Shoushan Tianhuang, the King of Stones

Real 寿山田黄 from my collection. 24.8 grams

Shoushan Tianhuang (寿山田黄), has name recognition and thus it suffers the same fate as Hetian mutton fat jade.

This is in part due to the numerous and sometimes rough definitions for all types of Shoushan stone (寿山石), with some requirements being near impossible to prove.  In addition, none of the widely accepted colloquial definitions, even those depicting the exact mineral, are defined legally for trade purposes.

Let's start from the beginning.

What is Shoushan stone?

Shoushan stone come from the Shoushan village in the Eastern part of Fujian province; near the capital Fuzhou.

Traced as far back as the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (386-589 AD), artisans in Fujian province have been carving stones mined from the Shoushan village into figurines, landscapes, ornaments and seals (ink stamps).  These stones were highly sought after because of their semi-translucent quality and vibrant colors.

Shoushan stones are just one of the Four Great Seal Stones (四大石印); the others being Balin stone (from Inner Mongolia), Changhua stone (from Zhejiang province), and Qingtian stone (also from Zhejiang province).  Out of the four, Shoushan is in the highest demand because of it's beauty and because of it's historical significance.

One example of this historical significance and royal fondness for Tianhuang is the last Emperor of China and the Qing dynasty, Puyi.  When he fled the palace, the famous set of three Tianhuang seals, linked by chains made of Tianhuang and created by his ancestor the Qianlong emperor (who had a large Tianhuang collection), was one the only non-personal item that he took.  People speculate the rationale was that these royal seals helped legitimize his reign as a puppet Emperor in Manchuria for about 14 years at the hands of the Japanese.  Later Puyi donated them to the Palace Museum.

Qianlong's Tianhuang seals

The markings of Qianlong's Tianhuang seals

There are many more examples of it's importance in history as a relic, and even in a spiritual nature by the ancients.

It is illegal to export these Four Great Seal Stones.

Because of historical significance, all Four Great Seal Stones are actually prohibited from leaving China by customs officials.  Yes that is correct; under Chinese law these stones fall under "Precious natural resources", and attempts to smuggle them out of China will be dealt with accordingly.

How then, is it possible that you see Shoushan stones being sold online all the time?  Well the first thing is, people can always find a way to smuggle things out.  The second and largest reason is, that they arent Shoushan stones!

These days, most of what you see is Laos stone being masqueraded as Shoushan stone.

How can this be?  The short answer is loose definitions and ignorance.

Defining the composition of Shoushan stones.

Shoushan stone has many varieties, categorized by where they are found in Shoushan village's surrounding areas, and then subcategorized by appearance.  As usual, it's always a rough definition.  An example would be Shoushan lycee cave stone 荔枝洞石.  This is a species of the Alpine stone 高山石 category of Shoushan stone, meaning it is mined high in the mountain.  At the same time, lycee stone can come from two mining pits, which is another subcategory.  Third is that the appearance should look like the flesh of a juicy piece of moist lycee fruit.  Lycee cave stone, by the way, is the second most desired type of Shoushan stone next to Tianhuang.

A large Shoushan Lycee Cave Stone full of radish silk from my collection.  Other examples can be much more white like lycee fruit.

I tried my best to capture the radish silk pattern with my phone and a flashlight.  A better camera or the naked eye can see the pattern much more clearly.

A very translucent piece of Shoushan Lycee Cave Stone carving.  Unfortunately my phone's camera is not the clearest, but you can see the floating radish silk pattern even without a flashlight.

Most shoushan stone is composed of pyrophillite, which is rather opaque.  These pieces are cheaper and you will see large carvings made from them.  The more expensive species of Shoushan stone, such as Alpine stone and Hibiscus Flower stone, are composed of dickite which is translucent and more rare.  You won't see large landscape carvings from these.  The Tiankeng species, which is what the famous Tianhuang belongs to, is either nacrite, dickite, or illite and within a range of colors.  Most of the time they will be mainly nacrite or illite.

Now, let's say you have some Laos stone, which is mainly dickite.  Who is to say where it really came from?  If I sell it as Shoushan stone, most people will not be the wiser.  People really familiar with it can tell from the colors or patterns, because there are some color combinations or patterns that appear in Shoushan stone but do appear in Laos stone and vice versa.  But there could be some instances that you cannot say with the utmost certainty.  And for most people interested in collecting, they have no idea, especially because they have no point of reference.

Now let's get back to talking about Shoushan Tianhuang.

Tianhuang is often called the king of stones, because at one point in history Tianhuang was said to be worth three times the value of gold by weight!  Actually in recent years, as the average Chinese citizen has more disposable income, the price of Tianhuang at auction has even been recorded at over 1000 times the price of gold!

Tianhuang is the most prized and most valuable yellow-orange variety of Tiankeng stones (田坑石), which means "field pit stones".  There are other categories of Tiankeng stones such as “white field” Baitian (白田), ”black field“ Heitian (黑田), "crow skin" (乌鸦皮), etc.  And of course each category has an exhaustive amount of subcategories.  To further confuse things, people often call the Tiankeng variety Tianhuang, probably because of name recognition.  So you will sometimes see something labeled as Baitian Tianhuang 白田田黄, which translates to "white field field yellow", and described as a variety of Tianhuang, instead of a variety of Tiankeng.  Other times you will see something like Baitian being labeled simply as Tianhuang.  Utterly confusing.

Tiankeng are stones found in the riverbed of Shoushan.  There is another subcategory for the stones found just above the riverbed, but again...who the heck would ever know the difference?  I doubt any seller would ever be honest enough to tell you this stone actually came from 100 feet off the riverbed and let it's value decrease.

