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.

Is that really fake jade? Misinformation on the internet.

There are a lot of websites out there about what jade is and what isn't, what is fake and what isn't, etc.  Unfortunately, in my opinion there is a lot of misinformation out there, and it really comes down to a language problem.

You might have read that the Chinese word for "jade" is "yù" (玉), and vice versa the English word for "yù" is "jade". You will also read that jade refers only to two minerals nephrite and jadeite, and that nothing else is jade.

This is all true, but here is where it gets tricky.

The word "jade" was coined by French mineralogist Alexis Damour who was in China during the late 19th century. He analyzed the chemical composition of sculptures and jewelry in China that were called yù (玉) and defined jade as a gemstone being either the minerals nephrite or jadeite.  Why only these two? I can't say for sure but probably because those two were the most popular at the time and the most valuable and perhaps that was all he was exposed to.

On the flipside, the Chinese word "yù" (玉) can actually refer to many different stones.  For example, all the way back 1600 B.C. to the Shang Dynasty where we have our first written record of the Chinese language, yù also referred to sausserite, which is a mineral aggregate found on Dushan mountain in Anyang, Henan province.  Actually, of the Four Great Jades (四大玉 or sì dà yù), none are nephrite or jadeite!  The Four Great Jades are said to be Dushan jade which is sausserite, Hetian jade which is tremolite, Xiuyan jade which is a tremolite and serpentine mix, and Lǜ sōng shí which is turquoise!  Tremolite is very similar to nephrite (same chemical composition and crystal structure, but tremolite has more magnesium than iron, and is much softer) so for the definition of "true jade" in the West, people count it as a nephrite jade.

I have also seen the list of the Four Great Jades with Lantian jade, which is tremolite typically with a lot of impurities from Lantian county of Shaanxi province, replacing turquoise.

Dushan jade tends to be mottled.  However, a good artist can use this to his advantage.

Another fine example of polychrome Dushan jade carving

In Chinese, the stones are typically associated with their provenance as opposed to their chemical composition.  So the ever so popular Hetian jade is from the city of Hetian, Xinjiang.  Afghanistan Jade is from the Himalayas on the Afghanistan side.  Dushan jade is from Dushan mountain.

This is why the translation is a problem.  Because of this, I would say the word "gemstone" is a more accurate translation for "yù" and not "jade".

If you go online you will see a lot of these "lost in translation" problems. You will see things for sale such as "Dushan Jade", "Jasper Jade", "Afghanistan Jade", etc. for sale which are neither nephrite nor jadeite. This is probably because some Chinese guy used a translation app, typed in "独山玉" (Dushan yù), hit translate and out popped "Dushan Jade". Unless he is telling you that Dushan jade is nephrite, he's not purposely trying to trick you.

You will also see a lot of information on the web saying that these aren't "true jades" and that these are fakes and imitations of legitimate jade.

This is actually the point of all this rambling: these aren't fake jades or lesser jades.  True, they might not be worth as much pound per pound when compared to jadeite and nephrite, but they aren't inherently fraudulent or wannabe imitations. Is Swarovski Crystal a fake diamond? Is silver fake platinum? Is peridot a fake emerald?

A peridot gem, for those unfamiliar

Now if someone were to try and sell you a silver ring while telling you it's platinum then he's giving you a fake.  And unless someone is selling you serpentine and calling it jadeite (this happened to me in a very expensive and well known art gallery in San Francisco), he's not trying to cheat you.

They aren't as rare, but they are still considered beautiful stones worthy of the being called 玉 and capable of being made into fine pieces of art.

As a small aside, once I was talking to someone on eBay who listed a "Green Jade sculpture".  I asked, "Why did you list it as green jade?  It's purple and gray with little spots of black.  There is no green at all".  He replied, "Do you know about green jade? It has many colors".  What the heck?  After more confusing talk he showed me a screenshot of his Chinese translation app.  In it he typed the Chinese characters for "fěicuì", which is a common nickname for jadeite, and his translation options were "emerald" and "green jade" and "jadeite".  He picked the wrong option.

Actually I just did the same in Google Translate and it just gave me "emerald".