How to buy genuine jadeite

Grade A jade is natural jade. The difference between natural jade and grade B jade, grade C jade, and other fakes of different materials are included.

Let us first understand the characteristics of these inferior and counterfeit products and the differences between them and A-grade jadeite.

1. Jade B/C

B-grade jade is a product that is made from natural jadeite raw stones through later artificial processing. Its essence is still jadeite raw material, but because its texture is not good enough and there are many impurities, the merchants beautify it for the purpose of sales. The English word bathe means "to rinse" and its first letter is B. Therefore, washed jade is collectively called "B goods" or "bleached goods". Of course, jade is not washed with water, but soaked in strong acid to corrode and dissolve impurities and stains, making it clear and bright. Jade that has been washed with strong acid has a loose structure, and the cracks after acid etching must be filled. A commonly used method is to inject transparent resin using the vacuum negative pressure method. The refractive index of this resin is close to that of jade, and after polishing, it is almost indistinguishable from high-grade jade.

C-grade jadeite is of even lower quality. Based on B-grade jadeite, it is processed through artificial methods to make light-colored or colorless jadeite into brightly colored finished products. Generally, the added color is red or green, which is called "dyed" jadeite.

We can identify A, B and C grade jadeite from the following five aspects:

1. Look at the gloss:

A-grade jade has a strong glassy luster. When distinguishing between A and B grade jadeite with the naked eye, first look at the luster under natural light. Generally, the luster of A-grade jade is a strong glassy luster, while the luster of B-grade jade is mostly waxy, with poorer brightness and smoothness. The edges of B-grade and C-grade jadeite often show a faint bluish-purple light, which is the color of the reflected light from the organic gum that fills it.

2. Look at the color:

The color roots of B-grade and C-grade goods cannot be seen. For colored jadeite, B-grade and C-grade jadeite give people the feeling that the colors are unnatural. The color edges often diverge, the colors appear to float, and the color roots are not visible or are not obvious. The color of A-grade goods is different, and is said to have “solid color”.

3. Look at the surface:

The surface scratches or polishing lines of A-grade goods are relatively orderly. To see the surface, you usually need a magnifying glass, 10 times is enough. The surface of A-grade jade is generally smooth, especially old jade; the surface of B-grade jade often has continuous corrosion pits. The corrosion structure on the surface of B-grade jade is disordered, because the various minerals in the jade composition have different degrees of solubility in acid, which often form spider-web-like acid etching marks on the surface; while the scratches and polishing marks on the surface of A-grade jade are relatively orderly, because the friction force is generally along one direction.

4. Look at the weight:

A-grade goods have a high density and feel heavy. Grade A jade is natural jade with a very high density, and will feel heavy in the hand; Grade B and C jade have been artificially corroded and filled with glue, and their internal structure has been destroyed, so their natural density will decrease, and they will feel lighter in the hand.

5. Listen to the sound:

The sound of A-grade products is crisp and pleasant, with a metallic feel. If you hang the jewelry in the air with a thin thread such as hair, and gently hit it with agate or A-grade jadeite, it will produce a very melodious, clear and echoing sound, which is crisp and pleasant with a metallic feel. The sound of B-grade jadeite is dull, not crisp, and not pleasant.

6. Look at the jadeite's properties:

The so-called jadeite texture is a structure in which fibrous crystals and porphyritic crystals are interwoven, with visible star-shaped, needle-shaped or flaky shiny surfaces, also known as fly wings. This is a very important feature of jadeite and an important symbol for identifying true and false jadeite. However, this cannot be used solely as evidence to identify A-grade or B-grade goods. It depends on the circumstances. Generally speaking, A-grade jade has obvious emerald green properties. The B-grade jade is damaged during the processing and the jadeite texture is blurred. However, if the degree of acid treatment is slight, the jadeite texture can still be seen and is very obvious.

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