs on lavender jade color authentication. GIA does not.

My emails have been directly with Mr. Mason, and they have been very nice to deal with.

 

[Seastheday]

Thanks so much! You might be able to get away with it weighing only the drop portion holding the metal) and submerging only the drop portion. Mason Kay has been great. Mason Kay has my fox right now. It just tested as A jadeite. All of my Kathy Jade tested A jade. I decided to get certificates for that and my icy bead strand. It is so much better if jade needs to be sold. They will also give an estimated value for an additional fee. This could be handy for insurance.

One other tidbit, I sent my lavender beads to them. Mason Kay is the only tester that will add their certs on lavender jade color authentication. GIA does not.

My emails have been directly with Mr. Mason, and they have been very nice to deal with.

Good to know, thank you! And hooray for the little fox getting grade A!

 

[Seastheday]

Found a pair of drops that sold at another auction that came with a GIA certificate stating grade A. Here are some vendor photos (they sold for $9000 which to me feels low given how nice they look, no?):



While I can see some very faint inclusions, it looks…very different from mine where the inclusions are more plentiful and the background color a bit more patchy?

So…I think mine are probably dyed? I will await more experienced eyes!

Really enjoying this learning process!

 

[Crimson]

@Crimson

I’m so honored that you took the time to stop by. Your guides are incredibly helpful and I’ve definitely pored over them with great enthusiasm!

Yes, I see similar colored veins in my earrings. The veins are darker colored than the surrounding, and the veins are either a darker green or a darker brown tint. I’m assuming this means dye? And dye only without wax/polymer would not fluoresce?

Wondering why they would do brown dye for some of the colored veins (since brown is not a particularly attractive color IMHO)? Also, there is a slight mismatch in the green tint from one earring to the next. One would think if they were going to do a dye job, at least they could match them better haha. Although, I suppose the color of the dye could have degraded or changed over time and this could explain the mismatch (and the brownish tinge to some of the lines?)

Assuming the jade pieces are original to the setting, is it possible that they did dye only around the 1920s? (Ie no modern polymer/resin?). Would you need to bleach before dying?

But it is possible, of course that these drops were a later replacement too. One never knows with antique pieces which parts are original, and which parts are replacement.

My rambling bottom line thoughts:

1. I think if it is obvious this has been treated, I probably will just save my money and not send to Mason Kay, and enjoy them for what they are. I assumed they are treated since the auction house (Dupuis) is pretty big/professional, and I would think if they thought this was grade a Jade they would list this information to try to get a higher price. This listing made no reference to grade.
2. But if on the fence about possibly grade a jadeite (one can dream!), then I may bite the bullet and send it off to the lab just for purely academic interest combined with wild hopes haha.
3. Or if possible that these are not Jade, definitely let me know—then I should definitely send to the lab to make sure, since I would want to return them if they are not jade.

Can’t wait to hear back from you and learn more!

Squeezing in a reply before leaving for a work event. If you can see the network of green veins, then, yes, the drops are dyed. The yellow-brown patches probably could not be bleached out or coloured over. Often, they are iron. The pictures that I shared with you were from NGTC, China’s National Gemological lab.
This sort of dyeing is most commonly done on jadeite. So my guess is you have B+C jadeite. For 2K, with diamonds and platinum., it’s not too bad

 

[Seastheday]

Squeezing in a reply before leaving for a work event. If you can see the network of green veins, then, yes, the drops are dyed. The yellow-brown patches probably could not be bleached out or coloured over. Often, they are iron. The pictures that I shared with you were from NGTC, China’s National Gemological lab.
This sort of dyeing is most commonly done on jadeite. So my guess is you have B+C jadeite. For 2K, with diamonds and platinum., it’s not too bad

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to teach—this has been an amazing learning experience for me!

Few more questions if I may (no rush at all!)

1. Since we think this is B+C jadeite, meaning bleached, polymer impregnated, and dyed, does this mean the jadeite drops are either not original to the presumed 1920s older setting, or, maybe this is just altogether an antique reproduction piece aka both setting and drops date back to the 1980s? Because the practice of B+C Jade dates back only to the 1980s?

2. Do some polymers and/or dye not show up under uv long wave? This piece was uv long wave inert: would this at all imply that this could maybe be type c jadeite only aka dye only? Meaning, it was not bleached first (hence the brown residues) prior to the dye? Can dye penetrate well enough to give a pleasing look without the use of bleach to create fissures in the first place?

3. Can dyed quartzite or serpentine look like this too?

4. I’m looking forward to wearing the heck out of these earrings! But, if the the long run I slowly save up for a similar pair of antique platinum/diamond earrings but with grade A jadeite, what’s the going rate for those these days and are they rare/hard to find? Meaning, how much should I put away in my bling piggy bank and should I expect to wait a long time to find them?

5. Will the dye color fade/change over time?

 

[Crimson]

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to teach—this has been an amazing learning experience for me!

Few more questions if I may (no rush at all!)

1. Since we think this is B+C jadeite, meaning bleached, polymer impregnated, and dyed, does this mean the jadeite drops are either not original to the presumed 1920s older setting, or, maybe this is just altogether an antique reproduction piece aka both setting and drops date back to the 1980s? Because the practice of B+C Jade dates back only to the 1980s?

I don’t know - maybe? Or maybe the drops were replaced? Or maybe it is only C. I can’t really tell but maybe it is just bleach + dye. May be good, as @MMtwo suggested, to get them tested.

2. Do some polymers and/or dye not show up under uv long wave? This piece was uv long wave inert: would this at all imply that this could maybe be type c jadeite only aka dye only? Meaning, it was not bleached first (hence the brown residues) prior to the dye? Can dye penetrate well enough to give a pleasing look without the use of bleach to create fissures in the first place?

The standard test for polymer is done using a spectrometer.

3. Can dyed quartzite or serpentine look like this too?

The structure looks different. Quartzite can look quite fine and even. Not sure about serpentine.

4. I’m looking forward to wearing the heck out of these earrings! But, if the the long run I slowly save up for a similar pair of antique platinum/diamond earrings but with grade A jadeite, what’s the going rate for those these days and are they rare/hard to find? Meaning, how much should I put away in my bling piggy bank and should I expect to wait a long time to find them?

I don’t know much about antique items and their costs. I seldom see such teardrop beads on earrings . There are lots of round ones. A nice, translucent round bead could cost 8-10K. This pendant with a 10mm bead is one such example.

5. Will the dye color fade/change over time?

Yes, it might. However, as these are earrings, they will probably not be washed or exposed to soap as often as rings or bracelets.

 

[Seastheday]

@Crimson thank you for all your time and teaching!

 

[Seastheday]

In case this helps others learn, I’m posting photos of what these drops look like under the microscope:


I’m assuming what I’m seeing are dye lines? Again, these drops did not light up at under UV.

Should I assume these are dyed only? Or should I out of curiosity send to Mason Kay for a report? Or maybe for $2000 purchase price, prob not worth the time/cost for a report if likely they are already dyed?

I’m happy with how they look on me so really not a huge deal to me either way. Just fun to learn!

 

[Seastheday]

@Crimson how to tell the difference between a natural jade color root vs dyed lines?

Would love photo examples if you have any!