Practical Tips on Buying Jade in China
Reputed for its beauty, grace, purity and bringing good fortune, jade stones has become a very popular keepsake among souvenir hunters and talented jade enthusiasts when visiting China. All top China destinations as Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai offer a vast assortment of jade carvings and jade jewelries including earrings, pendants, bracelets, etc. However, the market is now flooded with imitation jade – sometimes being passed off as genuine. How to tell apart the real ones and fake ones? Here some tips on buying jade in China.
1. Check the jade type. There are generally three grades of jade: A, B and C. All grades, from A - C, are real jade just of differing quality and value. Only type A jade is the naturally produced stone. While type B & C are processed with chemicals or added with artificial colorings to various degrees. It is worth noticing that deep green and white jade are relatively rare and the most expensive ones.
2. Purchase from a reputable seller. Despite the street pedlar may offer pretty “jade stones” at good prices, we suggest you purchase high quality jade in reputable seller, which can ensure product quality, and better handle post sales issues.
3. Ask for a certificate of authenticity. Shop around first to get to know the market value of certain prices. And for a high-grade piece of jade, a serious vendor should be able to offer a certificate of authenticity, which indicates the jade has been scanned and checked with authorities.
4. Some practical and helpful tips to buy jade. The real jade should be tough, smooth and cool to touch, without scratches on the surface. Choose the one with intense colors. Fake jade can often feel lighter than the real one. For translucent jade, which comes from the water, slightly striking it will produce a vibrational frequency. And for mountain jade articles, shine the light through the stones, the light will heighten the difference between the shades of green. But with fake jade, the light will only make it blurry.
5. Imitation jade can be fun too. Always beware scams and tricks when buying jade in China, but for the seller who is upfront about exactly what they are selling – imitation jade made from glass, plastic or other kinds of materials just on the right price, you may also take some as they can be interesting and pretty too.
