I am a jade carver, and I witnessed the process of a cracked jade edge being "revived" by a jade carving master

Many jade lovers gambled on jadeite raw stones, but found cracks in the stones after cutting them. They felt like cold water was poured on their faces, and were at a loss what to do with the materials they had bought with “real money”.

In fact, jade is affected by natural geological activities such as water flow, weathering, and earthquakes during its formation process, so it is very normal to have cracks.

It is not scary if jade has cracks. The key is to meet a carving master who knows how to avoid cracks. They have the magical power to "revive" jade with cracks.

Today I would like to share with you the process of how a piece of cracked jade was "revived" by a jade carving master.

What needs to be saved is the jade edge material pointed by the red arrow in the picture. The part of the material with the best water quality and the highest degree of perfection has been cut out to make the piece. Although the remaining edge material is full of cracks, the water quality is good. The jade carving master can use carving skills to carve it and get a very beautiful work.

"Construction according to the materials, and art according to the materials" is the fundamental of jade carving. The carving master conceives a suitable subject matter based on the shape and crack direction of the material.

Taking into account the base color and cracks in the lower right corner of the jade, the jade carving master could use this part as a breakthrough point and design the composition into an elephant; the jade in the upper left part is delicate and clean, and the composition is the image of an arhat; the upper right part separated by a large crack can be preserved and cleverly carved into the Diamond Sutra held in the hand of an arhat; the fine lines in the middle can be avoided by using the complex beard texture of the arhat; the flawless part is designed with a smooth surface. With this idea, a drawing of an arhat riding an elephant was finalized.

The carving master used a combination of relief and round carving techniques, and the pattern of the design draft was quickly presented on the jade. The original small cracks on the jade have been basically removed, and the large crack in the upper right corner has also been cleverly avoided by using the Diamond Sutra scroll in the hands of the Arhat. The perfection of the work has been greatly improved. Can you imagine that a piece of rough product is carved from material covered with large and small cracks?

The polished product astounded everyone. The excellent quality of the jade made the finished product icy and moist. Layers of faint glue-like fluorescence wrapped the entire pendant, making it as charming as ice crystal jelly!

The image of the arhat is vivid, with a peaceful look on his face, stroking his beard with one hand and holding a sutra in the other; the little elephant welcomes with a cheerful look, and the lucky rat entangles a golden sutra. The pattern combination of the pendant is vivid and full of Zen, which makes people love it.