As I said before, Tianhuang is mainly composed of Nacrite or Illite, which can be very translucent and is noted for it's "radish silk pattern" 萝卜丝文 and "red tendons" 红腱.  Radish silk refers to the white impurities that cause a pattern that looks like a thinly sliced piece of daikon radish, where you can see the small veins creating a beautiful pattern.  Red tendons refer to harsh red lines that can appear just below the surface.  Tiankeng stones are produced in EXTREMELY small quantities, and it will be difficult to find a piece over 30 grams.  As with other pieces of gemological art, the value of piece depends on translucency, color, the quality of the carving, and personal preference.  A golden yellow color is the most sought after.

You are getting ripped off once again!

Just like Hetian jade, people will call anything Shoushan stone because of the name.  Online I have seen a piece of calcite on Etsy labeled as Shoushan stone and being sold for a lot of money.  On eBay I have seen worse.  I have seen large pieces of stone being sold as Tianhuang.  I am talking pounds here.  If you had a one pound piece of Tianhuang you would already be a multi-millionaire, and not slanging it on eBay for a few thousand.

I actually read a study from China which stated that most of the items being sold as Tianhuang are in fact clinochlore.  Clinochlore can come in a dark brown, orange, and bright yellow variations, which can somewhat match the varieties of Tiankeng.  They can also exhibit a grain somewhat similar to the famed "radish silk" as well as "red tendons".  But the pattern in clinochlore to be honest, looks more like little tiny spots than radish silk.  Clinochlore is more commonly translucent and the pattern looks more like specks of dirt.

Also, clinochlore cannot be made to shine like Tianhuang when mineral oil is buffed in and is rather dull.  (Yes, these days jade and many stones are buffed with mineral oil.  In the old days they would use beeswax.)

Here are some pictures pulled from the GIA website for Tianhuang (https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/fall-2018-posters-gem-characterization).

A.  Classic piece of Tianhuang relief carving using the skin or rind B. Raw piece of Tianhuang C. The famed radish silk pattern D. Tianhuang exhibiting "red tendons"

Here are some pictures of pieces from my collection.

Baitian 白田 Tianhuang, also known as "Gold wrapped in silver"

My Tianhuang 田黄 carving

My Black field Tianhuang 黑田 carving

Here are some pieces I found online that I suspect are not Shoushan Tianhuang.

Maybe clinochlore?

Indonesian Tianhuang

Most likely Laos Tianhuang

The first one I am guessing is clinochlore.  It is labeled as Tianhuang, marketing itself as Heitian (black field) Tianhuang.  Besides the color and texture, one of the main reasons I am suspect is that this stone is labeled as over 1000 grams, which would basically be worth millions of dollars if it was real Tianhuang sold in China.  There would be no reason to put it on eBay for hundreds of dollars.

The second picture is Indonesian Tianhuang.  The product was actually labeled as such.  This is a stone from Indonesia that has a pleasant appearance and labeled with the words "Tianhuang" to elevate it's prestige.  If I recall correctly, it was first called "Sun stone" 太阳石, referring to it's bright yellow to orange color.  Later, someone came up with the bright idea of using the Tianhuang buzzword in the name.  One way to tell that it is not Tianhuang is that the color is pretty even and you won't get a radish pattern.

The last picture is most likely Laos Tianhuang.  However, it is simply labeled "Tianhuang", I suspect, in order to deceive.  I suspect that the seller will simply say "I never said it was Shoushan Tianhuang" if confronted. 

It suffers from the same fate as Indonesian Tianhuang--labeled as Tianhuang in order to elevate itself.  However, this stone is a real problem.  Laos stone is primarily dickite, which is one of the minerals that Tianhuang can also be composed of, so some pieces can look similar.  The main difference is that you will not find the radish pattern or red tendons on Laos Tianhuang.  Laos Tianhuang may have a pattern of white impurities, but the pattern is usually long flowing lines, whose color fades in a gradient fashion.  Sellers call this pattern "silk" and not "radish silk".

An example of the silk pattern in Laos Tianhuang from my own collection

This is not to say that Laos Tianhuang, or Laos stone in general cannot be beautiful.  To be honest, Laos stone is sometimes just as beautiful if not more than Shoushan stone, but it does not have the historical significance of Shoushan stone.  The price of Laos stone has jumped tenfold in recent years due to collectors enjoying it's beauty and vibrant colors, but it is still far behind real Shoushan stone.

Another dead giveaway that it was Laos Tianhuang and not Shoushan Tianhuang was that this stone was about 500g and being sold with a mere starting bid of $100.  I'm going to monitor it just for fun to see what it sells at.  I assume the reserve price is about $1500.

Why is being from Shoushan important?

The same reason why champagne from the Champagne region of France is generally more expensive than champagne from elsewhere like California, even though there are many who argue that California produces wine even better than France.  And technically, that "champagne" from outside of Champagne can be called "champagne", it's just "sparkling wine".  This is the same reason dickite from Laos cannot be called Shoushan stone.

It boils down again to the historical significance.  It's not about the mineral itself, its about the fact that they want to own a piece of Shoushan stone, something which has been coveted by emperors and nobles since the 300's CE.

What does this all mean?  What is a good way to not get ripped off purchasing Tianhuang stone?

Not Tianhuang.  Some form of dickite.  Because of the texture, maybe Laos stone, maybe Balin stone, etc., but not Tianhuang

Not Tianhuang.  Wrong texture.  Probably clinochlore.

Not Tianhuang.  Probably an orange yellow Laos stone, but not even Laos Tianhuang.

Probably Laos Tianhuang.  Might even be considered "Malt Yellow" Laos Tianhuang, which is rare and the most expensive form of Laos Tianhuang.

