How can you avoid being cheated when buying jadeite in a scenic spot?

Audit expert: Zhu Guangsi

Member of Beijing Science Writers Association

In China, jade culture is strong, and no one would refuse a piece of beautiful jade. Jadeite, known as the "king of jade", has become the object of pursuit by countless people. However, the large number of fakes in the market has caused headaches for consumers.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

To give a recent example, a well-known screenwriter was also exposed to have been deceived by buying jadeite on an online platform. Outside of online platforms, for example, when traveling in scenic spots, customers who are full of yearning for jade can easily be fooled by merchants into buying fakes. So, what is the true face of jadeite? Why do so many people admire jade so much? How can we avoid being a "suckers"?

1The True Face of Jade

Before getting to know jadeite, let’s first understand the basic classification of jade.

In fact, there is no unified classification of jade in the academic community . The results introduced here are those recognized by most scholars.

Jade materials can be divided into broad and narrow senses. Broadly speaking, jade materials include all materials with the appearance and properties of jade, including natural jade, imitation jade, and chemically synthesized jade. Narrowly speaking, jade materials usually only include natural jade, mainly several types of jade materials in the jadeite family , including brittle jade, agate, jadeite, etc.

Agate cup inlaid with gold animal heads, collected in Shaanxi History Museum

The main component of jade is jadeite microcrystalline quartz, and various organic combinations of chemical elements such as iron, chromium, magnesium, cadmium and cobalt give it rich and colorful colors.

For example, the most common green jadeite is green mainly because the chromium ions (Cr3+) in the geological solution replaced the original aluminum ions (Al3+) during the formation of minerals. Some jadeites are red and yellow, which is the result of the action of iron. In addition, jadeite also has blue, brown, purple, black and other colors. It can be said to be a dazzling array of colors, which has amazed countless enthusiasts.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

The formation process of jade is related to the earth's geological structure and underground magma activity. It can be divided into three processes:

The first step is rock formation. Strong crustal movement will produce a large number of crystalline particles. These rough particles are called jadeite.

The second step is to make jade. Under low temperature and high pressure, jadeite will undergo a dynamic recrystallization process. This process makes the ore particles finer and the structure more compact. At the same time, the chromium element in the solution will also infiltrate the green into it, thus forming true jadeite.

The third step is optimization. After the jade is formed, it takes a long time for it to be baptized. Under the tempering of the external environment, the natural and beautiful jadeite rough stone comes into being.

Jadeite rough stone

Jade is mainly distributed in Myanmar, with a small amount distributed in Guatemala, the United States and other regions. The quality of jade produced in Myanmar is extremely high, natural and very beautiful. Jade produced in other places is often rough and dry, far from being comparable to Myanmar jade.

2Why do people have a special liking for jade?

Jade is a precious gemstone with profound cultural connotations and beautiful appearance. It is a prominent part of China's traditional jade culture.

First of all, from the appearance point of view, jade is very ornamental. Whether it is its bright color or its winding natural texture, it can give people a visual beauty. It is also in the process of appreciation that people have a strong interest in it. Jade is often used to make a variety of ornaments, such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, jade belts, etc. These ornaments are regarded as symbols of nobility, auspiciousness and eternity. As early as in ancient times, they have been widely used in royal rewards, royal state banquets, national gifts and other fields.

The origin of ancient jade buttons丨Wikipedia

Secondly, the scarcity of jade determines its preciousness. As the saying goes, "scarcity makes things valuable." The complex mining and processing of scarce jade materials means that the jade supplied on the market is far from meeting consumer demand. Therefore, the price of jade is getting higher and higher, and there is often a saying that "gold has a price, but jade is priceless."

Of course, jade also has rich cultural and spiritual value. In China, jade is regarded as the embodiment of morality and a symbol of a gentleman. There is an old Chinese saying that goes, "A gentleman never leaves his jade without a reason." It can be seen that in the eyes of the ancients, a gentleman and jade are inseparable.

Perhaps, it is precisely because of people's pursuit of the noble virtues represented by jade and their yearning for an elegant life that so many people have a special liking for these jades.

3 Tips for Identifying the Authenticity of Jade

How to avoid being cheated when buying jadeite? The editor summarizes the following identification tips, hoping to help you.

First, observe the color and luster of the jade. The color of real jade is full, bright, and transparent, and the luster will change when viewed from different angles. On the contrary, fake jade has a single, dull color, and the surface is even painted with color, and the texture is relatively rough.

Secondly, start with density and hardness. Natural jade has a higher density and greater hardness, so it feels heavy and is not easily scratched or worn. However, jade made of fake materials is not hard enough, has a rough texture, and feels very bad.

Thirdly, you can observe the internal stripes. There are some fine stripes or spots inside the jade, which are naturally formed stone patterns. Fake jade may have more abrupt artificial stripes, or no stripes.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

****The last and most reliable way is to go directly to the jade identification certificate issued by an authoritative platform.

Here we would like to remind you of some common identification misunderstandings. For example, some people think that hair wrapped around jade will not burn, but in fact, it will not burn if it is wrapped around a beer bottle; some unscrupulous merchants will use inferior jade as real jade; some jade fillings cannot be seen from the surface, so it is best to find some reliable identification agencies to identify through more professional methods such as spectral identification, fluorescence identification, specific gravity determination, etc.

I hope my explanation can be of some help to everyone, and I hope everyone can distinguish the authenticity and buy the jade they like.