Breathtakingly beautiful, those legendary top-quality jadeite!

The finest jade is nature’s gift to mankind. It often does not require carving or is breathtakingly beautiful with just a little carving. Today, I will take you to appreciate those finest jades.

1The treasure of the National Palace Museum in Taipei - Jade Cabbage

The widespread popularity of jade is also due to the Qing Dynasty's royal aristocrats' fondness for jade. Since the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, jade has been favored by many emperors and it reached an unprecedented heyday. The Empress Dowager Cixi was very fond of jade and used it in huge quantities. Jade was used for silk toads or inlaid in various jewelry, displayed artworks, carried-on court beads, and playthings such as "jade ruyi".

The jade cabbage was originally a decorative item in the Yonghe Palace of the Qing Dynasty. It is said to have been one of the dowries of Concubine Jin, the concubine of Emperor Guangxu. Cabbage represents innocence and symbolizes the purity of the bride.

The material used for this cabbage is delicate, round and full of moisture. The craftsman carved the white and green leaves of the cabbage according to the natural color of the raw material. There are two small insects lying on the tender green leaves.

Seeing the high-definition pictures, I couldn't help but be amazed. The jade carver cleverly used the different colors on a piece of jade to carve out a lifelike cabbage, and the materials and shapes are unique. If you look closely, you will find katydids and hoppers on the leaves, which symbolize fertility and good fortune. One can't help but sigh that this "Jade Cabbage" is truly worthy of being the dowry of Concubine Jin, the concubine of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty.

Visitors have to queue for two hours to see the jade cabbage.

2Private Collection of Ms. Soong Mei-ling

Among modern celebrities, Soong Mei-ling was a person who loved jade madly. In 1997, at Soong May-ling's 100th birthday party, people were shocked when this centenarian, once a famous woman of her generation, appeared in front of many guests and media with a traditional bun and a black cheongsam.

She wore a complete set of jade jewelry: jade earrings, jade necklace, jade bracelet, and jade ring. The color and texture of the entire set of jade jewelry are of top quality. The egg-shaped jade ears on the earrings and rings are rich and deep in color, making them look more stable and majestic. The jade beads on the necklace are round and smooth, and the emerald green is delicate. A full green jade bracelet has a uniform and rich color, and is delicate and transparent.

Song Meiling wore jadeite jewelry at her 100th birthday party in 1997

Dressed in a complete set of jade, although she is already a centenarian, Soong May-ling is still so graceful, elegant and noble.

Among Ms. Soong Mei-ling’s private collection, there is a pair of bracelets that is also quite legendary.

It is said that in the 1930s, Tie Baoding, the jade king in Beijing, bought a piece of jade with excellent green color. He asked a jade craftsman to remove the defects and make a pair of twisted bracelets. This pair of jade twisted bracelets are not only flawless but also novel in design. They are emerald green like water, delicate and beautiful, making them the best jade bracelets. The style is novel, the jade is bright and as clear as water. Du Yuesheng, the leader of the Shanghai Green Gang, bought the pair of jade bracelets for 40,000 yuan and gave them to his wife.

Afterwards, Soong Mei-ling saw that the jade bracelet worn by Mrs. Du Yuesheng was very beautiful. It looked extraordinarily delicate on her fair wrist, so she took it in her hand and looked at it again and again. Mrs. Du Yuesheng took the opportunity to present the pair of jade bracelets to him.

From then on, Soong Mei-ling took good care of the pair of jade bracelets. As time went by, the bracelets became more and more transparent, brighter and the emerald color more vivid. Soong Mei-ling never took them off.

Song Qingling's jade twist bracelet from 1930, estimated at HK$40 million

3 Foreigners are also crazy - the legend of the jade necklace worth 214 million

In the "Magnificent Jewels and Jade Jewelry" special session of Sotheby's Hong Kong Spring Auction in 2014, a natural jade bead necklace from the collection of Barbara Hutton started at HK$88 million and was sold for HK$190 million. Including commission, the total transaction amount was HK$214 million, which broke the world record for jade auction and became a new legend.

The famous jadeite necklace worth HK$214 million

Barbara Hutton wearing an emerald necklace

The original owner of the necklace was the legendary socialite, known as the "Billionaire Darling" Barbara Hutton. She is the granddaughter of American retail magnate Frank Winfield Woolworth and one of the few Western celebrities known for her love and collection of jade.

This jade bead necklace from her old collection was a wedding gift specially made for her by her father from Cartier when she married Prince Alexis Mdivani of Georgia in 1933 at the age of 20. It is of great commemorative value. Barbara Hutton kept it carefully after her marriage and chose to wear and display it publicly for the first time at her 21st birthday party.

The necklace remained in the Mdivani family collection for over 50 years until it first appeared at auction in 1988. The necklace was sold for a whopping $2 million that year, causing a sensation and becoming the world's highest-priced jade jewelry piece sold at auction.

The 27 jade beads on the necklace are crystal clear, lush green and bright, round and evenly colored. They come from the same raw stone. Although its origin remains a mystery, it is believed that they were all cut in the 18th century.

Necklace clasp close-up

Barbara Hutton had a special liking for jadeite. Following the advice of a gem expert, she commissioned Cartier in 1934 to customize the ruby ​​and diamond clasp for the necklace that we see today. The symmetrically arranged square-cut rubies and rectangular-cut diamonds are inlaid with gold. Its simple geometric shape highlights the emerald green color of the jadeite, adding to its gorgeous and moving elegance.

In 2014, this peerless jadeite necklace designed by Cartier herself more than 80 years ago returned to Cartier through an auction and became the most legendary piece of the Cartier collection.

4Jack Ma bought a jadeite bi for 7 million RMB

On the evening of December 16, 2014, Poly Auction Co., Ltd. (Hong Kong) and Jet Li's One Foundation held the "One-Together-Love Charity Night", and Jack Ma won a pair of "natural jade bi disks with dragon and phoenix patterns" for 7 million yuan.

Natural Jadeite Dragon and Phoenix Patterned Jade Bi

The pair of jade bi disks that Jack Ma bought for 7 million yuan are bean-type jade and bright green in color. It is 48mm wide and 6.5mm high. The original stone is from Myanmar and is inlaid by hand using 18K gold and 18K white gold using modern technology. The top one is a ruby ​​and the outside is inlaid with fine small diamonds. It incorporates Chinese auspicious imprints and the beauty of natural harmony into traditional craftsmanship.

Natural Jadeite Dragon and Phoenix Patterned Jade Bi

The design concept adopts the dragon and phoenix totems of the Han Dynasty, combined with auspicious clouds. The 18K white gold and 18K gold used for inlay are designed into the shape of bamboo nodes, which implies rising step by step. The two walls are a pair, symbolizing the auspiciousness of dragon and phoenix. The overall light transmittance of the jade is good, and the internal patterns are even and rhythmic.

However, this price is not uncommon. Compared with the sky-high priced jadeite in China and abroad, the jadeite worth a mere 7 million is far inferior to those amazing high-priced masterpieces in the history of auctions. Looking at the jadeite that has left its mark in auction history, most of them have prices reaching tens of millions of RMB.

5 Good jade is not polished

As the saying goes, “If jade is not carved, it will not be made into a useful object.” Carving refers to removing the imperfect parts of the jade, such as cracks and blemishes. The purpose is to make up for the imperfections of the jade material. It is a subtraction process. Even the smallest carving will result in loss of jade material. The best quality jade is naturally formed and has been created by nature before being presented to the world. It does not need any carving, or just a few strokes will make it perfect.

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