The first thing to do is to get a good baseline for what is and what isn't Tianhuang visually.  Above are some more examples and hopefully all the pictures in this whole article will get you started.  It's pretty easy to distinguish the ridiculous claims after a while.

Now this last picture I included might be difficult.  It does have a cloudy texture or pattern which an overeager collector might tell himself resembles radish silk, but it looks more like fluffy bits of cotton than the thin veins of a piece of sliced radish.  There is also a large silk ribbon going across horizontally, which is typical of Laos Tianhuang.  A lot of times Laos Tianhuang, due to being mostly dickite, has large areas that are too translucent to be Shoushan Tianhuang.

I fully admit I could be wrong, but generally this is the case and I think most experts would agree with me.

The second thing I would do is to look at the size piece, which was 96 grams.  That is huge for Shoushan Tianhuang.  Very rare these days as Tianhuang sources are depleting fast.  Once again, I doubt it would be for sale at this price and at this place.

This knowledge so far will at least keep you from purchasing a piece of clinochlore for $80,000 USD, which I unfortunately saw someone do on an online auction site.  Combined with the buyer's premium we are talking about over $100,000 USD for something that cost $100.

The best way for someone to deceive you in purchasing Tianhuang is to take some Laos stone and make a small piece, like 20 grams and claim it is Shoushan Tianhuang.  The color and sheen will be acceptable, so you will have to really inspect the radish pattern.

But what if there is no radish pattern?  Not every piece of Tianhuang exhibits this trait.  So how can you know for sure?  Ultimately, I have to say there could be situations where you just don't know for sure without lab analysis.

Labs in China specializing in Shoushan stone will be able to certify based on whether or not the exact chemical composition of the stone falls within their standards for Shoushan stone that they have acquired through decades of testing data.

If you send this to GIA, GIA can tell you that it is natural and that it is dickite or nacrite etc., but I don't believe they will have the data to label it "Shoushan stone" or "Tianhuang stone".

So you need a certificate from a reputable lab in China, certified by government agencies with a photo that you can look up on the company website.  This will ensure that the certificate is real and not a useless piece of paper.  Beware, sometimes manufacturers issue their own certificates, but I don't put faith in them even though they might be legitimate.

The most reputable lab for Shoushan stone is not surprisingly in Fuzhou, Fujian which is right next to Shoushan.  This is because all the factories send their stuff to this local place and they want to keep their reputation high.  They don't want to lose their reputation and make a few extra dollars by certifying something that shouldn't be certified; the stone collecting world in China is very small.

This is a similar situation to Hetian jade.  The government certified labs in Xinjiang are the most reputable for this sort of thing.

So if I am looking for Shoushan Tianhuang this is what I would do in this order

1. Is it over 50 grams?  If it is, it should be tens of thousands of dollars.  If it's not, then it's probably fake.

2.  Visually inspect the color and texture and all the things I described above.  You might not be able to do so well online.  You might take a chance if it's not too expensive.

3.  Look for a certificate.  Check to see if it has a QR code or an ID number you can use to look it up on the company website.   Here is one of my certifiates as an example.  The back of the certificate you can see www.fzsssac.com which is the FuZhou ShouShan Stone Appraisal Center (FZSSSAC). If you look at the front of the certificate you will see "4185969T" stamped at the bottom.  Go to the www.fzsssac.com and navigate to the certification section, type in the ID number and the website will pull up this exact certificate, verifying it's real.

Collecting Shoushan stone is said to be a noble hobby, more prestigious than jade collecting.  People truly appreciate the beauty of these minerals as opposed to the flashiness and fashion conscious mentality of jade.  However, both share some dangers so be careful!

Jadeite Quan Yin Kwan Yin Guan Yin

The beautiful, serene face of the Goddess of Mercy

Overview 
You are looking at a massive jadeite statue on a rosewood stand and the lighted glass display case, both of which are included in the sale. This is the best Quan Yin carving I have ever seen. Period.

That's a bold statement but let me explain. The first and most important thing to look for in carving quality is the face. There are many many Quan Yin statues out there, but many do not have a beautiful symmetrical and proportional face. This Quan Yin has the Golden Ratio written all over it. Elegant yet youthful, strong yet peaceful--she is in perfect harmony and will bring that feeling to your home as well.

Second, look at her clothes. They flow outwards naturally. You can almost imagine them in motion as the wind gently caresses her silk garments. Many carvers do not have the skill to delicately carve this, and take a shortcut by carving clothes as if they were pressed up against the body via static cling.

Guan Yin--literally meaning "The one who perceives the sounds of the world" is the universal savior from suffering and ignorance. The first thing to look for in carvings is the face and the hands. This Guan Yin's face is the most peaceful and serene and beautiful I have seen in a jadeite sculpture. The massive piece jadeite used to carve this statue has an incredible smooth even color and fine texture. Made from lavender, white, and green Burmese Jade, otherwise known as jadeite. Three color statues are auspicious because they represent Fu, Lou, and Shou.

Flowing silk clothing

STOP! The dangers of purchasing jade 
Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many jadeite statues being sold fraudulently online. The first thing I see are pictures using various artificial lights, which can give color to the jade when none exists naturally. Always ask for pictures under bright natural light.

The second thing I see very often is doctored photos where the color is enhanced. With my experience I can tell right away, but unfortunately not everyone can.

