Please excuse any errors in this AI-generated transcript.
Welcome to Jewels of the Trade.
My name is Jordan and I'm here with Zemin Luo, an independent gem and jewelry appraiser and owner of Bay Area Gem Lab. Zemin was a jade researcher and instructor in
China with a focus on origin determination. She has been published in a number of
reputable publications, including GIA's Gems and Gemology. Zemin is one of the most knowledgeable experts on jade in the USA, and I am so excited to feature her on my
channel.
Welcome, Zemin!
Hello everyone! Thank you. Thank you, Jordan, for having me here.
Thank you for being here.
I'm so excited to introduce you to the JOTT
audience. Zemin, let's hit the ground running.
How did you become interested in jade?
Wow. It's a long story.
So about 20 years ago,
when I was a bachelor student in China University of Geosciences. We had a very special course called “Jade Wares and Culture in China.” The teachers taught us about the history of Asian jade, ranging from the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty, to the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty. We also had the opportunity to go to local museums.
One was called the Hubei Provincial Museum.
We had the chance to see and touch the antique jade pieces in person. It was really an impressive and interesting experience. So, since then, I began to like jade.
Well, it sounds like you were able to connect with it on a deeper level than even common Chinese people. I think everyone in Chinese culture is very connected with jade, but getting that history probably gave you an even deeper connection. Yes, exactly. Yeah. So very interesting. So after I graduated with my PhD, I went back to that university.
I became a lecturer and researcher, and I also became the teacher for that class.
That is so awesome. Can you talk about your role working as a researcher at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan?
Yes. When I first went to this university— I started doing research on modern nephrite, like Russian nephrite, Xinjiang nephrite, South Korea nephrite, and Qinghai nephrite.
We tried to find a scientific, quantitative way to distinguish the jade from these origins. After two years of research, we found some scientific ways to do some quantitative—
to quantitatively distinguish between these jades.
Then I had the chance to research the Asian jade.
I went to local museums, not just the Hubei Provincial Museum. There are many other museums in Hubei Province. I began to research Asian jade, including Neolithic Age nephrite jade and also the Western jade, like this one.
This is not my research object, but it is the only site discovered in
China that is about 7,500 to 8,000 years old.
00:03:57
It was discovered in the Xinglongwa culture in Inner Mongolia,
in China. It’s about 8,000 years old.
It’s made of nephrite.
So it's the earliest jade discovered in
China.
So that means the jade culture has at least
8000 years of history in China.
Absolutely incredible.
I want to dive deep into Nephrite Jade's
history in China with you.
But first, I want to tell the audience about
the International Jade Summit taking place in
just a couple of weeks on June 14th at the
Monterey Bay Jade Festival.
This all day conference is going to feature
educational seminars on the topics of both
Jade's from Kirk Makepeace,
Mary Lou Ridinger,
Jeff Mason and more. It's going to be an
incredible event and if you want to register, there are still some tickets left.
The link is in the video description also.
Hello, who’s all in the chat?
Say hi to Zemin! Please welcome her to the channel.
If anybody in the chat has questions about jade in China,
leave them in the chat for Zemin to answer.
So Zemin, as someone who lived in China, can you start at the beginning and tell
us how nephrite jade is really viewed in Chinese culture?
Yeah. So let’s go back to these pictures.
00:05:21
In China, jade is not just ornaments or jewelry.
It’s not just an aggregate of tremolite or actinolite.
It has a lot of cultural and historical meaning.
As we mentioned, since 8,000 years ago, Chinese people began to use jade,
especially nephrite jade, in their daily lives.
00:05:52
Zemin: This picture shows the Hongshan culture, about 5,000 years ago.
This is called the Jade Pig Dragon.
This kind of jade, in the beginning, was more used as a ritual object.
It was used as an ornament to worship the heaven or the earth, or as a connection between humans and the divine. So it had more ritual and religious meaning.
00:06:28
And then—do I have one more?
Yeah. So this—let’s go to the Western Zhou dynasty.
So you can see from this image, the people are standing above the dragon
and the phoenix. This means the dragon and phoenix take the people
to the heaven. So it has a lot of, I mean, interesting culture behind the jade, not just common ornaments. This jade is a very beautiful jade. It’s a column, but it’s not used in daily life. I think it has more... I mean...
So is it more ceremonial?
Yes. It’s not really meant to be used.
It’s more to be seen.
00:07:29
Yes. This one was discovered about 2,500 years ago in the Zhonghui tombs.
These are very famous tombs. In this tomb, there were many high-end nephrite pieces,
and many high-end jewelry pieces discovered in this tomb.
00:07:54
This piece is also displayed in the Hubei Provincial Museum. That’s the museum in Wuhan, located in Wuhan. At that time, many of these jades had their decoration purpose, but most of them were used as ritual objects.
Right, definitely.
Yeah.
When you were doing your research in China, and you were getting ancient jades from museums...
Yes.
Did you already know they were nephrite before you studied them, or were you studying them to find out if they were nephrite?
Oh, yes. When we see the objects, we know that nephrite has very special colors.
It has a greasy luster. It’s easy to identify by naked-eye observation, whether it’s nephrite, jadeite, or some other jade-like gemstone.
Unless it has a lot of staining or color.
Yes, unless there is a lot of staining. But usually, jade is easy to identify.
Our research purpose was to identify where they are from.
Archaeologists are very interested in knowing where they come from.
That’s the reason, after I finished the research on modern nephrite, we transferred to the Asian jade.
We tried to help the museums find out where this Asian jade comes from.
Are they from Xinjiang or from other places like Russia, or from Xiao Yan?
This is in the northeast part of China. So there are different origins.
So you were studying the origins more for archaeology, like archaeological purposes, not necessarily for jewelry valuation.
Right.
Yes. And at that time, we focused on that.
Yeah, we didn’t pay much attention to the jewelry industry.
00:10:03
But right now, as far as I know, some of my colleagues in China, they are trying to develop and gather more samples, trying to develop better statistical methods to help determine the origin of modern nephrite jade.
Right, right. Wow. There’s still so much that needs to be studied.
00:10:28
Oh, did we—did we look at this one?
Oh yes. This one. We should mention this one.
Is this from the same tomb? As I mentioned, it’s called the Zhong Hui tomb. It’s a very famous jade. I think this one is the most beautiful jade— the most unique nephrite jade I have ever seen. I don’t remember the exact name of this jade. It’s about 40 centimeters long, and it has five different parts. And it actually has 16 smaller jade pieces. Each of them can be—I mean, they are foldable.
Yeah.
That’s so cool.
Yes. It’s very cool. This is a national treasure.
Oh of course. Yeah, yeah.
That’s such sophisticated carving for that time period. I mean, during the Warring States period. They obviously didn’t have electricity, and a lot of modern advancements hadn’t been made yet in jade carving.
Yes. There are many dragons, phoenixes, snakes, and other intricate carvings on this jade. The most important feature is the movable rings that connect all the pieces together.
Because it would have been carved from the same piece, right? They weren’t attached later? Were they attached?
No, they are not attached. We did some research.
These pieces are not from the same nephrite source. They look very similar, but they actually came from five different pieces of jade. At that time, most of the nephrite was discovered in rivers.
There were no primary mines for sourcing jade directly from the mountains.
I mean, they are discovered in the rivers.
There's no primary mines.
So they are smaller pieces.
00:12:29
What about this piece?
So this piece is from the Han Dynasty.
At this time, the shape of the dragons changed a lot compared to earlier periods. For example, the Shang Dynasty or the Western Zhou Dynasty. In these times, you can see the shape of the dragons looks more like an “S” shape, or what we in Chinese call the “gong” shape.
So it’s a little different.
But the clarity and luster are excellent.
The dragon looks more vivid.
It has a very vivid appearance.
Oh, yeah. There’s something about it that’s more modern,
I think. You can see the difference between this and the previous dragons we looked at.
On the 16 pendant, which we showed before, the dragon is quite different from this one.
This one is from the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago.
00:13:40
And then what about this one?
This piece is also from the Hubei Provincial Museum. I want to emphasize that the Hubei Provincial Museum has many very unique and excellent top-grade jade pieces.
This one is from a priest.
From a priest’s tomb.
His name was Liang Zhong.
In Wang’s tombs, they have many wonderful nephrite pieces. Most importantly, you can also see some turquoise there. And ruby. I don’t remember the black ones exactly—
maybe sapphire. From these tombs, they began to have some gemstones in the jewelry.
This started during the Ming Dynasty. So this piece is about 800 years old—well, let me double-check that. Sorry, it’s actually about 600 years old. Yes, 600 years ago.
00:14:46
This is from the Ming Dynasty. The dragon’s head is inside, surrounded by some flowers.
