There are many places in the world where jade is produced, why is Myanmar's jade the most valuable?

The conditions for the formation of jade are very harsh. It can only be formed under low temperature and high pressure, through the movement of continental and oceanic plates over tens of millions of years. There are very few places on Earth that meet this condition.

Throughout the ages, countless jade products have come from China, so it is believed that China produces jade. However, China has not yet discovered any jade mining belts. The raw materials for making jade ornaments in China all come from Myanmar.

The jade produced in Myanmar is of superior quality and bright green color, comparable to emerald. Myanmar is the only country in the world that produces high-quality jade, so jade is also called Burmese jade.

More than 95% of the world's commercial-grade jade comes from Myanmar. What about the remaining 5%? In addition to Myanmar, jadeite has also been found in the following places, and some people have obtained certificates for these jadeite:

1. Guatemala

Someone has calculated that Guatemala is the second largest jade exporter in the world. It can occasionally mine a small amount of gem-grade jade, but overall it is not as good as Burmese jade and the quality is difficult to match.

Guatemala's jade history can be traced back to the Mayan civilization, and it has a long history. Few people have seen the raw materials from Guatemala, because the mining of this kind of jade has been monopolized by local companies, which have all the necessary mining and production facilities. What people see on the market are already finished products.

Quality: It is of great mining value, although most of its texture is only equivalent to medium and low-grade brick materials, usually with a coarse-grained structure, and is only suitable for making ornaments.

Guatemalan jadeite of better quality has a higher content of omphacite and its quality is close to that of old blue water or black jadeite.

Color: There are some special colors, jade lilac, dark green black jade, blue-green blue jade, and rainbow jade in multiple colors.

Market: The output is large but the mining is controlled. In the past, it was almost never exported in the form of raw stones, and finished products were only sold as tourist products.

Although the density of hazardous materials is slightly lower than that of Myanmar, ranging from 3.20-3.34, some of them can still meet the national inspection standards, so it is not reliable to identify them based on density online. Some people think that since there is an A-grade certificate, all of them are jadeite. Since the quality is good and the price is low, it is also necessary to inform consumers of the place of origin.

2. Russia

Russia has jade deposits, and there was even a rumor for a while that Russia could produce top-quality jade, but it has never been seen on the market.

Only a few Russian jadeites can be certified, and some have been identified as jadeite, but they have no jewelry value. Occasionally, they may contain emerald green, green, and water.

Quality: In terms of texture, color, transparency, etc., it is inferior to Burmese jade. No matter how officials, merchants, and pseudo-experts boast, Russian jade is far from reaching the level of commercial gemstones. At best, it can only be considered "jadeite rock", so it is a good idea to buy this material to decorate your house.

Market: More than 30 years later, in the mid-to-late 1990s, a small amount of jade raw materials from this deposit began to enter my country, and were mainly sold in the jade market in Hong Kong at that time.

The online shopping price for this piece abroad is: 22 grams of jade, 172 US dollars (about 1000 RMB). It’s not cheap either. In fact, it’s better to buy the famous Russian jade.

3. Japan

The earliest jade products in the world were unearthed in Japan, dating back to the Jomon period of Japan seven thousand years ago. It can be inferred that people at that time had mastered the basic jade processing techniques.

Japanese people like jade, as their country also produces jade, so it is not surprising that they have a special liking for jade. Japanese ladies are also willing to spend a lot of money to buy high-quality jade. On September 24, 2016, at the general meeting of the Mineral Science Society of Japan, jadeite was selected as the "Stone of Japan", or the national stone.

△ A jade axe made of jade from the Jomon period of Japan, 3000-2000 BC, presumably used as a chest ornament

Quality: Most of them are small in quantity and poor in quality. Strictly speaking, they can only be called jadeite.

Market: A small portion of the finished products are of this brand, ranging from 10,000 (￥500) to 20,000 yen (￥1000). Domestically, this kind of goods are less than ￥100.

The sacred artifact "Hachigama" in Japanese Shinto legend is made of jadeite. In fact, 90% of Japan’s finished jade products are this kind of magatama!

4. United States

Most American jade is produced in California, and its quality is not up to the standard for use as jewelry gemstones. And Americans are not interested in jade.

Quality: The raw stone is relatively dry and has a coarse structure, so most of it can only be used as carving material. It is basically impossible to dig out jewelry-grade emerald green jadeite rough stone.

Market: American jade has almost no market, and is mostly used as a carving and building material.

5. Kazakhstan

Jade deposits in Kazakhstan were discovered in the late 1950s, but due to market and quality reasons, no large-scale commercial mining was carried out. Neither raw materials nor finished products are rarely seen in the jade market.

Quality: Most of the grains are coarse and have no water content.

Color: mostly white, yellow, light green, light red, etc., among which the best green can reach apple green. This piece looks very much like Burmese jade!

Market: The quality is not very good and there is no large-scale development of it.

The finished product is sometimes really good, but this is rare.

6. New Zealand

New Zealand jade is also very popular among local people, and they also regard jade as their national stone. There are many local varieties.

Quality: Contains various ingredients such as silica and chromium, making it difficult to use as a gemstone.

Color: Green is the most common, but the color is uneven.

Market: The quality is not very good and the yield is not high, so it rarely appears in the market.

△New Zealand jadeite of national stone grade

Other origins include Colombia, South Korea, Mexico, Greece, etc. But the quality is too poor, although jade is produced in these places.

However, the jade produced in these places has one thing in common: very few of them are gem-grade jade, and most of them can only be used as carving-grade craft materials, which is far inferior to the quality of Burmese jade.

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