I purchased a Jade ans silver bracelet online thinking it was junk. when it arrived i relised this was not the case. have taken it to 2 jewlers and a pawn shop they all say its not junk but know nothing about it.
Can you tell us what tests were done to the bracelet to prove that it was jade? Did the jewellers test it or just tell you it wasn't "junk"?
It looks nice enough so in that respect it isn't junk but it would be awfully wasteful to have a piece of jade large enough to carve that from and as nice a green as that is and just carve all the middle material away. Unless it is made of several pieces I'd assume it wasn't jadeite jade until I had some gemmological tests done on it.
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:19 pm Posts: 590 Location: Las Vegas, NV
There is plenty of stuff it could be. Chrysoprase and glass come to mind. Did the jeweler specify whether it was nephrite or jadeite? You should find out what tests they did to conclude it being jade.
Frank, forgive me if you already know this, but I was a woodworker by trade and I cut stones and I can tell that not all times where something is hollowed out it's wasteful. If the core is removed properly, it can be used for further fashioning if the quality was nice enough. I turn wood bangles and cut the core out and set it aside to use it for something else. I've cut hollow rings from stone and most times the reason I hollow them is because there is a spot of crummy, worthless material surrounded by a 'ring' of nice material.
Looks to me as though it's a silver/white metal flat bangle, to which four curved smoothed and polished pieces of green material (Jade or?) have been affixed with the joins covered by white metal hoops.
Would that be right, kjkuehn?
The photo suggests also that the white metal ornamentation facing the camera is a small casting and maybe not too carefully hand-finished. If you can see small cast overflows and other small uncorrected details, this will give you some idea of what the maker thought of worth of the piece.
Sadly, looking at the picture can't help much more but, there are tests that can be done that will tell with certainty whether or not the green material is Jade, if you want to take the trouble to have them done. Even if the tests are positive, not all Jade is very valuable and there you'd be looking for further advice from someone expert in jade.
The white metal too can be tested for its composition. Any descriptive marks on it?
Frank, forgive me if you already know this, but I was a woodworker by trade and I cut stones and I can tell that not all times where something is hollowed out it's wasteful. If the core is removed properly, it can be used for further fashioning if the quality was nice enough. I turn wood bangles and cut the core out and set it aside to use it for something else. I've cut hollow rings from stone and most times the reason I hollow them is because there is a spot of crummy, worthless material surrounded by a 'ring' of nice material.
I can understand that this is true however large pieces of fine jade are seriously valuble. I also suspect it is made of four seperate pieces but even then the pieces are large enough and nice enough to be pretty damn expensive if they are. Of course it might be B-jade or even B+C-Jade (This would involve bleaching out dark stains, polymer impregnating and perhaps dyed ) and would be much less expensive than A-jade (which would only be waxed)
Natural green jadeite has a distinct spectrum with a line or narrow band in the deep blue/violet. Possibly with other weaker bands in the blue. Emerald green jadeite has a chromium spectrum. Check for dye in the cracks in the crystalline aggregate using magnification' Polymer impregnated (B-Jade) would have to be tested using infrared spectrometry. If dyed then some dyes leave faint lines or bands in the red part of the spectrum due to chromium in the dye.
There are many other stones it could be as stonebender said...hydrogrossular garnet, Saussurite, steatite, aventurine quartz, Bowenite serpentine, plastics, dyed marble etc etc etc.
If the bracelet wasn't expensive then it's not a worry. If you'd like to know if you have found a valuable piece then you need to send it to a lab or at least take it to a gemmologist...Jewellers are not always gemmologists
According to the colour and the type of the jade, if it is an A type jade, it will be quite valuable. Type: 芙蓉种 (fu rong zhong) (translucent type). Check it with a gemmologist and hope it is an A type jade!
One more thing, though that looks nicer with the inside also having silver. I purchased a bracelet a few years ago off of Ebay. I wasn't expecting much, but when it arrived the solder looked suspicious. Turns out it was lead solder. I don't know all that occurs with making silver jewelry, but I don't think lead solder is normally used. Would be bad for small children that occasionally get their hands on it and put it in their mouths.
I cut off all the metal and turned it in to my company for proper lead disposal.
If you had already purchased it for a few years yet there is no colour change (where green turns to yellowish-green), it shouldn't be a C (coloured) type jade. But you ought to check whether it is a B (bleached) type jade. B type jade improves transparency and your one is quite transparent. Note: Not all translucent jade are B type, but almost all B type are translucent.
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