Jade pendant buying guide

by Seema Susheel

The easiest way to go about buying jade pendant is to look in to websites on the net and make a decision and order through card. For first time buyers you need to go for little time taking procedure of surfing many websites offering the same service and then deciding on one that has many design varieties, reasonable price ranges, good customer support and reliable delivery. You need to select the one that suites your budget and comfort level. There are many information sites on the net giving you all the information on the gemstone, its origin and the price categories too.

The word jade reminds you of princely treasures and exotic locales. The beauty of the gemstone jade has inspired many people to keep names like Jade gardens to their lush properties. Jade gardens would invoke in a person the feeling of peace and comfort and this is exactly what jade the gemstone is supposed to give its wearer; peace and harmony with oneself.

About the jade gemstone

The jade typically is imagined to be forever green in color but this particular gemstone is naturally available in many other colors like white, red, yellow, lilac, orange, pink, blue, black and brown. Hence to buy real jade of a good quality is a difficult task and you should meticulously go about making the purchase from a reputed jeweler as anybody can cheat you to believe a moonstone for a white jade. The high quality jade is known as Imperial jade and is rare. There are two types of jade’s nephrite which is mostly found in China and Russia and jadeite which is found in Japan and USA. Both these varieties have a hardness of around 7 to 6 mm. The gemstone jade apart from being made into beautiful jewelry is also carved into many traditional artifacts and is used for spiritual or decoration purposes.

Jade pendant – beauty with a purpose

You want to go for a jade pendant because you found it very appealing or you believe in the powers of jade and wish it brings you luck. Whatever maybe the reason to buy a jade pendant, its surly is a beauty you would be proud to behold. You could go for a varied range of jade pendants carved or plain, green or the transparent white, on a silver or platinum or gold chain. The design style of the jade pendant could be contemporary, sleek and stylish or traditional. The olive green jade is pretty popular and looks good in an ornate setting of oxidized silver, even white jade in a simple setting of silver would suite any casual or formal occasion. Typically jade pendant comes in shapes like circle, oval, and rectangle. There are pendants which are carved in to beautiful motifs. There are jade pendants from China which come in elaborate oriental designs. Jade luckily has many varieties of colors to choose from, you could have many jade pendants to match with every different dress and occasion. As you want to buy a pendant you could have a variety of different color pendants for the same neck chain, this won’t be very exorbitant and if you have the passion for jade, buying pendant of every color available won’t be heavy on the pocket too.

Jade is popular from ancient times

The hardness of jade is amazing and the stone is strong because of its hardness this makes it durable and sturdy. Jade in ancient times was also used in weapons because of its hardness, only later it started getting used in ornaments and decoration items. Jade is a popular gemstone in ancient Chinese culture and even in the present day China jade is widely used. The Chinese artisans even have carved spiritual people on jade and that is used as a pendant believed to protect the wearer and impart wisdom. According to Chinese astrology, the zodiac animal symbols are carved on jade and worn as pendants to bring luck. According to Feng shui the jade artifacts are kept at home as well as in the car for good luck. From China and Central America jade was exported to Europe and the Royal fraternity took a passion to wear jade as jewelry, and jade became popular worldwide because of the color green which looked like emerald, the stones hardness and the light refraction capability.

Jade’s mystical properties

From ancient times worldwide jade is considered to bring peace and open the wearer’s eyes and heart to love and positive energy within himself and in the material world around him. It’s been considered a sacred stone and is used in sacred spiritual practices. There’s also a belief that jade promotes longevity and balances the emotional ups and downs in the wearer to give him a fruitful and prosperous life. Jade is believed to help the wearer overcome his fears and move forward with self confidence and power to succeed. The stone also protects the wearer from negative forces and brings in harmony and positive energy. This stone is also believed to enhance the love between couples and hence is popular gift among lovers.

How to go about buying a jade pendant

The easiest way to go about buying jade pendant is to look in to websites on the net and make a decision and order through card. For first time buyers you need to go for little time taking procedure of surfing many websites offering the same service and then deciding on one that has many design varieties, reasonable price ranges, good customer support and reliable delivery. You need to select the one that suites your budget and comfort level. There are many information sites on the net giving you all the information on the gemstone, its origin and the price categories too. If someone in your friends or family circle has bought some jewelry on the net then take a lead from them. There are websites available on the net selling just the gemstone, you can buy the gemstone and make it into the pendant of your liking from you jeweler. This will cut the cost and you will get your customized jade pendant. There are jewelers owning shops dealing with the export import of gemstones who will sell jade pendants. You can personally go and choose and buy the jade pendant from a jewelry shop. For this you don’t have to be a novice and let the jeweler fool you. You can go prepared by surfing through many information sites on the net on jade the gemstone. You have all the information on jade, no one can take you for a ride and sell you a fake, with your new found gemstone knowledge you can keep the jeweler on his toes and get the right value for your money and time.

Jade Buying Guide

by Madhubanti Rudra

It is important to know that in case of Jade, the individual piece is important than the mere carat-weight of the stone. The value of each piece of stone is judged in terms of color. In addition to color, the clearness and smoothness of the stone are also taken into consideration. Another important value factor in Jade is cutting and carving. The smooth texture of this stone allows different innovative styles of curving that renders it a variety of shapes and patterns.