It has 360-degree coverage. This is very different from what we see in the Han Dynasty dragons.
00:15:08
It’s funny because the Han Dynasty already showed a big difference from the dynasties before that. The Han was kind of like the Renaissance in China. In the Han Dynasty, you had an influx of art and prosperity, and you see these advancements in jade carving.
To see it progress even further in the Ming Dynasty is really impressive.
Zemin, thank you so much for sharing these photos.
00:15:37
We have a question from Dake.
Dake says it seems like most of the very early jade excavations came from northeast China, such as Hongshan. So is it true that jade culture came from that direction rather than the northwest?
Let me think about it.
Actually, at the same time as Hongshan in the south part of China, there were two other important cultures. One is called the Lingjiatan Culture.
The other one is the Liangzhu Culture.
The Liangzhu Culture may be a little later than the Hongshan Culture, but the Lingjiatan Culture is almost from the same period.
In the Lingjiatan Culture, they also had jade— mostly nephrite. Most of them were nephrite.
They were also explored by archaeologists. So to answer this question—it’s a very big question.
I think this should mainly be answered by archaeologists.
If anybody is a jade archaeologist, please message me.
So coming back to nephrite jade culture in China today— what do you want the audience to know and understand about how China sees jade now?
Yeah. So we’ll talk about it in two or three aspects.
First, from the national aspect.
On the left side of the screen, you can see the Chinese character for China,
which we call “Zhongguo.” In the character for “guo,” we include the jade character inside.
That means in China, jade—especially nephrite jade—is considered a national gemstone. I think everyone remembers in 2008, the Beijing Olympics. For the medals, the Chinese government put 6,000 nephrite jade pieces handmade into the medals.
This was a great fusion— a combination of Chinese culture with the spirit of the Olympics.
So in China, nephrite is the national jade. And we include the jade character in the Chinese character for “guo.”
The second aspect I want to mention is that China is strongly influenced by
Confucian culture. In Confucian philosophy, nephrite represents a gentleman’s moral virtues. We often compare jade to the good virtues of a gentleman. At least, there are five important virtues. We compare nephrite to five important virtues.
We call it "Zheng, e, ji, yong, zhi."
The first one, "ren," means benevolence.
It’s because nephrite has a greasy luster,
which symbolizes that a gentleman is very kind to people.
He has great compassion for everyone. The second virtue is "e." It means that nephrite has the best toughness among all jades. So it represents a gentleman’s righteousness.
He never compromises in any situation. The third virtue, "ji," means wisdom. Although nephrite has a greasy luster, the color is almost white. It doesn’t shine brightly, which means that a wise person doesn’t show off their wisdom. They keep their deep insights in their hearts, but they are very wise people.
00:20:57
This one is a great example of nephrite’s quality.
The fourth virtue is "yong," which means courage.
It means that even though nephrite has wisdom, it also has courage.
It means the person has the courage to overcome any trouble. He also thinks deeply before he takes action. And the last virtue is purity.
Because nephrite has very little impurity, it looks the same from the outside and the inside. It means a good person has good purity. He always behaves properly and does good deeds.
So that’s from this aspect. In China, people think a gentleman should wear nephrite jade.
Jordan: Y’all listening? Y’all hearing this?
A gentleman should wear nephrite.
Zemin: Yes. And for a gentleman, you shouldn’t keep the jade away from your body or your clothes. You should wear it.
So, in the spirit of gentlemen buying nephrite, let’s talk about the jade shopping experience, especially for nephrite jade.
Some customers shopping from Chinese sellers hear the term “Hetian jade,” or “Hetian yu.” What does this term actually mean?
00:22:57
Zemin: Oh, this is a really great question. We need to separate it into before 2003 and after 2003. About 22 years ago, Hetian jade only referred to nephrite jade discovered in Xinjiang, mainly from the Kunlun Mountains and the Altun Mountains.
So nephrite Hetian jade at that time had very specific geological origins.
But after 2003, Hetian jade refers to any nephrite jade that has the main mineral composition of tremolite. It has a beautiful appearance and most of them have a greasy luster. So now, any nephrite can be called Hetian jade, including Russian nephrite, South Korean nephrite, and Canadian nephrite. So if you go to the Chinese market and ask about any jade, they will say it’s Hetian jade.
That seems misleading, because customers hear “Hetian” and think it must be from Xinjiang. And that’s definitely the implication of the word.
But from what I understand—this topic came up in our Discord recently—it’s really just a term used in place of “nephrite.” A lot of Chinese jade sellers don’t say “nephrite jade.” They say, “This is Hetian jade,” right?
Zemin: Yeah. Yes, exactly.
In China, we don’t say nephrite or jadeite.
We just talk about jade, and later we’ll talk about the differences. We use very traditional Chinese ways to describe the jade, like Hetian, Hetian yu, or fei cui.
So these pieces are real—real jade from Hetian. We call it in Chinese—these nephrite pieces were discovered in the three main rivers of Xinjiang. Let me think… the Yurungash River. Also, the Karakash River and another river—I think it’s the Keriya River.
There are so many rivers!
Xinjiang is such a huge place. In the West, we’re not taught Chinese geography in school, so it’s hard for us to understand how big Xinjiang is.
Yes, it’s huge. And there are different regions in Xinjiang— even in Khotan, or Hetian.
So there can be very different qualities of jade.
Yes. Even from the same place, the quality can be very different.
Oh sure. And then you have simulants, right? They try to make it look like a river pebble, even if it’s not.
Yes. This image shows the top left, which is what we call Ziliao.
This is from the Yurungash River, and the other pieces are simulants. Xinjiang jade is the most valuable in the nephrite jade market. It’s much more expensive than what we call mountain river material or mountain material. So there’s a big price difference. That’s why many people make simulants to sell for a good price.
For example—Can you give listeners an idea of the price for a Hetian river pebble?
Is it hundreds, thousands? Tens of thousands?
Yes, even for Hetian river pebble material, the prices can vary. The highest prices can reach about $100,000.
Wow—$100,000?
Yes, but the origin has to be proven.
Yes, it depends on origin and quality. The quality can also be around $10,000 to $20,000.
And for lower quality, it can be from $1,000 to several thousand dollars for Hetian river pebble material.
For the simulants, some use mountain river material.The mountain material of nephrite to mimic them. The lower right pieces are not nephrite. They can be quartzite or other materials. But they are also discovered in the rivers in Xinjiang.
Zemin, on the quartzite -- Is it dyed red on the outside?
For this image, they are not dyed. They are just discovered in the river. So they have a very similar appearance.
How are they distinguished?
Quartzite has different geological features than nephrite. For example, we can use a refractometer to distinguish them. We can also use weight because quartzite is much lighter than nephrite. Right.
Is it common in China for people to sell quartzite as nephrite?
No.
Because when they feel it, can they tell it’s nephrite? Yes, if you have some basic knowledge. Also, Korean nephrite jade is called Hetian jade in China.
29:42
Zemin: Yes. This is nephrite jade. We went to South Korea and visited the mine. We got these pieces in 2013. At first, we thought South Korea didn’t have much output.
But when we went to the mine, we found they have a lot of deposits. That was more than 12 years ago. Right now, I don’t know the exact number.
Are the deposits being actively mined or just discovered?
No, they have been mined for about—I think about 50 years.
Oh, wow. That’s interesting. Is Korean jade usually sold as Xinjiang jade?
Or as Hetian Jade? Do they lie about the origin?
Yes. Some dealers who are not honest sell it as Xinjiang jade.
Can people tell though? Can they tell it’s not from Xinjiang? I’ve heard Korean jade has a waxy luster. Like a really waxy luster.
Is that true?
Some of them. But they also have some good quality. Oh they do?
Yeah.
That’s good. So every deposit has different qualities.
Yes, exactly.
Wow. Wow. Okay, I’m going to pause you for a second. We’re going to go to the chat because everybody’s really excited. Before we move on to Mutton fat, I want to make sure you get to answer some of these questions.
Bjd Love says this is perhaps a niche question, but they’re curious. They know some bianqing were made with jade. Do you know anything about this?
Sorry, I don’t know this word.
I don’t know this word, Bjd Love. Are you still here? Oh, this is a different question from BJD Love.
Hi BJD Love, for your second question—
People try to find at-home methods to test jadeite jade.
Are there also at-home ways in China that people use to test nephrite?
As far as I know, I don’t know anyone at home testing jade because in China, there are many laboratories. In Guangdong Province, there are about 50 laboratories.
So it’s easy to get it tested. Why test it at home?
Yeah, it’s cheap and convenient.
So you might as well—cheap, convenient, close. 50 of them! Going back to this question about he bianqing. It’s an instrument. Bjd says it’s kind of like a xylophone, but hanging. Do you know anything about jade instruments?
