Use national standards to reveal the "Jade Truth" so that consumers will no longer be deceived!

On May 13, the National Jewelry Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (NGTC), the Jewelry Identification and Evaluation Professional Committee of the China Jewelry and Jadeite Jewelry Industry Association, and the Jewelry and Jadeite Jewelry Professional Committee of the China Quality Inspection Association jointly held a press conference on "The Truth about Jade". At the meeting, 10 sets of jade samples of different types and qualities, as well as various national standards related to jade, were exhibited. The guests at the conference used the physical exhibits to restore the original appearance of jade and expose jade consumption traps.

NGTC jewelry appraisal certificates, price tags, standard color stones and natural jade jewelry that meet national standards were displayed at the venue.

Jade B+C production process sample display

Common B+C jadeite in the market

National Standards Display

The name of Jade comes from the national standard

"Jade" is a proper noun defined by national standards. It is mainly composed of jadeite or jadeite and other sodium, sodium-calcium pyroxene (sodium-chrome pyroxene, diopside), and may contain a small amount of amphibole, feldspar, chromite and other minerals. It has a Mohs hardness of 6.5-7, a density of 3.34 (+0.06, -0.09) g/cm3, and a refractive index of 1.666-1.680 (+/-0.008). It is a mineral aggregate with technological value. In other words, the word "jade" cannot be used indiscriminately, especially when it is a commodity facing consumers, it must strictly comply with the above national standards to be called jade.

"Whether a piece of jade is good or not, the grading standards will tell you." On March 1, 2010, the national standard "Jade Grading" came into effect, dividing the quality of jade into grades based on four aspects: color, transparency, texture, and clarity. The national standard provides specific criteria for judging the quality and value of jadeite.

Jade identification to distinguish the true from the false

Jade is a masterpiece of nature. Its color, quality, and appearance vary greatly. There are flawless jades and ugly ducklings. Jade's beauty is often improved through some processing methods on the market. Generally, jade is divided into four categories according to whether it has been artificially processed and what processing methods are used: natural jade without any processing, commonly known as A-grade jade; jade that has been processed by bleaching, wax dipping, filling, etc., commonly known as B-grade jade; jade that has been dyed is commonly known as C-grade jade; jade that has been processed by various means, commonly known as B+C grade jade.

The above four types of jade are common types in the market. Grade A jade has the highest value, and the other grades decrease in value. Jade that looks similar at first glance may differ in value by hundreds of times. Due to the lack of relevant identification knowledge, many consumers often buy jadeite that is dyed to pass off as natural, fake or inferior. There are also some unscrupulous merchants on the market who use glass or even plastic materials to impersonate jadeite, which are not included in these four categories at all.

The identification basis and testing methods of jadeite. Professional quality inspectors need to make a preliminary judgment through naked eye observation, then use a gem microscope to magnify and observe the internal features, and then test several basic properties based on the sample state, such as refractive index, density, ultraviolet fluorescence, etc. Finally, further confirm the test results by testing the ultraviolet and infrared spectra of the sample. If you encounter difficult samples and the above methods do not produce accurate test results, you can also use large-scale instruments such as Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy for further testing.

Jade consumption certification

The certificate issued by an authoritative professional testing organization is the "identity card" of jewelry and jade products. It provides effective protection for consumers through authoritative testing basis and standard testing procedures. "This involves two issues: one is which testing agencies are authoritative, and the other is how to understand the certificates issued by these testing agencies." Domestic jewelry testing agencies facing the public must obtain certification from authoritative agencies such as the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment and obtain the three certification marks of CNAS, CMA, and CAL.

When consumers receive the certificate, they should pay special attention to the "Inspection Conclusion" and "Remarks" columns. According to national standards, quality inspectors will give one of the following five inspection conclusions: natural jade, jade (processed), spliced ​​jade, synthetic jade, and imitation jade. Natural jade, commonly known as A-grade jade, has not undergone any artificial processing other than cutting and polishing. Jade (processed) means that the sample has been processed by means of dyeing, bleaching, filling, coating, etc.; spliced ​​jade means that the sample is made up of two or more materials that are artificially spliced ​​together; synthetic jade means that the sample is completely or partially artificially made, but its chemical composition and other properties are basically the same as natural jade; imitation jade means that the sample may be some kind of artificial gem (such as glass, etc.) or a jade imitation of a similar jade. For jadeite that has been artificially processed, the quality inspector will indicate the processing method in the "Remarks" column.

China is the world's largest jade consumption market. In 2018, the total consumption of jewelry in my country was about 600 billion yuan, of which the online jade transaction volume exceeded 130 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.7 times. Faced with the phenomenon of fake jade and inferior jade appearing in the market, Huachen calls on consumers to buy jade products from reputable, honest merchants with good after-sales service, and at the same time, to have authoritative certificates issued by formal testing agencies.

fruit

fcgc33