Jade Bangle: Hinge?

[persimmonfan]

I inherited a jade bangle from a family member. Unfortunately, it’s too small for my hand.

I was planning to have it cut and have a jeweler attach a hinge. However, I am not sure if this is a bad idea to cut into a single piece of jade - if it would negatively impact the qualities or value of the piece. If there’s sometime more informed than me, please do let me know. I was told this was Burmese jade.

 

[persimmonfan]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mason-kay-jade-bangle—worth-the-price.253714/ Also found this old thread. I hope it's okay to tag people! @YC @lucida818 who seemed very informed - if you have any insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Timor]

From my personal understanding and experience, cutting into it would negatively impact the monetary value of the piece. Except for very rare cases, sellers would only do this if there’s an imperfection they want to get rid of/hide. If all else is the same, the price difference between uncut and cut jade/nephrite bangles is pretty significant. And it is expected to negatively impact the durability of the bangle to an extent.
However, if you want to wear the bangle yourself, cutting it doesn’t necessarily detract from the beauty and certainly not the sentimental value of it. Carvings and hinges can be done beautifully by skilled artists, and I have seen people wear hinged ones for a long time without problem, so if you are careful it should be fine