The third possibility is unnatural treated jade, which actually changes the chemical composition so it's no longer jade. It's closer to a piece of plastic. There are many methods to artificially enhance jade’s color and clarity. With some so advanced even a jeweler using a loupe cannot tell, a certificate of authenticity from a gem laboratory can help. The problem is not all labs are created equal. There are hundreds of small labs in China, and for outsiders who knows which one has a good reputation. GIA is trusted worldwide. It is an education and research institution first--not a for-profit certificate factory. That is why I have my jade GIA certified.

GIA Certified 100% Natural 
Scan the QR code on my certificate or go here directly: https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=1186811933 Jade as an investment? It would be a lie to tell you that jade is guaranteed to increase in value, but I can say with confidence it will at the very least hold it's value. Jade is a commodity, much like gold or diamonds. It is used in jewelry and the 10,000 year old fondness for jade in China is not going away. Jade is mined faster than the earth can produce it. Making a jade statue like this, is like making a statue out of gold or diamonds.

Jade Quality 
People new to jade often make comparisons based on the dimensions or the weight alone. The color, clarity, and texture (smooth and even colors) of the jade is a large factor. This statue is jewelry quality and a similar sized statue with lower quality jade could easily be 1/10 the value. Then you have to factor in the carving quality, which is subjective, but if you pay attention you can tell which carvings have great detail and artistic skill and which look like they were carved with a butter knife.

Pictures
I have included pictures in the display cabinet as well as in natural sunlight.

Questions 
Feel free to ask any questions. Use the contact form on the right side of the page.

Size
40.57 lbs (18.4 kg) 20.95" x 11.97" x 3.66" (53.2 x 30.4 x 9.3 cm)

Shipping
Free shipping worldwide through a private courier. 1-7 days domestic depending on your location.

The Hetian jade craze and all the people cheating you!

Ming era mutton fat jade fish?

When I was purchasing my Hetian jade, I was very careful.  I was tricked a few times after sending the piece to a lab only to find out that it had an organic colored coating that I couldn't detect with my loupe.  Here are some answers to what this Hetian jade craze is about and some tips for purchasing.

What is Hetian jade?

Hetian jade is mainly the mineral tremolite.  For those unaware, tremolite has the same chemical structure as nephrite, but it has less iron and more magnesium.  As a result, Hetian jade tends to be more white than green, and the hardness is 5-6 on the Moh's scale, versus nephrite's 6 - 6.5.  Impurities can cause colors such as yellow, brown, red, purple, etc.  I have not yet learned the objective cutoff for iron/magnesium content to separate tremolite and nephrite.

Hetian jade is one of the Four Classic Jades used to make Imperial Seals in ancient times, and it get's it's name from the town of Hetian in southwestern Xiniiang province, China.  Historically, Hetian was a major oasis town during the ancient Silk Road.

During the springtime, as the snow melts in the Kunlun Mountains, small smooth jade pebbles are brought down the mountain to the riverbed.  This jade is known as the "seed" type.  "Mountain water" type are the larger smooth jade boulders found in the Kunlun mountains which transported by floods and glaciers.  Finally, you have the largest boulders extracted from the mines deep in the mountain classified as the "mountain" type.  The seed type is the most treasured of the three due to the color and texture, where even the smooth raw pebbles sculpted only by the river water are collected as is.  The most prized Hetian jade color is called "mutton fat" or "suet", which gets its name for it's pale color and greasy (shiny) luster.

Over the past 15 years or so the price has skyrocketed over 10,000 times (yes, 10,000 times I'm not kidding), causing a tremendous "jade rush" into the region.  Many local blue collar workers have quit their jobs to hunting for jade in the mountains and rivers, or becoming the middlemen between miners and jade wholesale dealers.

Hetian jade classification and fakes

Just like all Chinese classifications for precious stones, Hetian classifications are loose and/or impossible to enforce objectively.  Let's start with the simplest classification and the most difficult to enforce; to Hetian jade it must be tremolite found in Hetian or the Kunlun mountain side facing Hetian.  There is a lot of jade from Qinghai province, which is also a tremolite but found on the other side of the Kunlun mountains in Qinghai province, being imported into the Hetian jade market and sold as Hetian jade.  The same goes for Russian aka Siberian jade, which is also another tremolite jade.

What's the difference between all of them?  Multiple jade dealers told me Qinghai white jade is a more pure white color than Hetian white jade and more translucent, while Russian jade also tends to be more pure white but more opaque.

This is why many Qinghai and Russian white jades are dyed and sold as Hetian white jade.  Some big boulders are even carved to look like river pebbles first and then dyed a pale yellow.  He then showed me a piece of extremely white jade on the internet selling very cheap as Hetian jade.  It was extremely white, he said this is probably Russian jade sold as Hetian jade, which is why it's so cheap.  At the same time, he said if Hetian jade was really this white, it would be sold for 100 times as much.

So basically he just said that Qinghai and Russian white jade tends to be more white, but it's not a 100% distinguishing factor because even Hetian jade can be that color.  So even if you could objectively create a color scale and clarity scale like they have with diamonds, it doesn't apply 100% of the time.

The Chinese government has tried to enforce standards as to what is Hetian jade, using objective measurements such as specific gravity and the like, but it was unsuccessful in drawing a consensus so nothing happened.

Many of these Hetian jades will come with certificates from Chinese laboratories.  They will almost always declare a piece of tremolite as Hetian jade.  I was told as much by a jade dealer.  In fact I have never seen a certificate stating something was Russian or Qinghai jade.  He acknowledged that there is no scientific method to determine the provenance of a piece of jade, and they simply classify put "Hetian jade" as the result probably due to the urging of customers who wish to have their jade classified into a more valuable category.  Many of these certificates will also not test for natural color, which it should mention in the remarks section.  These types of certificates can be made in minutes and for a few RMB, so be careful when purchasing to read the certificate fully and verify the QR code.