Oh, okay.
That’s a great question. These are deep questions!
It’s like a xylophone?
Yes, a xylophone.
Okay, I didn’t know. Sorry.
We learned something new today! We didn’t know about this instrument.
I’m going to have to Google it.
So Dake has a question about Qinghai jade. He says it doesn’t look traditional because it’s icy. He’s had many people tell him it’s serpentine. Qinghai material. Yes. We see a lot of Qinghai nephrite. In our research, most of the samples are Qinghai nephrite. Some of them, we don’t say they’re icy. In China, we see that they have more transparency than Xinjiang nephrite because the nephrite structure sometimes is parallel to a direction. This gives it higher transparency. But they are not serpentines.
They’re nephrite?
Yes, they’re nephrite.
So the Qinghai material—can it have chatoyancy?
Cat’s-eye?
Nope, no.
As far as I know, chatoyancy mainly comes from Russia or Taiwan. I don't know of any others. Oh, I know some from the US. Oh, is that from Wyoming?
Washington. Yeah. Yeah.
I think the Taiwan jade is green. The Washington jade is blue.
I think the Taiwan jade is green.
The Washington jade is blue.
Okay. I've seen green jade from Russia.
I know there’s white chatoyant nephrite, but I don’t know if it’s common.
I don’t know if it’s really on the market.
I’m not sure if it’s ever actually on the market.
Chatoyancy is very common. I have one here—oh, that’s...
A great example. I don’t know whether you can see it or not. This one is from Russia.
Chatoyancy—I can see lots of it on the Chinese market. Even in Guangdong, there are many pieces.
Yes. Even in Guangdong, there are many pieces.
I have a great video on this channel—and I’m not tooting my own horn. I have a great video about cat’s eye jade. It actually features Rodney Cook from Washington Jade.
They share amazing information about what makes nephrite chatoyant and the debate about whether it should be considered nephrite jade.
I highly recommend it. I think you should check it out for sure.
So let’s go ahead and talk about mutton fat.
36:04
Do you use the term “mutton fat” as a jade appraiser?
Actually, no. As far as I know, “mutton fat jade” is a commercial term in the jade market. But for the laboratories I know—
like GIA in Hong Kong or some Chinese labs—they don’t use it in reports. Because it’s very difficult to scientifically define what “mutton fat” actually is. As an appraiser, I want to be more accurate and scientific. If I don’t know how to distinguish high-end white jade from mutton fat jade, I won’t say it. We can describe it as having the appearance of mutton fat color, but we don’t write “mutton fat jade” in the conclusion.
As an appraiser, I want to be accurate and scientific. If I don’t know how to distinguish high-end white jade from mutton fat jade, I won’t say it. But we can describe it as having the appearance of mutton fat color. But we don’t write in the final report that it’s “mutton fat jade.” It’s a commercial term. And mutton fat is a range too, isn’t it?
Not all mutton fat would look the same.
Yes. This image doesn’t show mutton fat jade—it shows white nephrite jade.
I mean, it ranges from white nephrite to a slightly greyish green and some deep green or dark green colors.
So even white nephrite has different ranges.
For mutton fat white nephrite, there’s no definition. There’s no clear definition of what color range or whiteness range it should have. No laboratory has a clear definition for it.
So it’s very difficult to say. It’s very difficult to call it definitively.
553
00:37:57,270 --> 00:38:03,850
I think people normally consider mutton fat to be the highest quality of nephrite jade.
554
00:38:03,850 --> 00:38:08,850
So in your opinion, what makes nephrite jade the highest quality?
555
00:38:08,850 --> 00:38:09,930
The best quality?
556
00:38:12,530 --> 00:38:14,210
Well, as this image shows—
557
00:38:14,410 --> 00:38:16,450
Yes, not this one, but—
558
00:38:16,490 --> 00:38:23,090
Yes. This one. In my personal view, I think nephrite should have this color,
559
00:38:23,130 --> 00:38:27,010
this greasy luster, and a very fine texture.
560
00:38:27,050 --> 00:38:30,010
Even for some white nephrite, they can be very white,
561
00:38:30,050 --> 00:38:33,690
but the texture isn’t very fine.
562
00:38:34,090 --> 00:38:38,970
So for this image, I think it’s not mutton fat jade.
563
00:38:39,010 --> 00:38:39,490
Yes.
564
00:38:40,890 --> 00:38:43,650
And I love showing pieces like this.
565
00:38:43,650 --> 00:38:46,250
Thank you for sending me this photo to show.
566
00:38:46,250 --> 00:38:52,010
Because I think a lot of people think that nephrite jade is cheap.
567
00:38:52,410 --> 00:38:56,130
What do you say to customers who think nephrite is cheap?
568
00:39:00,170 --> 00:39:02,590
I don’t think nephrite is cheap.
569
00:39:02,630 --> 00:39:06,590
Yes. Just like jadeite,
570
00:39:06,750 --> 00:39:13,030
jadeite has different kinds of qualities.
571
00:39:13,070 --> 00:39:18,190
For lower quality, it’s cheap. For middle and higher quality, it’s not cheap.
572
00:39:18,230 --> 00:39:22,630
For example, river pebbles—
573
00:39:23,110 --> 00:39:30,310
Pebble jade from the river can be sold for $10,000 or $100,000 for one piece.
574
00:39:30,310 --> 00:39:32,670
So it depends on the quality.
575
00:39:32,670 --> 00:39:34,270
Price is based on quality.
576
00:39:34,310 --> 00:39:35,910
We don’t just talk about price.
577
00:39:37,070 --> 00:39:39,190
Yes. It’s just like anything else.
578
00:39:39,190 --> 00:39:42,350
Like you said, you can have lower quality or super high quality.
579
00:39:42,350 --> 00:39:47,710
I think a lot of people don’t realize that nephrite jade can be very
580
00:39:47,710 --> 00:39:50,630
high quality and fetch very high prices.
581
00:39:50,630 --> 00:39:55,030
I hope this video helps people realize that.
582
00:39:55,230 --> 00:39:59,850
For those watching, Zemin is the author of a paper called “Origin
583
00:39:59,850 --> 00:40:03,810
Determination of Dolomite-Related White Nephrite through IB-LDA,”
584
00:40:04,050 --> 00:40:10,770
published in 2015. Before we dive deeper into white nephrite jade origins,
585
00:40:10,770 --> 00:40:15,010
can you explain why this research was done in the first place?
586
00:40:15,050 --> 00:40:19,290
What was the motivation behind determining jade origin?
587
00:40:20,210 --> 00:40:26,410
Yes. There were two main reasons for us to start this research.
588
00:40:27,130 --> 00:40:33,050
In the Chinese market, the price for different white nephrite varies a lot.
589
00:40:33,370 --> 00:40:40,050
Xinjiang nephrite is almost always the most expensive.
590
00:40:40,050 --> 00:40:43,250
Most people want Xinjiang nephrite.
591
00:40:43,530 --> 00:40:49,490
But as we discussed with the Chinese national standards,
592
00:40:49,490 --> 00:40:52,810
Hetian jade can refer to any jade.
593
00:40:53,050 --> 00:40:58,550
So people don’t know if they’re paying for real Hetian jade.
594
00:40:58,590 --> 00:41:03,470
Sometimes they pay too much money for jade from
595
00:41:04,390 --> 00:41:07,110
South Korea or other places.
596
00:41:07,350 --> 00:41:13,990
So from a market perspective,
597
00:41:14,270 --> 00:41:18,630
people want to know where their jade is from.
598
00:41:19,070 --> 00:41:25,030
At our university, we collaborated with
599
00:41:26,550 --> 00:41:32,830
the Chinese National Gems and Jewelry Testing Centers.
600
00:41:32,830 --> 00:41:40,270
We’re trying to find a scientific way to identify where the jade comes from.
601
00:41:40,430 --> 00:41:45,150
So we collected many samples from different origins
602
00:41:45,470 --> 00:41:49,350
and used advanced equipment to test them.
603
00:41:51,550 --> 00:41:55,350
This kind of begs the question everyone wants to know:
604
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Does origin determine the value of white nephrite jade?
605
00:42:01,610 --> 00:42:09,450
Yes, exactly. In the Chinese market, Hetian jade is still
606
00:42:11,330 --> 00:42:14,250
regarded as the most expensive nephrite.
607
00:42:14,290 --> 00:42:18,170
And then Russian nephrite, and then—
608
00:42:19,210 --> 00:42:23,330
This is mountain material from Russia.
609
00:42:23,850 --> 00:42:26,850
And then South Korea—no, then
610
00:42:26,890 --> 00:42:28,770
Qinghai. Yes. Oh.