Jade; a thing of beauty

A green Jade always carries with it a refreshing air that greets you every time you behold  a piece of this gemstone. Nothing can quite compete with the beauty of this opaque stone except an equally bright piece of green emerald. The green color is believed to produce a rejuvenating impact on the human souls. That is why, since time immemorial jade had been highly prized for being a huge source of positive energy. Once an integral part of history and culture of China, Jade today is the part of every fashionable woman worldwide.

Myth

For thousands of years, the legends and myths surrounding jade evoked curiosity and passion among men. The historical existence of this exotic gemstone can be traced to the legends of Mayan and Aztec civilizations of Central America. Birthstone for the Zodiac signs of Libra, Aries, Gemini and Taurus, jade has always been coveted for its wonderful healing properties. In oriental countries, jade used to be regarded as the preserver of dead body. In their aspiration to attain immortality after death, the rich and mighty emperors of China used to build their tombs with rarest and most precious of Jades. In ancient India, Jade was called a ‘Divine Stone’ and used extensively for the treatments in such diseases as asthma, gravel, epilepsy and heartburn. In course of history, Jade traveled to Europe with the Portuguese settlers who were the strong believers in its miraculous curative properties for the kidney related diseases.

Throughout Asia, especially in China, jade is a prized stone for resuming love in the lives of the married couples. It is also believed to bring peace and harmony and calmness of mind.

Basically jade is regarded as a balancing stone. According to the oriental philosophy, Jade is the energy stabilizer; It strikes balance between male and female power, it provides balance to the emotional manifestations, and most importantly, it creates balance between positive and negative forces. It also invokes wisdom and spiritual qualities in human beings.

The Characteristic Features of Jade

Worldwide Jades are available in two broad categories. They are Nephrite and Jadeite. Although they broadly differ in their physical characteristics, they are similar to each other in multiple aspects. Both of them occur in large boulders to small pebbles in nature. They are so hard that they cannot be carved in the usual ways. Both jadeite and nephrite are tough and durable, although jadeite is slightly harder than nephrite due to its microcrystalline structure.

Among these two varieties, Nephrite is the commonest form of jade; it is also the softer version of the two. It has a complicated chemical structure consisting of magnesium or iron silicate crystals, formed into an interlocking fibrous mass. Nephrite is also known as ‘kidney stone’, because it is believed to work magically as a healer of kidney diseases. This Nephrite variety of Jade, which ranks 6.5 on the Mohs’ scale, comes in many other colors as white, light brown or yellow. But, the most common color in Nephrite is dark spinach green. The intensity of color however, is not very high. Nephrite is mined in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Taiwan.

In the present international market, jadeite jade commands much higher prices than nephrite. In fact, these days, jadeite jade is considered to be more authentic. Not only the color is much more vivid in Jadeite, the stone appears much more translucent too. Jadeite is actually a sodium aluminum silicate which consists of translucent granular crystals. It is a tough stone ranking 7 on the Mohs’ scale. Jadeite displays a fine range of green shades. However, green in jadeite is lighter than those found in nephrite. Jadeites are also found in black, blue, lilac, pink, purple, red, violet and white. Although Burma or Myanmar is the highest producer of Jadeite Jade, small quantities can be found also in Guatemala.

Value Factor of Jade

Jade is among some of the toughest gemstones that do not splinter easily. That is why, it is ideal for crafting jewelleries. In fact, its prodigal hardness made it the favorite material of the primitive men of Neolithic days for making their tools and instruments. All through the Chinese history, this stone had been extensively used to produce all kinds of beautiful artifacts and that tradition continues till date.

It is important to know that in case of Jade, the individual piece is important than the mere carat-weight of the stone. The value of each piece of stone is judged in terms of color. In addition to color, the clearness and smoothness of the stone are also taken into consideration. Another important value factor in Jade is cutting and carving. The smooth texture of this stone allows different innovative styles of curving that renders it a variety of shapes and patterns. Among different popular patterns, “moss in snow” pattern is particularly high valued.

Jade looks great with cabochons cut that renders it a dome like shape. This cut highlights on the smoothness of this stone. However in China, jades are given the shape, resembling a donut. These flat discs of jades are called, “Pi”. They are worn as necklaces in China.

Among all the varieties, the most prized variety is the ‘Imperial Jade’. In Chinese version, it is famous as the ‘Old Mine Jade’. This variety of Jade is not only rarest, but also the costliest, because of its extraordinary transparency. They are so clear that it is possible to read through them. The pure white jades also contain high value.

However there is another variety of Jade, called, ‘Grave jade’, that are collected by the grave-robbers. They are highly valued as a shield against harm.

The best quality jades are those which depict translucent and vivid medium green color. These top quality Jades are characterized with a total absence of inclusions and uniformity of color.

Precautions

These days markets are flooded with imitation Jades made of plastic and glass. However the fake Jades are distinguished from the original ones by the presence of entrapped minuscule air bubbles in them. It is highly recommended that on your travel to the oriental countries, do not get tempted to collect Jades from the local agents, buy Jade only from the authentic gem-traders who provide a buy-back guaranty for your gem.