“One kind, two colors, three processes”, how important is the type of jade?

For a long time, there has been no universally recognized evaluation and grading standard for jadeite. Every jade merchant has his own standards, and every jadeite fan has his own judgment. However, high-end fine jadeite still have something in common, that is, good quality, good color, clean and flawless, good craftsmanship, and large size... In summary, these are the factors that affect the quality of jadeite.

There is a saying in the industry: "One, two colors, three processes", which shows that among these factors, the type ranks first . Good quality is a prerequisite for high-end jade. Although everyone's preferences are different, some people pay attention to color, some people value quality, and some people pay attention to craftsmanship, but no matter what, a high-end jade cannot be separated from good quality.

For example, the old pit glass type that is pure, flawless and without any streaks, even if it has no color, is also a high-end jade product. On the contrary, no matter how good the color is, if the quality is poor, such as short water head, it is just an ordinary ornament.

For example, Tielongsheng and Ganqing varieties, although bright green in color, can only be ordinary goods due to their poor quality.

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What is “species”?

"Type" is a term unique to jadeite, which refers to the transparency, fineness and strength of its translucent and reflective luster.

Generally speaking, the higher the transparency, the better the crop. However, the color intensity and thickness of the jade affect the transparency. The darker the color (deep, dark), the lower the transparency, and the thinner the device, the higher the transparency. That's why there is the jade carving technique of digging and adjusting water.

Similarly, the finer the material, the better the quality, and vice versa. The better the quality of the jade, the stronger its reflective luster will be, which will appear as a halo inside the jade. This halo moves with the swing or change of light, which is commonly known as "luster".

Easily confused with "qiying" are "qijiao" and "rigidity".

"Gummy" refers to a fine and smooth texture, like solidified colloid, with no visible mineral crystal particles. This means that the crystal particles inside the jade are very small and arranged in disorder.

"Rigidity" refers to the fact that the jade piece reflects strong light, giving a sense of sharpness and firmness, just like the light reflected by metal. Rigidity is the visual manifestation of a material's tight structure, high toughness, high hardness, and strong light reflection.

In the industry, jade pieces with a strong sense of "luster" and "glue" are considered to be of good quality. Jade articles with "rigidity" are called old type or old pit, which means they are of high quality. Jade articles with particularly good material are sometimes also called "old pit type".

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2. Why is the quality high?

Once you understand what jade species is, the impact of the species on jade quality will become obvious.

First of all, good quality jade has a fine texture, tight structure, and slightly higher toughness, hardness and specific gravity. These aspects are manifestations of the excellent material, which means that good quality jade has good durability, but everyone has heard that tender quality jade is prone to mutating.

Secondly, good quality jadeite is very beautiful in appearance. Good quality jade has a strong luster and high transparency, which in common words means it is spiritual. Many people even believe that the quality of jade is the soul of jade. The ancients also knew about jade through the "spiritual energy" of stones. They called stones with spiritual energy jade, which are beautiful stones, and endowed jade with spiritual culture.

Therefore, the "aura" of jade is not only a manifestation of beauty, but also a kind of jade culture.

Third, good planting is a manifestation of scarcity. The quality of the vast majority of jade is very ordinary. Good quality, especially ice or glass quality, is very rare, and the better the quality, the rarer it is. In every Myanmar jade raw material public auction, there are about 10,000 pieces of raw materials, and less than 100 pieces are ice-type or above, which is about 1%. It can be seen that good quality materials are scarce.

To sum up, good quality jade has three characteristics: durability, beauty and rarity, which are also the attributes of high-end gemstones.

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3. How to judge the quality of seeds

The industry divides jadeite into four major categories from poor to good (from low to high): bean type, glutinous type, ice type, and glass type. At the same time, there is also a distinction between old and young types .

The age of the jade is judged by the compactness of its internal structure. Old material, due to its compact crystal structure, will have a glassy luster when polished, and it is very bright and has a mirror effect. On the contrary, young material, due to its loose crystal structure, will have a hazy and oily luster when polished, and it feels like it cannot be wiped clean, like ice chips.

Therefore, poor quality does not mean tender quality, and good quality does not mean old quality. There is even a saying that " old ice is better than tender glass " .

Therefore, learning to judge the species is a very important skill in purchasing jade. Generally speaking, the more you see and buy, the more you will naturally accumulate experience and learn to judge the quality and differences of the species.

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