611
00:42:28,810 --> 00:42:30,290
Qinghai.
612
00:42:30,330 --> 00:42:30,850
Yes, Qinghai nephrite.
613
00:42:31,170 --> 00:42:32,410
That’s where—
614
00:42:32,410 --> 00:42:34,490
These pieces are from Qinghai.
615
00:42:34,930 --> 00:42:39,010
The red pieces show some green colors there.
616
00:42:39,050 --> 00:42:42,890
These are very unique pieces from Qinghai.
617
00:42:42,930 --> 00:42:47,770
No other origins have this vivid green color.
618
00:42:48,290 --> 00:42:52,330
This is called Qīngjīn nephrite from Qinghai.
619
00:42:52,770 --> 00:42:57,300
The best quality of Qīngjīn can be compared to Hetian jade
620
00:42:57,540 --> 00:43:00,420
because of its unique and vivid color.
621
00:43:01,060 --> 00:43:08,900
Some people say the finest Siberian white jade is the same quality
622
00:43:08,900 --> 00:43:12,140
as the finest Xinjiang white jade.
623
00:43:12,180 --> 00:43:13,020
Is that true?
624
00:43:19,180 --> 00:43:27,020
If you really find very similar texture and grading, in that situation,
625
00:43:27,060 --> 00:43:32,820
origin isn’t as important as we said before.
626
00:43:33,020 --> 00:43:39,860
So when we talk about origins, we focus on quality.
627
00:43:40,020 --> 00:43:45,860
Xinjiang Hetian jade usually has higher quality because it
628
00:43:45,860 --> 00:43:48,860
has a very fine texture compared to other places.
629
00:43:48,980 --> 00:43:50,980
But if they’re the same quality,
630
00:43:51,540 --> 00:43:55,280
then I don’t think the price difference matters.
631
00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:55,560
Yes.
632
00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:56,880
I completely agree.
633
00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:00,320
I think most people in the live chat will agree as well.
634
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:04,680
Do you think origin is becoming less important over time?
635
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:16,920
Over time? I hadn’t really thought about this question before.
636
00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:20,160
But if they have the same quality,
637
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:22,320
then origin isn’t important.
638
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:23,400
Yeah.
639
00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,520
I love it. I love everything you’re saying.
640
00:44:26,880 --> 00:44:28,400
This is so much fun for me.
641
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:29,840
Okay, the chat is going wild.
642
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:31,280
Let’s check in with the chat.
643
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:34,000
Wow, you guys are so active.
644
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:35,360
I absolutely love this.
645
00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:37,600
Oh, The Gem Corps Nia is here.
646
00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:39,240
Hey Gem Corps, how are you?
647
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:46,920
The Gem Corps says: Where does the pyrite-included nephrite come from in Qinghai?
648
00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:50,360
The JOTT audience has the best questions.
649
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,900
Where does the pyrite-included nephrite come from?
650
00:44:53,900 --> 00:45:00,300
Qinghai. Actually, I don’t know the answer to this question.
651
00:45:00,980 --> 00:45:04,740
There’s a GIA paper on it, and I thought it wasn’t Qinghai.
652
00:45:04,740 --> 00:45:08,260
I can’t remember exactly.
653
00:45:08,300 --> 00:45:11,020
Dake, are you here? You might remember this.
654
00:45:12,580 --> 00:45:13,820
We might—
655
00:45:13,820 --> 00:45:16,620
I’ll post the GIA article in the Discord, Nia.
656
00:45:16,660 --> 00:45:18,460
It’s a really great article.
657
00:45:19,260 --> 00:45:21,620
Mark Adams says very informative.
658
00:45:22,060 --> 00:45:24,940
Oh, BJD Love with another great question.
659
00:45:25,140 --> 00:45:29,100
Is translucency desirable in nephrite?
660
00:45:31,220 --> 00:45:35,460
Translucency is less desirable in nephrite.
661
00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:37,700
It’s quite different from jadeite.
662
00:45:38,060 --> 00:45:45,580
Only the highest quality nephrite is somewhat semi-translucent, not very
663
00:45:45,580 --> 00:45:51,080
translucent. That’s because of the very fine texture,
664
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:53,040
interlocked with each other.
665
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:54,840
So the transparency is lower.
666
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,840
But for jadeite, translucency is more important.
667
00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:06,280
In nephrite jade, does the translucency correlate with toughness?
668
00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:09,320
Like durability.
669
00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:12,920
That's a good question.
670
00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:16,520
So I only bring it up because in jadeite jade—
671
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:22,320
Fei cui—it's because it's a granular
structure. In jadeite,
672
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:26,680
the smaller the grain size,
the more translucent and also the tougher.
673
00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:30,320
But nephrite jade, because it's fibrous and
stacked like sheets,
674
00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:32,360
it might not necessarily be the same.
675
00:46:35,080 --> 00:46:43,080
I didn’t do the test before. But usually,
nephrite has higher toughness than
676
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:45,520
jadeite, right? Yeah. Yes.
677
00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:48,400
And because it has an interlocking
structure,
678
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:56,180
in my personal perspective,
I think if it’s more transparent,
the toughness
679
00:46:56,700 --> 00:47:01,660
should be lower. Because the more
interlocking structure,
680
00:47:01,700 --> 00:47:02,060
the more—
681
00:47:02,060 --> 00:47:02,820
The more opaque.
682
00:47:02,980 --> 00:47:03,780
Yeah. Yeah.
683
00:47:03,820 --> 00:47:06,180
Yeah. The more and the more greasy.
684
00:47:06,660 --> 00:47:09,300
I mean, you’re going to get the texture.
Yeah. Yes.
685
00:47:09,500 --> 00:47:11,500
Oh, that’s very interesting.
686
00:47:11,700 --> 00:47:12,900
I’m loving this.
687
00:47:12,900 --> 00:47:19,780
Nia wants to know if your white nephrite
jade research informs the databases of the
688
00:47:19,780 --> 00:47:23,420
Raman and infrared spectroscopy
instrumentation?
689
00:47:24,580 --> 00:47:30,060
Whenever I release information,
it updates the database of Raman and
instrumentation.
690
00:47:35,420 --> 00:47:37,620
Thank you, Nia, for this question.
691
00:47:37,860 --> 00:47:45,300
So for the nephrite research on the database
of Raman and infrared spectrometer,
692
00:47:45,340 --> 00:47:47,260
if it’s just for nephrite itself,
693
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:50,360
I mean for the main mineral composition of
tremolite,
694
00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:52,440
there aren’t many differences.
695
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:56,600
But if we talk about the inclusions,
for example,
696
00:47:56,640 --> 00:48:01,680
different origins have different inclusions,
especially for green nephrite.
697
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:04,400
The Raman spectra probably have some—
698
00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:07,120
I mean, they have some information there.
699
00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:10,240
So before I left China,
700
00:48:10,240 --> 00:48:14,000
I was doing some research on the green
nephrite.
701
00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:22,360
We have some samples from Canada,
some from Russia and some other origins.
702
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:27,960
They do show some inclusions differences under
Raman spectra.
703
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:31,680
But unfortunately I haven't finished this
research.
704
00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:35,160
Oh, I'm so excited to learn more though.
705
00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:40,560
When you go to the Monterey Bay Jade
Festival,
706
00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:44,840
I think you'll be really interested to talk
to some of the carvers there.
707
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:51,340
They have tremendous insight on using
inclusions to determine origin in green
708
00:48:51,340 --> 00:48:54,300
nephrite jade. And at the Monterey Bay Jade
Festival, of course,
709
00:48:54,300 --> 00:48:58,300
you can see examples of jades from so many
different origins.
710
00:48:58,300 --> 00:49:00,180
So maybe it will—
711
00:49:00,220 --> 00:49:02,300
Maybe it will help with your research.
712
00:49:02,420 --> 00:49:04,540
Sure, sure. I'm looking forward to it.
713
00:49:06,340 --> 00:49:14,460
So before we move on to the topic of jadeite
jade, called Fei Cui, let’s check the chat and
714
00:49:14,460 --> 00:49:20,380
see what everyone’s saying. And then we'll
talk about what I think is
715
00:49:20,380 --> 00:49:23,060
the most fascinating topic in jade right now.
716
00:49:23,100 --> 00:49:26,740
Nia says she’s looking forward to Monterey.
717
00:49:28,060 --> 00:49:32,420
BJD Jade says it’s so interesting. Dake
agreed that the Qinghai material is more
718
00:49:32,420 --> 00:49:34,500
brittle, so that’s interesting.
