What is the "water adjustment" of jadeite, and what effect does water adjustment have on jadeite?

What is the water adjustment of jadeite?

Water adjustment actually means to skillfully enhance the transparency of jade products through carving techniques, creating a good water head from a visual perspective. It must be pointed out that water adjustment is a physical process and will not destroy or affect the structure of jade itself.

Water adjustment means adjusting the water head. In the process of jade creation, in order to enhance its texture and layering, it must undergo a series of designs and polishing to make it more transparent and shiny. This process is called jade "water adjustment" in jargon. In professional terms, it is to use the physical principles of light and shadow to achieve the effect of highlighting the material.

If the surface of jade is rough, the quality is poor, and the transparency is weak, then the "water" is weak or there is no "water". Through grinding and polishing, the surface of the jade can be made as smooth as a mirror, which helps light penetrate the surface and enter the interior. In other words, adjusting the light and transparency can achieve the purpose of "adjusting water".

Using carving techniques to adjust water

Using carving techniques is the main method of adjusting water. When carving, the jade is ground into a thinner layer to enhance its light transmittance and improve its transparency, making it easier for the jade to "revive"; the uncarved surface is processed into a concave surface (arc surface), thereby expanding the light-receiving area. For example, the back of Guanyin's head, the Buddha's belly and the back of his head are hollowed out to make the originally slightly dark base material appear crystal clear and beautiful.

Faced with the situation where dark color and thick color blocks affect the transparency of jade, the dividing line between green and colorless is outlined during the carving process, and the thickness of green in non-important parts is appropriately reduced to increase its light transmittance, achieve a "watery" effect, and reflect the icy and fresh green.

Of course, there are certain limitations to grinding jade into thinner pieces. Since light needs a certain depth to interact with the type and base to produce the effect of "water", jade that is too thin, although translucent and highly transparent, often lacks "water". Therefore, the quality of water adjustment is closely related to the skill level of the jade craftsman.

Use mosaic backing to adjust water

Inlaying the backing is another way to "adjust the water". Bottom refers to the back side, and inlaid bottom means wrapping the back of the jade with a whole piece of metal during inlaying.

By utilizing the curvature and metallic surface of the backing material, extra light is collected and reflected onto the jade, enhancing its surface gloss, thereby affecting the adjustment of color and achieving the same effect as water. It is worth noting that with the cancellation of the back cover or the opening of the movable back cover, the light and shadow created by the back cover will disappear completely, which is fundamentally different from carving "water adjustment".

The use of the "water adjustment" technology can make the originally imperfect jade become perfect and visually enhance the transparency of the jade.

The quality of the "water adjustment" process is the key to determining whether the jade is solemn and beautiful in shape. If it can be used freely, the jade raw material will have unexpected artistic appreciation value. Only by adapting to the times, local conditions and materials can we ultimately achieve the perfect combination of "natural work" and "artificial work".

It is precisely because of the ingenuity of many craftsmen that imperfect jade can be reprocessed through carving or inlaying methods to present the beautiful jade that we love.

Jade has a soul because of water. The water in jade gives jade spirituality, and the craftsmen's meticulous "water adjustment" gives jade a soul.

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