Jade... What are it''s characteristics?

[soberguy]

While shopping at the local antique market I found a string of "jade" beads... They had a gold clasp, and were tied with string. I acid tested the clasp at 14k. They seem to be hard... very hard... and have suffered all my home-made attempts at scratching them. Under the microscope I don''t see much (but my microscope is a joke lol). A few seem to have bands of deeper green, but outside of that they are very clean and bright green. They vary in color intensity also... But only when backlit. Otherwise they are relatively uniform in color and shape. A few a slightly larger, etc. I can take it to my local jeweler who will i.d. them for about 80.00, but thought I would see what you all thought first... Don''t want to waste 80.00 if you all think they are something of no value.

 

[soberguy]

Sorry, I miss-worded that... should have said I acid tested the clasp with 14k acid and didn't get a reaction... so at least 14k...

 

[T L]

Jade can be dyed, and imitated. I do know that real jade is cold to the touch. For $80, it''s not a lot to spend if you think it''s worthwhile and the store has a good return policy.

 

[delayedreaction]

Or it could be nephrite which is "jade" but not nearly in the same price category as jadeite.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Jade can be used to refer to many different stones, Jadeite is considered the most precious form of jade (it''s the translucent, apple green gem). There are a lot of "at home" tests that I''ve seen used to ID jadeite, however it doesn''t tell you if the jadeite is dyed, compressed, glued or otherwise treated. And degree of treatment can immensely change the value. To discover treatments, you''ll have to take it to a pro.

Some very very very experienced collectors claim to be able to tell untreated jade by touch, look, and sound (glued/compressed jade sounds duller than the crisp crystal ring of untreated jadeite as the story goes). But I have my doubts about that claim.

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 5/12/2010 1:52:53 PM
Author:soberguy
While shopping at the local antique market I found a string of ''jade'' beads... They had a gold clasp, and were tied with string. I acid tested the clasp at 14k. They seem to be hard... very hard... and have suffered all my home-made attempts at scratching them. Under the microscope I don''t see much (but my microscope is a joke lol). A few seem to have bands of deeper green, but outside of that they are very clean and bright green. They vary in color intensity also... But only when backlit. Otherwise they are relatively uniform in color and shape. A few a slightly larger, etc. I can take it to my local jeweler who will i.d. them for about 80.00, but thought I would see what you all thought first... Don''t want to waste 80.00 if you all think they are something of no value.

The part where you mention that the beads have bands of deeper green would possibly indicate that a lower quality jade has been dyed(which is very common in todays market...epecially beads)or a stone is dyed to look like quality jade.do youn have pictures.Jade can be a tricky stone to identify and also to appraise because of the many factors that can come into play.

 

[Barrett]

I saw a list the other day when looking at "most expensive stones"..the best jadeite will fetch more than the best colored diamonds and rubies...or anything else for that matter

 

[soberguy]

Here is the best I could get for a close-up. I have them on 14k wire atm. I guess I should take them tomorrow and see what the gemologist says.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Mmm...based on that photo alone, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not untreated, natural jadeite. The color and color distribution doesn't resemble any fine jadeite I've seen (I've never seen so much blue in jadeite before, it seems almost teal), but I could be wrong, I'm no gemologist! Do let us know what your appraiser says

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 5/12/2010 7:07:50 PM
Author: soberguy
I guess I should take them tomorrow and see what the gemologist says.

That''s good advice you''re giving yourself. A real jadeite strand at that price is totally unrealistic. Do yourself a favor and pick up Fred Ward''s "Jade," a bargain at $20. He''s an expert jade collector himself. It''s a short but information-packed book with current technical and market information. A fine 27-bead Imperial green jadeite necklace sold at auction not long ago for $9 million. There''s a flood of polymer-impregnated and dyed goods being sold, much not even jade. Jade is a gem market where extensive specialized knowledge is required.

Richard M. (Rick Martin)

 

[soberguy]

I never mentioned the cost of it, I mentioned the cost of having it evaluated...

 

[Art Nouveau]

Soberguy:

If you really want to know if what you have is natural jadeite jade, don''t waste $80 on your local gemologist. Send the strand to GIA or Mason Kay. Only they have the instrument (Raman spectroscope) that uses infra red spectroscopy to test for the new impregnation treatments. I am not an expert, but the color of the beads in your photo looks too bluish to be jade to me.

AN

 

[ma re]

You mentioned scratch tests, well if you can''t scratch it with a steel file it''s (almost certainly) not jade. The two have the same hardness, so should scratch eachother. BTW, here''s some interesting read: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/jade.html

 

[chrono]

Date: 5/13/2010 2:17:43 AM
Author: Art Nouveau
Soberguy:

If you really want to know if what you have is natural jadeite jade, don''t waste $80 on your local gemologist. Send the strand to GIA or Mason Kay. Only they have the instrument (Raman spectroscope) that uses infra red spectroscopy to test for the new impregnation treatments. I am not an expert, but the color of the beads in your photo looks too bluish to be jade to me.

AN

I second that recommendation; the colour doesn’t look like jadeite to me plus most gemologists are unable to test for a variety of jade treatment without the proper equipment.

 

[soberguy]

It''s so funny how you can learn so much about something you had no clue about one day before lol! I had no idea jade was so valuable. I thought it was very common. I have decided to get them tested. I don''t know what they are, but they are cold to the touch, appear to be very hard, and don''t seem to be glass LOL! thanks for you help! I have learned a LOT about jade now lol!

 

[Zzz]

it''s a nice color! i''m curious to know what stone it is...
think i''ve seen chrysoprase in a similar teal-ish color but it''s not so translucent

 

[soberguy]

Following above advice, I contacted Mason-Kay. They told me to go to a local jeweler here in town that they know. I did so, and they were stumped LOL! So, they are on there way to Mason Kay for testing lol! Who knew a little string of beads could open up a whole new gem world! Kind of fun!

 

[Cehrabehra]

jade IS very common - it''s that elite jadite they''re talking about that''s so expensive.

I live in china right now and they have jade bursting at the seams here - I have no idea the quality and quality control here is really poor. I think to some extent you buy what you enjoy for a price you''re willing to pay. That''s ultimately what is all about for most of us, isn''t it? I wouldn''t buy the highest quality jade for my mother in law - she absolutely wouldn''t appreciate it and would probably think it was crappy quality because it doesn''t look like any jade she''s ever seen. She would be much happier with a costumey piece that has a traditional average look and a very reasonable price.

I do have a friend here whose mother wants some high quality jade (her words) but she nor her daughter know anything about it... I mentioned I''d see what I could find, but I think this is a really big wormhole!!