719
00:49:34,540 --> 00:49:40,460
If anybody else has anything to contribute on
the matter of the icier,
720
00:49:40,500 --> 00:49:45,680
more translucent nephrite jades that are
typically known to come from Qinghai being
721
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:50,240
less tough than, say,
the more opaque white nephrite jades of
722
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:54,240
Xinjiang, please let me know in the comments.
723
00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:56,720
I’m super interested to hear more about that.
724
00:49:58,960 --> 00:50:01,240
There are so many comments.
725
00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:03,880
This is great. There’s a lot going on in the
chat.
726
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:05,920
Oh, Mason-Kay is here.
727
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:07,840
Mason-Kay says hi. Hi,
Mason-Kay!
728
00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:09,080
Hi. Hi, Jeff.
729
00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:13,880
Siri says hello. Mark says hi.
730
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:16,040
Everett is here. Hey,
Everett.
731
00:50:16,320 --> 00:50:19,760
Awesome. So glad you’re here. Everett is a
very talented jade carver. You should
732
00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:20,960
definitely check him out.
733
00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:23,680
Okay, let’s get into the good stuff.
734
00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:28,800
Everything so far has been great,
but let’s really dive into jadeite jade.
735
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:31,520
Or the more appropriate term for jadeite
jade,
736
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:34,120
which is Fei Cui. Zemin,
737
00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:39,520
can you talk about the need for an umbrella
term and how Fei Cui solves the jade
738
00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:41,000
nomenclature problem?
739
00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:51,330
Yes. So I think since 2012,
I found that some of the high-
740
00:50:51,330 --> 00:50:59,410
quality green jade looked like Myanmar jade
and they thought it was jadeite jade.
741
00:50:59,450 --> 00:51:03,050
But their RAMAN results showed it was
actually omphacite jade.
742
00:51:03,250 --> 00:51:10,250
Since then, GIA, Lotus Gemology and many top
gemological laboratories like those in Hong
Kong—
743
00:51:10,290 --> 00:51:12,010
They found that—
744
00:51:12,050 --> 00:51:16,250
For the jade we used to call jadeite,
it could actually be jadeite, omphacite or
kosmochlor.
745
00:51:16,290 --> 00:51:20,010
So the gemological laboratories of Hong Kong
746
00:51:20,210 --> 00:51:24,250
began to propose that Fei Cui is a more
appropriate term to name these three
747
00:51:24,610 --> 00:51:31,050
varieties of the pyroxene jade mineral
groups.
748
00:51:31,090 --> 00:51:35,090
Since 2014, the Hong Kong labs have continued
to promote this.
749
00:51:35,570 --> 00:51:42,150
In China, they now say they only use Fei Cui
to represent these jades.
750
00:51:42,150 --> 00:51:49,230
The good news is that Lotus Gemology dropped
the name jadeite from their reports since
July 2023.
751
00:51:49,510 --> 00:51:52,630
And the CIBJO, the World Jewellery
Confederation,
752
00:51:52,630 --> 00:52:01,190
also organized a Fei Cui working group in
October 2023 to develop international
standards.
753
00:52:02,590 --> 00:52:10,390
They announced that they will continue to
promote this standard in Shanghai last year.
754
00:52:10,390 --> 00:52:12,350
They’re working on the international
standards.
755
00:52:12,550 --> 00:52:17,510
Probably they’ll publish the international
standard this year or next year.
756
00:52:19,070 --> 00:52:21,390
So we’re looking forward to it.
757
00:52:21,750 --> 00:52:27,990
GIA also started using the term Fei Cui in
the comments section of their reports. They
758
00:52:28,030 --> 00:52:33,230
describe it as a trade term for omphacite,
jadeite and kosmochlor.
759
00:52:33,230 --> 00:52:35,230
So—
760
00:52:35,270 --> 00:52:42,130
Oh, and if I can add, I'm also really excited
to announce Mason-Kay Jade,
761
00:52:42,370 --> 00:52:46,450
who is one of the leading authorities on jade
testing and valuation in the USA,
762
00:52:46,490 --> 00:52:48,210
they’re going to start adding Fei Cui
763
00:52:48,530 --> 00:52:49,010
to their jade testing reports
764
00:52:49,730 --> 00:52:54,450
starting June 1st this year, 2025.
765
00:52:54,450 --> 00:53:00,090
Yeah, so it’s catching on fast!
769
00:53:11,490 --> 00:53:13,010
It's definitely taking off.
770
00:53:13,010 --> 00:53:14,410
People are using the term.
771
00:53:14,770 --> 00:53:16,730
Yeah. So why do people use Fei Cui?
772
00:53:16,930 --> 00:53:23,250
Because this term has been used in China for
at least 2000 years.
773
00:53:23,850 --> 00:53:28,610
And China and Asia are the main jade markets.
774
00:53:28,970 --> 00:53:35,570
So people are beginning to think it's more
appropriate to use this term to represent
775
00:53:35,610 --> 00:53:37,290
these three jade varieties.
776
00:53:37,410 --> 00:53:44,070
And most importantly, it's difficult to
identify these three mineral varieties with
777
00:53:44,070 --> 00:53:48,190
traditional gemological equipment,
especially jadeite and omphacite,
778
00:53:48,470 --> 00:53:52,230
as the triangle images we showed earlier
illustrated.
779
00:53:53,470 --> 00:53:59,350
Jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor can form a
solid solution series in natural
780
00:53:59,350 --> 00:54:07,510
environments. Jadeite and kosmochlor can
form a complete mixture, and jadeite and
781
00:54:07,550 --> 00:54:11,110
omphacite can also form solid solutions.
782
00:54:11,230 --> 00:54:19,070
That means the main metal ions in the
structure can substitute for each other
783
00:54:19,110 --> 00:54:22,830
in the structure. You can also see the
colors.
784
00:54:23,030 --> 00:54:29,470
Some jadeite colors have a very similar
appearance to omphacite,
785
00:54:29,510 --> 00:54:32,910
and some omphacite can look like
kosmochlor.
786
00:54:33,070 --> 00:54:37,770
So it's really difficult to identify them
with traditional equipment.
787
00:54:38,370 --> 00:54:42,970
Yes, I have a video for everyone watching
that dives deeper into this with Richard Hughes
788
00:54:42,970 --> 00:54:46,770
of Lotus Gemology. I'll link it below after
this.
789
00:54:46,770 --> 00:54:49,170
But if you search "Fei Cui" on YouTube,
790
00:54:49,170 --> 00:54:53,810
it'll come up. I also want to mention that
this might seem highly technical for jade
791
00:54:53,810 --> 00:54:58,490
customers, but just know that for you, the
customer, an omphacite report from a gem lab
792
00:54:58,490 --> 00:55:03,570
doesn't really matter if you have a piece of
Imperial jade.
793
00:55:03,570 --> 00:55:10,170
The Fei Cui umbrella term basically means
whether it's mostly jadeite or omphacite is
794
00:55:10,730 --> 00:55:14,290
largely irrelevant to the overall attributes,
795
00:55:14,290 --> 00:55:15,930
quality and value of the piece.
796
00:55:15,930 --> 00:55:21,130
So these institutions using the term Fei Cui
is very good for jade customers.
797
00:55:21,130 --> 00:55:24,010
I think that's probably enough technical
talk for now,
798
00:55:24,010 --> 00:55:27,930
but if anybody wants to learn more, I do have
more videos on that.
799
00:55:32,770 --> 00:55:36,590
Some Chinese sellers call many stones "jade"
that
800
00:55:36,590 --> 00:55:39,550
actually aren't Fei Cui or nephrite jade.
801
00:55:39,590 --> 00:55:43,230
Can you talk a little about jade simulants
and the confusion surrounding
802
00:55:43,230 --> 00:55:44,030
the word jade?
804
00:55:45,030 --> 00:55:49,790
Yes, there are many jade simulants in the
world.
805
00:55:49,910 --> 00:55:56,710
Most of them can be identified using
traditional gemological tools like the
806
00:55:57,390 --> 00:56:00,430
refractometer or a specific gravity test.
807
00:56:00,790 --> 00:56:03,910
But I wanted to show this image here
808
00:56:03,910 --> 00:56:07,790
because in the past 3 or 4 years,
809
00:56:08,310 --> 00:56:13,510
this kind of quartzite from South Africa has
become very
810
00:56:13,550 --> 00:56:16,270
popular in the Chinese jade markets.
811
00:56:16,430 --> 00:56:23,990
They have a very similar appearance to jade
or what’s called “floating flower jade” on the market.
812
00:56:24,390 --> 00:56:31,510
The hardness is about seven, and the
transparency is very good, but their price is
813
00:56:31,510 --> 00:56:35,690
about one percent of real fei cui.
814
00:56:35,930 --> 00:56:38,490
Much less than fei cui, oh, sure.