Update: 12/7/2018
According to someone I met who works in a Chinese government certified gem laboratory, a few years ago the standards for what can be labeled Hetian jade were put into place.  Hetian jade's definition has broadened to basically include all stones that are over a certain percentage of tremolite (I forgot to ask what the exact percentage was).  I verified what he said via some internet articles on the matter as well, but they also did not list the percentage.

I am guessing the government had the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" attitude.  In other words, because there is no way to scientifically and conclusively prove the provenance of the stone, and because people were starting to be duped and to pay exorbitant prices for what they believed was Hetian jade, they made everything Hetian jade.  Now the power is back in the hands of the jade buyers, to pay based on what they happen to like instead of a dubious classification.

Genuine antique pieces
I'll make this short and simple.  Just like the provenance, there is no 100% way to know about an antique piece unless you pulled it out of someone's coffin yourself.  There is always a way for someone to be fooled.  Having said that, the common things like looking for tool marks is always a dead giveaway.  Don't be fooled by people throwing dirt into the crevices (yes they actually do that).

The mutton fat fiasco

Mutton fat jade used to be sent as tribute to the imperial court in Beijing and one carved piece in the Forbidden City weighs over five tons!

Simply put, Hetian Mutton fat jade (羊脂玉) has a high percentage of tremolite.  Not only are we talking about the lack of iron, but also other impurities.  The purer the tremolite the higher quality and the rarer the piece.

Pure tremolite has slight grayish cyan hue (in Chinese the term qīng sè 青色), a greasy luster, and is quite translucent.  It is actually not supposed to look like mutton fat, which is rather opaque and a yellowish beige.  The term mutton fat actually refers to the greasy feel of the jade.

Fresh mutton fat

This feel of the jade is the characteristic that obviously cannot be conveyed through pictures.  This is a characteristic of tremolite.  A high quality piece really feels wet and slippery even if your hands are relatively dry.

When I first held a piece I was amazed.  I rubbed my hands on my shirt to check if I had any moisture and I even rubbed the piece of jade dry with a cloth.  Despite this, it still felt slippery in my hands.

These requirements are quite subjective.  Just like with all other sub-classifications of jade (moss in snow, Imperial green), etc. there is no hard standard.  As a result there will always be someone (mostly other jade sellers) who will say that something is not "true mutton fat" jade.  Most of the time it is of true ignorance because they themselves have not seen the real thing, or they have read or learned from other sellers purposely spreading misinformation in an attempt to sell their own wares.

However, there are some cases that I have seen that I think most people, except the seller himself, will agree that is not mutton fat.

Truth be told, speaking about the greasy feel, the translucency and the color is just a primitive way to determine if the piece has a high percentage of tremolite or not.  It would be easier if a laboratory could give us some numerical data, but alas here we are.

Green mutton fat?

Go on eBay or any online auction site and search "mutton fat".  Undoubtedly you will see a lot of pale green jade coming up.  The above is too green in my opinion.

Far too opaque to be mutton fat

I saw this listed for an expensive price online.  It had a certificate listing it as natural so that's good.  The seller described it as mutton fat because it is "dense, as it should be".   Sorry, totally false.

By dense he is referring to how opaque it is.  Russian jade often times has this look due to the presence of dolomite. Most likely this is Russian jade.

I've seen worse examples online.  People just cling onto that term and apply it to anything because they know it is so valued, so it's hard to learn from looking at pictures online what mutton fat jade is really supposed to look like.

Tips for purchasing mutton fat jade

Just like with my general tips for purchasing jade, one of the first things you can do is to ask for pictures in sunlight if you are buying online.  This should produce the true color as interior lighting can add tints; yellow tints especially are common from light bulbs and that is something you definitely don't want.  Actually ask for a short video because even an iPhone has built in tools to adjust the color on photos.

If you are fairly sure of the color and luster, then the next question is if the stone is treated.  This is always the greatest problem and for this you will need a certificate.  Like I said, I'm not so sure of the requirements of Chinese certificates.  Each company is different.  Make sure it tests for no luster enhancements or topical colorations, as that will still pass the test to determine if it is really tremolite jade, but will fail you in determining if it's 100% natural.

Again, lab like GIA is unfortunately the only one I would trust.

Question: What's my jade (or any art) really worth?

Answer: What someone is willing to pay you.

That isn't a smart aleck answer.  Let me explain.

Generally when you get something appraised, the appraiser is estimating the maximum price most people would be willing to pay.  The way he does this is via comparisons to past sales for what he considers similar items.

The problem is no two pieces of art are the same.  It's not like doing a valuation on a used car where you have the same year, make, model and then simply adjust for mileage and condition.  

So let's say we are talking about jade sculptures.  You cannot show me two jade sculptures that are exactly the same.  First, the jade they are carved from are always going to be different, which effects the value.  Second, no two carvings are the same in terms of quality and what is considered "beautiful" is completely subjective.  Third, there are other factors which make something more or less desirable include the subject matter at hand (for one person this is better, for another it's something else), the size (some people like really big and grand, some people like small and delicate), etc.

Now actually some of the things I said about jade sculpture comparisons can be applied to appraisals for homes and cars too.  The difference is that cars and homes are generally purchased through bank loans, and the bank is very unemotional and conservative with their appraisals.  Also, the appraisals follow a certain formula that tempers price fluctuations; this is how you can compare a blue colored Ranch style 2500 sq ft house in one zip code with a white colored Colonial style 2300 sq ft house in the same zip code and be pretty confident in the numbers.

Think how different that is to a buyer in a store emotionally attached to some work or in a competitive bidding war with the B across the room with cash or credit card in hand and no need for a loan.  It's a totally different ballgame. 

