Why are the backs of some jades uneven?

Type, water, color, and workmanship, these four factors will affect the value of jade. From the order of arrangement, we can know that the water head of jade has a great influence on its value. If the water head of jade is insufficient, is there any way to improve it?

have! When a jade carver discovers that the water head of jade is insufficient, he will improve it through carving, such as adjusting water and digging water. Water adjustment and water digging sound similar, but in fact, not only are the techniques different, the value of the jade jewelry created is also very different.

Water Transfer

Water adjustment means adjusting the water head. In the process of creating jade jewelry, in order to enhance the texture and layering of jade, a series of designs and polishing are used to make its surface as bright as a mirror, so that light can more easily enter the interior of the jade.

Jadeite that has been adjusted with water will be more transparent and lustrous. Water adjustment is the jargon in the jadeite industry. In professional terms, it means using the physical principles of light and shadow to achieve the effect of highlighting the material. Water adjustment is still relatively common in the market.

There are generally two methods of water adjustment: carving water adjustment and inlay water adjustment. When carving and adjusting the water, you can try to thin the jade to enhance its light transmittance and improve its transparency. You can also process the back of the jade into a concave arc surface to expand the light-receiving area.

Therefore, we see that the backs of many jade Guanyin and jade Ruyi ornaments are concave. This can make the surface of the jade appear crystal clear and beautiful, improving the original shortcomings of the jade.

Which jadeite needs water adjustment? Jadeite with particularly dark colors and thick color blocks tends to appear dull. In this case, you can adjust the water to appropriately reduce the color thickness of non-important parts and increase its light transmittance.

However, it should be noted that there is a limit to how thin jade can be ground. Jade that is too thin, although translucent, is often dry and easily broken, and its quality will be greatly reduced. Do not ignore the thickness of jade for the sake of water content.

When the quality of jade is relatively poor, the surface is rough, and the granularity is strong, we can also polish and grind it to make its surface smooth. The smoother the jade is, the easier it is for light to enter its interior.

Every piece of jade needs to be polished, so we say that jade water adjustment is very common. In addition to carving and adjusting the water, we can also adjust the water of jade by inlaying the bottom.

Wrap the back of the jade with a whole piece of metal, and use the curved and polished surface of the metal to collect and reflect extra light onto the jade, making the surface of the jade more lustrous.

The inlaid backing water adjustment is to cleverly use metal reflection to increase transparency and color brightness. However, if we remove the metal backing, the water adjustment effect will disappear. This is very different from carving water adjustment.

The use of water adjustment technology can make the originally imperfect jade become more beautiful. From a visual perspective, the jade that has been adjusted with water will be more transparent, but jade of particularly poor quality will not look good after water adjustment.

In addition, some jade carvers will also adjust the water of higher-quality jadeite. After all, people's pursuit of beauty is endless. Therefore, everyone should not think that the quality of jadeite that has been adjusted must be very poor. On the contrary, jadeite that can be adjusted is generally of good quality.

Digging for water

So what is the difference between digging water and diverting water? A difference of one word can lead to a huge difference in value. We dig a small hole behind the jade to enhance its light transmittance, which is called water adjustment. Water adjustment must be carried out without affecting the quality of the jade.

Digging water means digging a hole behind the jade to make the jade thinner, thereby increasing its transparency. The jade with the hole dug is very thin, and its firmness will naturally be greatly reduced. It may break if not careful. Therefore, digging water is not recognized by the industry.

The firmness of water-dug jade is very low and it cannot be worn. It is too thin and of low quality and is not suitable for collection or investment. Therefore, its value is generally very low. However, there is no clear boundary between water-dug and water-adjusted. Everyone should learn to judge for themselves.

Generally speaking, water-dug jade appears to be very transparent, but is not thick enough, resulting in low moisture content. It looks dry and has a poor texture, which is very different from real high-end jade.

Have you distinguished the concepts of jade water adjustment and water digging? Next time when you buy jade jewelry, be sure to check it carefully. Don't assume that jade with high transparency is definitely high-end jade.

Finally, we want to emphasize that post-processing cannot completely change the water head of jadeite, and water adjustment can only improve the water head of jadeite.

If the jade jewelry you own does not have enough water content, you can try taking it to a store and ask a jade carver to help adjust the water content, but don’t expect to turn glutinous jade into icy jade.