815
00:56:38,530 --> 00:56:44,210
So for people who don't know fei cui on the
market and can't tell whether it’s quartzite,
816
00:56:44,210 --> 00:56:47,730
they might end up paying a high price for
this kind of jade.
817
00:56:52,170 --> 00:56:54,130
So they're still overpaying for the quartzite.
818
00:56:54,450 --> 00:56:54,610
Yeah.
819
00:56:54,610 --> 00:56:57,410
Yeah, yeah. They think it’s a deal because
it’s cheaper than actual fei cui.
820
00:56:58,490 --> 00:57:03,410
Yes, but as a gemologist or someone with
basic knowledge about simulants,
821
00:57:03,890 --> 00:57:08,970
you can help people identify them and avoid
overpaying.
824
00:57:09,010 --> 00:57:14,970
It's easy to identify them because,
yeah, quartzite is much lighter and.
825
00:57:15,010 --> 00:57:19,290
Yeah, and the texture is different.
826
00:57:19,330 --> 00:57:23,850
Yeah, quartzite has a more granular
texture.
827
00:57:24,370 --> 00:57:27,690
But jadeite is different.
Yeah, different. Yeah.
828
00:57:29,050 --> 00:57:32,910
I think for anyone watching who's not very
experienced with jade,
829
00:57:32,950 --> 00:57:36,790
you know, rely on the expertise of your local
jeweler or a trustworthy seller.
830
00:57:36,830 --> 00:57:41,990
Utilize other companies like Mason-Kay Jade
or GIA that can offer testing.
831
00:57:41,990 --> 00:57:44,670
But yeah, I would say something like this.
832
00:57:44,670 --> 00:57:49,390
For the most part, seasoned jade customers
are going to know when they see it.
833
00:57:49,390 --> 00:57:52,310
I think they're going to recognize that it's
not jade.
834
00:57:52,590 --> 00:57:59,710
So let's talk. Let's talk about Guatemalan
jade and how the market has changed over the
835
00:57:59,710 --> 00:58:00,270
years?
836
00:58:03,270 --> 00:58:06,430
I mainly talk about the Chinese jade market.
837
00:58:06,830 --> 00:58:12,590
So I think before 2000,
most of the jade on the Chinese jade market
838
00:58:12,630 --> 00:58:18,150
was Myanmar jade. But since 2000,
more and more Guatemalan jade entered into the
839
00:58:18,150 --> 00:58:23,350
jade market. In the beginning,
they were mostly bluish green or blue pieces.
840
00:58:23,550 --> 00:58:28,710
But during the past five years,
especially since 2021,
841
00:58:29,310 --> 00:58:35,080
more and more green Guatemalan jade entered
into the Chinese market and they showed a
842
00:58:35,080 --> 00:58:37,640
very similar appearance to Myanmar jade.
843
00:58:37,640 --> 00:58:40,480
And they have very good transparency.
845
00:58:40,520 --> 00:58:44,240
We call it water. So the texture is very
fine.
846
00:58:44,840 --> 00:58:50,600
And they have come to occupy a lot of shares
in the jade market.
847
00:58:50,920 --> 00:58:57,380
As far as I know, at least 30% of the fei cui
sold on the Chinese market is Guatemalan
848
00:58:57,380 --> 00:58:57,920
jade.
849
00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:01,480
Wow, that is so much higher than I realized.
850
00:59:01,480 --> 00:59:04,960
I will say it's not that high in the American
market.
851
00:59:04,960 --> 00:59:05,560
Would you agree?
852
00:59:06,120 --> 00:59:06,840
Yes, of course.
853
00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:10,320
The American market is still not seeing a lot
of Guatemalan jade.
854
00:59:10,320 --> 00:59:14,200
But if it's circulating in China,
I mean, it's a matter of time, right?
855
00:59:14,200 --> 00:59:14,640
Right.
856
00:59:15,040 --> 00:59:18,400
Yeah, especial
876
01:00:33,360 --> 01:00:36,280
I mean, I always say there's no Sapphire
festival.
877
01:00:36,280 --> 01:00:39,520
There's no Ruby Festival,
but there's a jade festival.
878
01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:44,760
Yeah. And the U.S.
has some nephrite and also jadeite deposits.
879
01:00:45,480 --> 01:00:48,880
Yeah. And I think human nature is very
similar,
880
01:00:49,080 --> 01:00:55,720
whether it's from Western culture or Chinese
culture. They admire the beauty of jade,
881
01:00:56,080 --> 01:01:00,040
whether it’s from Myanmar or Guatemalan
jade. If it’s beautiful,
882
01:01:00,080 --> 01:01:05,000
people like it.
883
01:01:05,000 --> 01:01:06,760
Absolutely, absolutely.
884
01:01:07,720 --> 01:01:15,960
So, and as far as I know, many jade carvers
and influencers are very active on social
885
01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:21,040
media like Instagram or TikTok.
886
01:01:21,040 --> 01:01:30,940
I know some influencers have 40,000 followers
for jade and even more. So, yeah,
887
01:01:30,980 --> 01:01:33,580
they try to educate people just like Jordan.
888
01:01:33,620 --> 01:01:35,860
Yeah, she does a very good job.
889
01:01:36,020 --> 01:01:39,260
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really admire you,
890
01:01:39,300 --> 01:01:43,420
for teaching people about jade,
whether it's nephrite or jadeite.
891
01:01:43,420 --> 01:01:46,860
Yeah. So people begin to appreciate jade
more.
892
01:01:47,020 --> 01:01:53,180
And I know one of the jade carvers in the Bay
Area.
893
01:01:53,540 --> 01:01:55,740
Her name is Emily Jane.
894
01:01:55,980 --> 01:02:02,820
She told me that more and more younger
generations are using jade for their wedding
895
01:02:02,820 --> 01:02:08,780
jewelry. So she hand-makes many jade-carved
pieces.
899
01:02:09,220 --> 01:02:11,500
It's not just for Asian Americans.
900
01:02:11,500 --> 01:02:11,940
Many.
901
01:02:11,980 --> 01:02:12,340
Right?
902
01:02:12,380 --> 01:02:15,300
Yeah. Not just Asian communities.
903
01:02:15,340 --> 01:02:18,340
Many Americans are getting into it.
904
01:02:18,380 --> 01:02:21,540
Yeah. It's very new for me.
905
01:02:21,540 --> 01:02:23,860
But yeah, good news.
906
01:02:24,180 --> 01:02:29,000
It's taking off. I think, especially with the
price of gold going up.
907
01:02:29,040 --> 01:02:31,280
A lot of jade jewelry doesn't use gold.
908
01:02:31,280 --> 01:02:33,200
I think jade really appeals to men.
909
01:02:33,440 --> 01:02:38,760
And culturally, men are more interested in
fashion than they used to be.
910
01:02:38,760 --> 01:02:43,280
So they're spending more time and money on
themselves.
911
01:02:43,280 --> 01:02:47,080
And they're enjoying and appreciating
things of value.
912
01:02:47,120 --> 01:02:49,160
Jade is definitely one of those things.
913
01:02:49,160 --> 01:02:54,520
So I'm personally very optimistic about the
future of the jade market in America.
914
01:02:54,560 --> 01:03:00,040
And I'm excited. I'm excited that we're both
part of it. I think the industry
915
01:03:00,040 --> 01:03:03,840
definitely needs an appraiser like you who
understands jade,
916
01:03:03,880 --> 01:03:06,320
and good sources like Mason-Kay.
917
01:03:06,320 --> 01:03:08,920
And I think it's just all really coming
together.
918
01:03:08,920 --> 01:03:15,960
So let's answer some questions from the chat
and then we'll talk about jade appraising.
919
01:03:15,960 --> 01:03:17,560
Oh, the Rockin Wheelers are here.
920
01:03:17,560 --> 01:03:19,000
They said hello. Just woke up.
921
01:03:19,000 --> 01:03:20,080
Welcome. Good morning.
922
01:03:21,680 --> 01:03:26,780
Oh, Jade love wants to know, does nephrite
ping when you hit it?
923
01:03:26,780 --> 01:03:28,460
Does it make a ping sound?
924
01:03:37,420 --> 01:03:42,220
I think it needs to be tested because they
have different structures.
925
01:03:43,220 --> 01:03:46,300
To tell you the truth,
I haven't done the experiment.
926
01:03:48,340 --> 01:03:50,500
Just based on my. Yeah.
927
01:03:51,380 --> 01:03:56,380
Experience. So a better ping
could indicate better quality, probably.
928
01:03:56,380 --> 01:03:57,140
I don't know.
929
01:03:57,700 --> 01:04:00,180
I think it would indicate that it's not
fractured.
930
01:04:00,180 --> 01:04:03,740
So in that sense it's a quality indicator.