So I'm not saying that appraisals are useless, but keep in mind that for such a thin and emotional based market, they aren't the most reliable.

I want to just share some God awful appraisals I've experienced personally out of sheer ignorance.

Sotheby's and Christie's only sell antique Chinese art, so I contacted some mid sized auction houses in Beverly Hills and Manhattan for some jadeite sculptures I had.  They were pretty clueless.  One person on their team assessed a sculpture I had at $3,000.  I told the guy, "This sculpture is 26 pounds and a translucent lavender and green jadeite.  Even 26 pounds of raw jadeite for people to cut into cabochons would sell for more than that".  He reluctantly agreed, but didn't want to raise his appraisal.

That piece sold for $55,000 via another auction house.

I had another jadeite piece that I wanted to sell quickly.  I thought eBay might be a good way to go because I saw many pieces of jadeite on there.  However, I found out that because I had no experience on eBay, I wouldn't be able to list my item starting at $10,000; it would have to be much lower.  

Later, I happened to meet someone who sold a variety of "Asian antiques" on eBay.   I thought that he could list it for me and I would give him commission.  Again he wasn't too knowledgeable on the subject.  He was another one of those, "Only Antique 'Asian' items are valuable.", type of guys.  He did a quick search on eBay for what recently sold and he valued my piece at $2,000.  He was simply going by the size.  Not even the weight or volume, just the height.  He saw a piece of comparable height that was listed as "jade" and that's how he got his number.  Lukcily the piece was also jadeite, but it was gray, opaque, and the carving looked like it was done with a hammer.  I didn't even bother to explain the difference with my piece. 


That piece sold for the price I wanted through a private sale.

If it's not antique, it's crap!

The stupidest thing I have heard, is that the piece is not antique, therefore it's "just a decoration".  Well I really wonder what they think this 100 year old jade carving is if not a decoration.  A supercomputer?  

I understand the premium that is placed on a well preserved antique, but to denigrate a rare and beautiful piece of nature, like jade, transformed meticulously and delicately over the course of hundreds of hours of labor by a master craftsman as "just a decoration" is just insulting.  And it truly shows their view of Chinese art and culture as some sort of exotic tchotchke, where only the antique is valuable because it came from some backwards exotic old world.

The modern art world is all about being Avant-garde.  It's either about shocking people, or intensely underwhelming people.  It's about promoting a message, or having no message and letting all sorts of "art experts" make up a good story.  It's about taking the essence of those smug a-holes you meet in San Francisco, LA, or NY, condensing it, and then creating something tangible.

I'm just going to throw this out there--modern art is not about art, it's about the spectacle.  Sorry, but I'm not moved by a painting of a Campbell's soup can.  And I'm not going to value a painting more because it was half shredded.  Modern art is a cult of the narcissistic personality.  People are famous for their antics (Banksy), their political views (Ai Wei Wei), or just making something so ridiculous and being so narcissistic that you have the balls to tell others it's profound and awesome (Picasso).  Furthermore, it's fueled by idiots without a spine who just go along with what others say and are so afraid to say, "Why am I looking at this sculpture of a urinal?".  It's the The Emperor's New Clothes come to reality.

Duchamp. Is it a sculpture or a urinal, or just a urinal? What are his profound thoughts on society!?!?!?

Picasso. It takes guts to be proud of this.

A very theatrical move.  Are people in love with his artistic skill or his theatrics?

Ai Wei Wei. A pile of sunflower seeds.  No words necessary.

Warhol's soup can.  So profound.  Profoundly underwhelming.

All the ways jade can be fake and how you can protect yourself!

The short answer is that the only way to be fully certain of getting real jade is to certify it with a reputable gem laboratory after you purchased it, with the owner guaranteeing a full refund if it is not 100% natural.

Of course, who is willing to do this? Not many.  But this is what I am willing to do for all my pieces for sale.

1. Faking transparency and color

The A, B, C jade ranking system started in Hong Kong

The A,B, and C jade ranking system started in Hong Kong, but is now used by many jade dealers outside of Hong Kong as well.

"A" jade is completely natural jade.  A natural topical wax polish may be used.  

"B" jade is first soaked in hydrochloric acid for weeks.  This dissolves the sodium and leaves you with many microscopic holes like Swiss Cheese.  Actually at this point the chemical structure of the jade is no longer the same, so technically at this point it is not jade.  Then this mutilated mineral is put in a centrifuge with some sort of filler, typically a polymer resin, and spun at high speed until all those little holes are filled with polymer resin.  The result is a more transparent Frankenstein mineral.

"C" jade is color treated.  One way is to simply use colored polymer resin described above.  However, "B and "C" jade can easily be detected by a jeweler using his loupe.  There is one more sophisticated way I have come across that can fool even a trained jewelers eye and this is some sort of organic translucent coating.  With this method the natural grain of the jade can still be seen.

The most common is for jewelry and small sculptures, because a large 10 lb. piece of jadeite that is translucent and emerald green would be too obvious, but a small cabochon isn't.

2. Faking it by lying to you

People can always use the tried and true method of flat out lying to you.

An antique Qing Dynasty mutton fat jade carving

The number one lie I see in auctions and online is for Hetian jade.  First, Hetian jade is mainly tremolite (a variety of nephrite) and the white and pale yellow varieties, also known as mutton fat jade, are the most expensive.  Second, to be Hetian jade it must be from the city of Hetian in Xinjiang, China.

Now the first part can be faked with other non-tremolite stones, and usually it is online.  If you see something marked Hetian jade for very cheap you can bet your bottom dollar it's not Hetian jade, but another type of stone (usually calcite), especially considering Hetian jade mines are basically depleted now.  I've seen things on pendants on eBay and JD.com literally $0.99 or less!  Other times they use the phrase "mutton fat jade" in the description, but don't tell you it's from Hetian which allows them to be deceptive without outright lying to you.

Nice clear mutton fat Hetian jade...nope it's just calcite

The second part is a bit easier.  They can take a piece of tremolite from anywhere else in the world and tell you it's from Hetian.  How can you really know one way or the other?  And why do people care?  Well Hetian jade is one of the four classic Chinese jades, with history spanning thousands of years so there is a history there.  I would compare it to why people antiques hold greater value.

On the left is a supposed Xiuyan jade horse, on the right is Afghan jade.  Can you tell the difference by looking at it?

I've also seen green serpentine, probably Afghanistan jade, being sold as nephrite or Xiuyan.  Xiuyan jade is a mix of tremolite, actinolite (both varieties of nephrite sharing the same chemical composition) and some antigorite (belonging to the serpentine mineral group).  Afghan jade is bowenite (also of the serpentine mineral group) There is no requirement for any of the proportions, although the amount of serpentine is generally in the minority.  However, it is difficult to tell by sight alone.

And of course, if you are an idiot like me, someone can sell you some Afghan jade and call it Burmese jade (jadeite).

3. Fake online photos 

This is kind of in the category of "lying to you", but it's so prevalent it deserves it's own mention.  To make a long story short, bright jewelry lights can add color as well as photoshop, with the usual thing done is increasing the color saturation.

Here are two scenarios that occurred to me on eBay.  First of all, most eBay sellers of jade don't even own the piece themselves.  They go to a art gallery and snap some photos, mark up the price and list it on eBay.  Of course, it's a genius idea because it costs them virtually nothing and the potential for profit is huge.  Also, it's passive they just wait.  If it happens it happens.  They receive money from the eBay buyer and then they go to the store and purchase it at a lower price.  If it never sells then no problem.

So if you go on eBay you will actually see the same item listed by several sellers at different prices.  Sometimes you will even see the photo altered such as this:

Jadeite Kirin (Qilin) from one eBay seller

The same jadeite Kirin (Qilin) from a different seller with a Photoshopped picture

The dull gray of the original sculpture was changed to a pale green.  The jadeite is still opaque, but the Photoshopped color makes it more desirable.

This next one is the MOST egregious.  I saw this piece and thought it was beautiful.  The carving was excellent, and it was of my favorite subject which is mountains, rivers, trees, etc. The color hue was amazing and it was blue jadeite, which is very rare outside of the jadeite from Guatemala.  Unfortunately Guatemalan jadeite is usually very opaque with poor texture, but not this one.  This one had a translucent and shiny skin with a very fine texture.

Beautiful jadeite sculpture with fine texture, color, and carving

However, being skeptical of eBay, I asked the seller to give me a photo of the piece in natural light.  I meant sunlight, because I know that bright white lights can intensify the color of jade.  However, what I received shocked me.

The same piece without the photographer's lights and light box

I know exactly what happened.  It wasn't photoshop, but the first picture was taken with really bright LED jewelry lights.  These lights give add a blue hue to the subject.  This was exacerbated because the photo was taken in a light box which just intensified the misleading hue.

Because of this and so many other reasons, you really need to be careful when buying online.  You need to make sure the seller can jump through hoops to assure you that what he is selling you is the real deal.

4. How do I detect fakes?

There are all sorts of tests you can do ranging from the simple hardness test and sound test to the mid-level specific gravity test to the high end infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction only capable via multi-million dollar machines at gem laboratories.

Let me tell you what to look for and what you can reasonably do when you are standing in a shop with a piece of jade in your hand.

First, the simplest and easiest thing you can do is to shine a black light (UV light) on the piece.  Most of the time, polymers will fluoresce blue.  I say, "Most of the time", because there are some sophisticated methods to avoid this.  However, this is still very effective and easy.  This will catch all B and C grade jades, as well as any repairs made.  You can grab a UV flashlight off of Amazon for fairly cheap.

Second, is the hardness test.  The idea behind the hardness test is simple; both nephrite and jadeite are harder than steel, so a steel knife cannot scratch it.

There should be no issue with jadeite and steel, but personally I wouldn't do this with nephrite or tremolite (all the white jades such as Hetian, Lantian, Kunlun, etc.), as not all nephrite and tremolite are guaranteed to be harder than steel.

Also don't use some fancy tungsten carbide knife as that can also be harder than jadeite.

I just use a regular sewing needle, pin, safety pin, or paper clip and do it to an inconspicuous place.  You don't need to apply much pressure to cause a hairline scratch.  Serpentine minerals will scratch easily with any of these.  Also don't apply too much pressure because there is a difference between scratching something and crushing it with pressure.

Now if you are at the store, the problem is you need permission.  If the store owner does it himself, make sure he is actually applying some pressure.  The other problem is if you do it yourself and catch him selling a fake and this means you caused slight damage his property.  Be prepared for an a-hole owner and what he could do.

The other test is the sound test, although this is slightly subjective.  If you take two pieces of jade and tap them together, or a piece of metal and a piece of jade, you will hear a sharp crisp sound because both pieces are hard.  If one or more of them is treated with polymer resin, the sound will be dull like two pieces of plastic.

This takes a bit of practice with real jade pieces first to remember the sound.

The problem with this is that jade treated with the thin organic coating will still have this crisp sound.

Now the other test you can do involves measuring specific gravity, and it's difficult to get a bucket of water and a hanging digital scale at the store, so I won't expand on that.

