then again it might stop.  It is buying an unknown.  Fortunes are won and lost looking through this window.

Jade carvers used a string dipped in pig’s fat.  The cutter used Quartz as an abrasive.  Sharpened reeds pierced the pieces of Jade. It was hand polished. It would take years to carve pieces of jade.  Older pieces of jade are smooth and round.  There are no corners or edges.  Today, machines do the carving.  In China today, the best carving of jade is done in Yang Zhou.

Click on the picture to get a close up of all the Jade

Click on the picture to finish our Jade tour

The finest quality gemstones have translucency, clarity, quality and intensity of color.  They are rare and beautiful.  They cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  These pieces of Jadeite are seldom seen in the United States.  They are usually sold at auction.

Buying Jade is not easy today.  There is the threat of being deceived.  There are several types of treated Jade on the market.  The most common is known as “B Jade”.  This jade is bleached and dyed to enhance the color. Most consider that 95% of jade sold is B Jade.  An infrared spectrometer is the definitive test to determine whether the jade has been treated. This is a $500,000.00 piece of equipment.  Quartz and Serpentine are the most common Jade imitators.

Buy a piece of jade.  Feel its coolness against the skin.  See its beauty.  Try to imagine why and how this strange stone is imbedded in cultures throughout the world.  You will then begin to enter this world of Yu.

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