What is the difference between machine-carved jade and hand-carved jade? Why is the price difference so large?

There is an old saying: "If jade is not carved, it will not become a useful object."

Excellent carving craftsmanship can not only make jade more beautiful, but also turn waste into treasure! Bring low-grade materials that have little value back to life!

Classic jade carvings like "Returning Home on a Snowy Night" are a typical example of jade carvers turning waste into treasure!

If nature gave life to jade, then jade carvers have endowed jade with unique connotations, giving it extremely distinctive characteristics of the times.

(Machine-carved jadeite)

But in today's fast-paced society, there seems to be not much patience left for meticulously crafted hand-carved sculptures!

In order to be faster, machine-carved jade came into being.

However, machine-carved jade combined with technology has indeed greatly improved the efficiency of carving and reduced labor costs. It can be said to be the best of both worlds!

However, machine-carved jade is not very popular in the market, and the price difference between it and hand-carved jade is huge. What is going on?

First of all, we need to understand the production process of machine-carved jadeite.

There are currently two common machine engraving methods on the market, one is ultrasonic engraving, and the other is computer engraving.

Ultrasonic engraving: The principle used is very simple. You only need to customize a pattern mold made of high-carbon steel in advance, and then use a machine to repeatedly and quickly rub the surface of the jade at an ultrasonic frequency to present the desired finished product.

To put it simply, it is to use a mold to press the jade into shape, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is copy and paste.

The equipment required is also very simple, only an ultrasonic machine and a mold that costs a few thousand yuan are needed, and not much human intervention is required in the middle.

One machine can carve two jade Buddha pendants within one hour, which is very efficient.

After all, if it is hand-carved, it will take at least half a day to complete.

Computer engraving: It has a higher technological content than ultrasonic engraving. It requires programming using special engraving software on the computer to determine the layout and position of the pattern, and then engraving the required pattern through a CNC engraving machine.

This method is more flexible than ultrasonic engraving and is not too limited by the template.

Although the above two methods are time-saving, labor-saving and low-cost, their shortcomings are also obvious!

Regardless of whether it is ultrasonic engraving or computer engraving, most of the finished products can only be relief, and the styles are generally single and lack spirituality.

If you want to be more precise, you have to make some changes to the machine, but this will increase the production cost, so few people in the market try it.

Furthermore, no matter how the machine engraving method is upgraded, it cannot escape the drawback of "inability to innovate"!

You should know that the reason why jade carvers are so important is that they can tailor-make jade according to the material, thus avoiding jade's disadvantages and magnifying its advantages.

Jade has natural properties and you cannot find two identical pieces of jade in the world!

It can be said that machine-carved jade is often formless but soulless, lacking the spirituality and human warmth of hand-carved jade.

Therefore, any jadeite of good quality will never be processed by machine carving!