As you can see, none of these are really full proof for every single scenario, but there are some situations where a fake is unlikely.  If the jade is not very transparent or the color is not that bright.  Generally when people fake it they go all out.  It's going to be for something very translucent or very strong in hue.  A large jade carving that is mainly grey with some patches of pale green is unlikely to be treated.

Now if the seller has a certificate, I never give any credence to a certificate without a QR code that refers me to the website of the gem lab.  Also, I give little credence, unfortunately, to Chinese labs.  This is because Chinese labs have a history of being bribed.  Perhaps it is changing but that is my opinion right now.

I trust GIA the most because theoretically they are an educational institution and cannot be bribed.  Other labs do testing for a profit, and thus can be influenced by a company that has a lot of money that wants stuff certified. Personally I also have had good experience with GIA which is why I say that.

Although I have never experienced this yet, it is possible that someone could get a certificate and reuse it for multiple items.  For example I could certify one natural green jadeite cabochon and then reuse that certificate for my unnatural jadeite cabochons of the same dimension.  The certificate just has a low resolution picture that a person could use to his advantage in passing off another item as the legitimate one.

Also, an item, such as a statue, could be certified then repaired.  It would be very difficult to spot the repair because they are so good and near impossible to differentiate between what is on the old certificate and what is there currently.

This why I said that the best scenario is to have it certified after it is purchased.

It's a dangerous world out there and there are a lot of crooks.  Be vigilant and don't trust any art or antique dealer.  99% are liars.

My bad experience purchasing and why I am selling some of my jade items

When I first began purchasing Chinese art, specifically jade sculptures, I knew little to nothing. I had purchased some jadeite from a pretty honest art dealer. He told me about how lots of jade is not natural but sold as natural. I learned all the ways jade is faked and he even showed me some highly sophisticated fake jade that he was duped into buying, despite being a licensed gemologist! He offered to send the items I purchased to GIA to have them tested and said if they came out as not 100% natural he would absolutely refund my money immediately. Everything came out great and I was on a buying high.

San Francisco Chinatown antique row, the den of deception

A few weeks later I was in San Francisco and I walked into this art gallery right at the entrance of Chinatown, that incidentally was not run by Chinese. Actually I don't think any of those shops in that area are run by Chinese despite selling a lot of Chinese art.

The "owner"

Anyways, the owner approached us and was slimy as hell. But he was so slimy that he was entertaining so I just went along with it. He took me to what he called the "Asian room", despite 100% of all the things in there being Chinese. I saw a 4 foot tall Afghanistan jade sculpture and it was nothing short of magnificent. It was a beautiful even pale green color, almost white. Translucent. Greasy luster. Magnificently carved. Now, ignorant as I was, I for some reason thought that at the time that only jadeite came in this white color (ridiculous I know). I asked him if it was jadeite. He paused for a second, seemed to think, and said with a heavy accent, "Yes...jadeite". "Wow!", I thought. Such a large and beautiful piece of jadeite. That's unheard of!

I asked him the price. He of course did the classic art gallery/antique store lie by showing me the price tag which was a bajillion dollars, and then quoting me a price that was a small fraction of that. He explained he was converting the second and third floors to condos or apartments or something and he needed the space. He then pointed to the corner where the floors were partially removed, some construction tools could be seen. Of course this was a flat out lie.

Later I even found out through some sources that the store had been using that same line for 10 years. In fact, the person who said he was the owner, and who everyone treated as the owner, was just the sales guy. And the guy they told me was the owner's assistant was actually the owner! I ended up picking out 4 large Afghanistan jade statues from him.

Inside I was still skeptical, but I pushed that way down into the Denial Zone and told myself he just wasn't familiar with these Chinese things and was just an idiot for selling it for so cheap. I did ask him several times, "You sure it is jadeite? It's Burmese Jade. It's from Burma. It has to be from Burma. It's a very specific mineral"; he replied, "Yes, yes! I tell you it's jadeite".   He was just telling me what I wanted to hear.  I don't even think he knew what jadeite was exactly, except that it sounded remotely like "jade".  thinking back, if I asked him if the sculpture was made of bananas he probably would have said, "yes".

So after some more price haggling I agreed to purchase on the condition that if they turned out to not be jadeite he would gladly refund me. Again I asked him several times to confirm he understood the arrangement. He looked me in the eye, gave me all sorts or assurances, and we shook hands.

Ok so I am a huge idiot. Never again will I not get something in writing. I was just naive and could not imagine someone being THAT dishonest. So of course I found out later they weren't jadeite and of course when I asked for a refund as promised a week later he told me the money was already gone; gone to the non-existent construction. He offered to give me some "pieces" to compensate. Well at least he didn't tell me to go screw myself, but I was still angry as hell.

Luckily, when he was writing out the sales receipt I made him write out "jadeite" in the description for everything.  This was my lifeline.  I threatened to sue. He said he had already spent the money so even if I sued there was nothing to collect. My friend with some experience told me these types of guys are so tricky they will pull all sorts of strings with different shell corporations and accounts so that even if I win the judgement I cannot collect any money. He recommended it was better to settle somehow. This is when I should have consulted a lawyer instead of relying on advice from a non-professional, but it was very difficult to get a lawyer to talk to me. I called several and all wanted nothing to do with it.

Because of this we ended up settling on receiving some more items from them and a partial refund ONLY because I had some evidence for something they were doing that could get them in trouble (which obviously I won't elaborate on).

All things considered, I came out with a pretty good deal when comparing what I paid and what I received.  The Afghanistan jade is not jadeite, but nevertheless they are still exquisite pieces of art.

The items I received in compensation are also great, but they just aren't my style and that is why I am trying to sell them.