931
01:04:04,260 --> 01:04:07,260
Because if it were fractured,
just like jadeite, it would not ping.
932
01:04:07,500 --> 01:04:07,740
So.
933
01:04:07,780 --> 01:04:13,300
Yeah. But it's difficult to identify
whether it's natural or treated because it's
934
01:04:13,300 --> 01:04:15,420
hard to quantify. Yeah.
935
01:04:15,420 --> 01:04:17,860
It's just subjective because.
936
01:04:17,860 --> 01:04:19,860
You'd have to break it and stuff.
937
01:04:21,380 --> 01:04:24,840
You'd have to. You'd have like,
it's hard to rank toughness and it's hard to
938
01:04:24,880 --> 01:04:26,960
rank quality. And it's not.
939
01:04:26,960 --> 01:04:29,200
It's just not like diamonds and even
diamonds.
940
01:04:29,200 --> 01:04:31,880
I think we think of diamond grading as very
straightforward.
941
01:04:31,880 --> 01:04:35,640
It's not really. It's still subject to
opinion a lot of times.
942
01:04:35,680 --> 01:04:39,640
And and any colored stone is going to have
too much variance for,
943
01:04:40,320 --> 01:04:42,560
for any strict grading standards.
944
01:04:42,560 --> 01:04:49,480
So Dake wants to know what gives Guatemalan
jade its gray tone or its gray hue.
945
01:04:51,160 --> 01:04:53,200
This is a scientific question.
946
01:04:54,520 --> 01:05:03,360
So as far as I know, there are some, I mean,
ions, yeah.
947
01:05:03,880 --> 01:05:12,320
The ions in the structure of the jade,
especially for the, I don't know how to say
948
01:05:12,320 --> 01:05:18,760
that word. I mean, the two plus, the valence
is two plus iron in
949
01:05:18,800 --> 01:05:19,440
the structure.
950
01:05:19,600 --> 01:05:23,340
I don't know how to say it,
and I know what you're talking about.
951
01:05:23,340 --> 01:05:24,620
I don't know the word for it.
952
01:05:24,620 --> 01:05:25,060
Okay.
953
01:05:25,300 --> 01:05:27,940
I mean, the valence is two plus for the iron,
954
01:05:28,220 --> 01:05:33,580
so it's made as the Greek view for the
Guatemalan jade.
955
01:05:33,620 --> 01:05:36,540
Probably there have many other very smaller
inclusions,
956
01:05:36,540 --> 01:05:40,540
but I don't see the research reports about
this right now.
957
01:05:41,020 --> 01:05:45,380
I think more scientific research needs to to
know that.
958
01:05:45,500 --> 01:05:50,860
I agree with that. There is a really great
paper on blue Guatemalan versus blue Burmese.
959
01:05:50,860 --> 01:05:53,340
Have you read that one? I mean,
it's fantastic.
960
01:05:53,380 --> 01:05:56,860
I, I have it in the discord for everyone
who's in the discord.
961
01:05:56,900 --> 01:06:00,060
It's it's probably under the Guatemalan jade
forum.
962
01:06:00,420 --> 01:06:04,260
It's a fantastic read for anybody who's
interested in where Guatemalan jade gets its
963
01:06:04,260 --> 01:06:06,820
color. It might shed some light on this,
but I.
964
01:06:06,820 --> 01:06:10,020
I don't remember it talking about the
grayness as much.
965
01:06:10,300 --> 01:06:16,180
BJD love wants to know, in China is there a
difference between how nephrite and jadeite
966
01:06:16,180 --> 01:06:18,900
are viewed? Is one more desirable than the
other?
967
01:06:19,590 --> 01:06:22,510
Yes. So right now in China.
968
01:06:22,510 --> 01:06:27,750
So for the younger generations,
jadeite is more popular.
969
01:06:28,270 --> 01:06:32,350
Yeah. More popular among young generation,
especially for the 90s.
970
01:06:32,790 --> 01:06:37,470
So because jadeite has more vivid color and
higher transparency.
971
01:06:38,070 --> 01:06:45,350
Yeah. So while for some people who very much
treasure the traditional cultures.
972
01:06:45,830 --> 01:06:50,110
Yeah, they may prefer nephrite more than
jadeite.
973
01:06:50,270 --> 01:06:54,710
So it depends. Depends on who would you buy
the jade.
974
01:06:54,750 --> 01:06:55,030
Yeah.
975
01:06:55,070 --> 01:07:00,430
Right. Let's see. What else do we have?
976
01:07:00,470 --> 01:07:02,350
We have so many. I'm scrolling.
977
01:07:02,350 --> 01:07:03,950
I'm scrolling through the comments.
978
01:07:05,750 --> 01:07:07,390
Some of these questions you guys are.
979
01:07:07,430 --> 01:07:09,110
They're fantastic questions.
980
01:07:09,110 --> 01:07:10,830
They're a little too deep,
I think.
981
01:07:10,830 --> 01:07:14,430
I think they're a little they would take too
much time to answer.
982
01:07:14,430 --> 01:07:19,450
But I encourage everyone who had a question
that didn't get answered to post it in the
983
01:07:19,690 --> 01:07:23,730
discord. Zemin is in the discord,
so if you tag her,
984
01:07:23,770 --> 01:07:26,570
you know she can. She can always contribute
there as well.
985
01:07:26,570 --> 01:07:29,330
And maybe we can dive into some of these
really,
986
01:07:29,330 --> 01:07:35,370
really deep topics in the Discord when we
have time to like research and then come back
987
01:07:35,570 --> 01:07:39,330
and answer. Dake says jadeite is gummy and
jewelry like.
988
01:07:39,370 --> 01:07:44,090
It's more popular, especially among women,
but you can see a higher concentration of
989
01:07:44,090 --> 01:07:45,370
nephrite fans among men.
990
01:07:45,970 --> 01:07:49,330
I never thought of that as someone who's not
a man,
991
01:07:49,330 --> 01:07:51,090
I don't think I really considered.
992
01:07:52,050 --> 01:07:54,010
Yeah, I think this is a great point.
993
01:07:54,010 --> 01:07:56,810
So as far as my husband.
994
01:07:56,850 --> 01:07:59,090
Yeah. He likes nephrite more than jadeite.
995
01:07:59,210 --> 01:08:01,130
Oh, that's a perfect example.
996
01:08:01,290 --> 01:08:05,450
Yeah. So for the jadeite,
especially the Imperial green,
997
01:08:05,450 --> 01:08:07,850
jadeite is like a glass.
998
01:08:08,650 --> 01:08:12,210
Oh, there's no difference for him,
but for nephrite,
999
01:08:12,490 --> 01:08:17,870
I think because it's more conservative color.
1000
01:08:17,910 --> 01:08:20,430
Sure. More neutral, more neutral.
1001
01:08:20,470 --> 01:08:22,270
Less flashy. It'll go with everything.
1002
01:08:22,270 --> 01:08:24,150
Men like to wear their jewelry every day.
1003
01:08:24,150 --> 01:08:27,110
They like a piece that they don't have to
take off. Nephrite is good for that.
1004
01:08:27,350 --> 01:08:29,910
Yeah. So, yeah, probably for some people.
1005
01:08:29,950 --> 01:08:30,350
Yeah.
1006
01:08:32,150 --> 01:08:34,470
Women speculating on why men like things.
1007
01:08:35,910 --> 01:08:39,870
So before we move on to appraising questions,
1008
01:08:39,870 --> 01:08:42,590
I want to I want to ask you about this clip
that you sent me.
1009
01:08:42,630 --> 01:08:43,830
What am I looking at here?
1010
01:08:43,870 --> 01:08:44,670
What is this?
1011
01:08:44,710 --> 01:08:49,790
Yeah. So this is the the biggest guatemalan
jade rough,
1012
01:08:50,030 --> 01:08:51,910
imported. Imported to China.
1013
01:08:51,950 --> 01:08:56,190
Just. I mean, two months ago,
it's about 30 tons.
1014
01:08:56,830 --> 01:09:02,350
It's it's just shipped to China from
Guatemalan jade spent 70 days,
1015
01:09:02,470 --> 01:09:10,230
and right now, this jade are put on the
biggest the the trade center in in Guangdong,
1016
01:09:10,270 --> 01:09:14,610
Zhejiang. So for this 30 tons guatemalan
jade.
1017
01:09:14,650 --> 01:09:20,530
It was said half of them are green colours
and half of them are blue.
1018
01:09:20,690 --> 01:09:26,850
Blue water species. So this quality is very
good and is 30 tons, the biggest.
1019
01:09:28,610 --> 01:09:29,890
You can see the color.
1020
01:09:30,050 --> 01:09:32,930
Yes. It's great green color.
