I was on a quest for a nice imperial jade and finally found one. This type of stone proved to be elusive. A Type A imperial jadeite has to be transluscent, with good texture, and a certain tone. Just how hard it is to find one? The imperials usually occur in thin veins, so a thicker cab will be a challenge (much more a bangle!). Many in the market claimed as Imperial are actually Imperial-colored, but are not because the transluscency or texture didn't quite make it, while many transluscent ones lack color or are overly saturated. I find that the highly transluscent jadeites come form the river, while mountain jade, though not impossible to achieve transluscency, tend to have a coarser texture.
Anyway, sharing a photo of my imperial jade just because it took quite a while to find it.
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2016 11:11 am Posts: 43 Location: Northwest USA
Seaglow, that is a gorgeous piece of jadeite, perfect color. Much more rare than a quality diamond of the same size. Congrats on the find and thanks for sharing pictures.
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2017 1:08 pm Posts: 41 Location: Bergisches Land
Yes,a true beauty,nothing like the material we get to see as Jade here in Germany/Europe.Just to satisfy my curiosity i visited some Jade-Traders when on a opal buying Trip in Hongkong some years back,wow there were Stones of sheer beauty.Had no idea of such qualities existing and sadly i was only equipped with a wallet not prepared for those green greetings Gerd
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm Posts: 1747 Location: Florida, United States
The best Imperial Jadeite I have ever seen was in Hong Kong: Moderate, even green, almost transparent, no naked eye visible inclusions, exceptional polish. That was an experience I could not forget. The piece you have looks to be very good quality.
I agree that many don't understand how difficult it is to find the material, and yes, the best materials would most likely be in Hongkong and China, and you'd probably see them in a dealer rather than a high-end jewellery shop as it would be purchased before it gets there.
The prices are continuously going up, some rough buyers in Thailand have now stopped buying rough during Burmese auctions simply because the rough prices have tremendously increased. There is no true source of imperials except Myanmar, and though jadeite is found in other locations, odds are there would hardly be imperials.
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:29 pm Posts: 1047 Location: Paris
In his last book Richard Wise speaks of the "wet look" of jadeite as being paramount. I recently had the opportunity to see the necklace of Barbara Hutton in a jade exhibition in Paris, it was amazing, I fully understood what this "wet look" meant, in combination with a top emerald color.
Seaglow I understand you are a specialist of jade, if you have some nice items of ice jade to show (maybe in a different thread) I would be delighted, I find this material fascinating but would like to know what traps are to be avoided when chasing a piece of this particular jade.
Fantastic stone! On a trip to Hong Kong I was told by a dealer that the reason for it's scarcity and price was that newly rich Chinese were buying like it was going out of fashion. So, if you have any you want to unload, that is the place.
Isi, I edited my last post. I meant "nicely done" B jades. Pocket instruments work ofcourse for badly done ones but the nice ones, very tricky.
Alan, Thanks! Easily, imperial jade can be unloaded in Taiwan, Hongkong, China, and Singapore. True that the new rich wants them, the old rich still wants them and are collecting them, and the material is scarce even without the demand. Imperial-colored jade and apple green jade fills in the gap.
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:29 pm Posts: 1047 Location: Paris
For your eyes pleasure, I just wanted to share this picture of imperial jadeite which will be for sale soon (next week actually). Would you share the price too ?
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum