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.

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.