1021
01:09:33,170 --> 01:09:34,650
They're incredible. Yeah.
1022
01:09:34,690 --> 01:09:39,090
Incredible. You know I think a lot of people
think of Guatemalan jade as just blue.
1023
01:09:39,330 --> 01:09:43,250
And so I love that you've brought these
examples of green,
1024
01:09:43,250 --> 01:09:49,290
truly green guatemalan jade to show,
because in the West we don't see as many
1025
01:09:49,290 --> 01:09:51,930
examples like this, but it's there.
1026
01:09:51,930 --> 01:09:54,330
It's not a conspiracy theory,
it's a real thing.
1027
01:09:54,410 --> 01:09:59,050
So I like for people to know how beautiful
Guatemalan material really can be.
1028
01:09:59,210 --> 01:10:02,490
Let's go ahead and talk about jewelry
appraising.
1029
01:10:02,490 --> 01:10:04,810
So Zemin , you are an appraiser.
1030
01:10:05,170 --> 01:10:08,290
When I worked. Yes. When I worked in a
jewelry store,
1031
01:10:08,890 --> 01:10:12,450
I had people come in all the time and they'd
have their ring and they'd say,
1032
01:10:12,490 --> 01:10:13,870
oh, I need an appraisal.
1033
01:10:14,190 --> 01:10:17,790
And we'd say, okay, well,
it's, you know, $150 or whatever,
1034
01:10:17,790 --> 01:10:20,430
yada yada. And they'd say,
no, I just want to know what it's worth. They
1035
01:10:20,430 --> 01:10:26,590
wanted us to look at the piece of jewelry,
just eyeball it real quick and then just know
1036
01:10:26,590 --> 01:10:28,110
the value somehow, right.
1037
01:10:28,670 --> 01:10:34,350
So there's clearly a disconnect where
customers not only don't know what an
1038
01:10:34,350 --> 01:10:38,790
appraisal is, but don't they don't know why
they need an appraisal.
1039
01:10:38,870 --> 01:10:43,870
So can you just explain jewelry appraisals to
our audience for anyone who's never seen one?
1040
01:10:45,230 --> 01:10:51,870
Yes. So a jewelry appraisal is not just a
document.
1041
01:10:51,870 --> 01:10:54,430
It's not just appraisal report.
1042
01:10:55,190 --> 01:11:01,230
We finish. It's a process by a professional
appraiser.
1043
01:11:01,470 --> 01:11:04,430
He do the research. He inspect the jewelry.
1044
01:11:04,750 --> 01:11:09,870
He try to figure out what's the value of
these pieces.
1045
01:11:10,190 --> 01:11:14,010
So it's very professional process.
1046
01:11:14,810 --> 01:11:23,370
Yeah. So for example,
I recently I have some jade jewelries and one
1047
01:11:23,370 --> 01:11:24,730
of them from Jordan.
1048
01:11:24,770 --> 01:11:27,170
Yes. Zemin appraised my earrings.
1049
01:11:27,930 --> 01:11:29,770
Yes, I needed it for insurance.
1050
01:11:30,450 --> 01:11:34,170
Yeah. And yeah, for different purpose,
different intended use.
1051
01:11:34,210 --> 01:11:37,290
Have different opinion value for appraisers.
1052
01:11:37,570 --> 01:11:41,690
So in the beginning, we need to see the
jewelries in person.
1053
01:11:41,730 --> 01:11:44,650
I mean, we need we need to see the jade in
person.
1054
01:11:44,810 --> 01:11:48,570
We need to test it, whether it's natural jade
or treated jade.
1055
01:11:49,010 --> 01:11:51,730
We can't tell it just by our naked eye.
1056
01:11:52,370 --> 01:11:52,770
Yeah.
1057
01:11:52,970 --> 01:11:54,290
It has to be tested.
1058
01:11:54,570 --> 01:11:58,770
If we can do that. What's the meaning of the
necklace?
1059
01:11:58,810 --> 01:12:00,290
I mean, right? Yeah.
1060
01:12:00,330 --> 01:12:07,490
Right. So I have seen I have seen dyed green
quartz that looked exactly like jadeite jade.
1061
01:12:08,010 --> 01:12:11,310
I mean, like, and, you know,
when you get used to seeing Jade,
1062
01:12:11,350 --> 01:12:15,710
you can typically tell if it's a bad
treatment or if it's a bad simulant,
1063
01:12:15,710 --> 01:12:19,270
you know, instantly because it doesn't look
like jade. I'm telling you, there's pieces
1064
01:12:19,270 --> 01:12:21,070
that really, really do look like Jade.
1065
01:12:21,070 --> 01:12:24,510
And that's why there's people like Zemin and
Jeff Mason at Mason-Kay Jade,
1066
01:12:24,550 --> 01:12:29,070
who they have very, very expensive laboratory
equipment devoted just to,
1067
01:12:29,110 --> 01:12:32,430
to testing to determine if the jade is real
or not.
1068
01:12:32,670 --> 01:12:38,830
And so, Zemin , people might need an
appraisal for insurance.
1069
01:12:38,830 --> 01:12:42,390
They might need an appraisal if they need to
resell it, they might need an appraisal for
1070
01:12:42,390 --> 01:12:49,590
their estate. Can you just talk a little bit
about the appraisal customer and what they
1071
01:12:49,590 --> 01:12:52,470
should expect? What do they use the appraisal
for?
1072
01:12:52,470 --> 01:12:54,110
How often do they need to get one?
1073
01:12:54,150 --> 01:12:54,990
Stuff like that.
1074
01:12:56,510 --> 01:13:01,910
Yes. So as Jordan mentioned,
the different intended use needs different
1075
01:13:01,950 --> 01:13:05,350
appraisal reports. So for insurance purposes.
1076
01:13:05,350 --> 01:13:09,690
So if you want to protect your jewelry in
case of losing it.
1077
01:13:09,730 --> 01:13:12,210
In case of damage. In case of.
1078
01:13:12,570 --> 01:13:15,850
I mean how do you say repair it?
1079
01:13:15,890 --> 01:13:23,130
Yes. So the insurance company will require
you to give them a formal appraisal report.
1080
01:13:23,290 --> 01:13:28,730
And for these reports,
this the value is based on how much the
1081
01:13:28,730 --> 01:13:30,730
insurance company will replace it.
1082
01:13:30,930 --> 01:13:32,570
So it's quite different from.
1083
01:13:32,890 --> 01:13:35,090
Oh, I have this jewelry I want to sell
someone.
1084
01:13:35,090 --> 01:13:36,890
So the value is quite different.
1085
01:13:37,250 --> 01:13:40,970
So yeah. So if you want to sell some jewelry.
1086
01:13:41,770 --> 01:13:46,530
Yeah. To someone it depends how,
how long you want to have that cash.
1087
01:13:46,890 --> 01:13:52,010
If you want it immediately immediately it's
marketable cash value.
1088
01:13:52,250 --> 01:13:57,810
If you want to sell it on the auction house
it may spend several months is another value.
1089
01:13:57,850 --> 01:14:01,530
It's called fair market value or fair market
value.
1090
01:14:01,690 --> 01:14:03,490
So it's quite different.
1091
01:14:03,490 --> 01:14:08,420
So so every time when the client contacts me
for a ppraising.
1092
01:14:08,460 --> 01:14:12,580
We need to ask them what's the intended use
for a ppraising jewelry?
1093
01:14:12,820 --> 01:14:13,860
What do you want to do?
1094
01:14:13,900 --> 01:14:16,620
Do you want to for insurance purposes?
1095
01:14:16,660 --> 01:14:18,180
What do you want to sell it?
1096
01:14:18,220 --> 01:14:23,580
What do you just want to the distribution
between the siblings or the family members.
1097
01:14:23,740 --> 01:14:25,020
So it's quite different.
1098
01:14:25,140 --> 01:14:27,580
So we need to educate the clients.
1099
01:14:27,820 --> 01:14:31,260
Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes they don't know,
sometimes they know. But most of the time we
1100
01:14:31,260 --> 01:14:33,340
need to educate them. What's the.
1101
01:14:33,380 --> 01:14:35,260
Yeah. What's what's their purpose.
1102
01:14:35,300 --> 01:14:38,780
And they need to figure out what's the
intended use.
1103
01:14:38,780 --> 01:14:44,380
It is. Then we we try to do the research
because different intended use corresponding
1104
01:14:44,380 --> 01:14:46,780
to different relevant market.
1105
01:14:47,300 --> 01:14:50,180
Yeah. Sometimes we research the data from the
dealer,
1106
01:14:50,220 --> 01:14:53,420
sometimes from local jewelry stores.
1107
01:14:53,460 --> 01:14:56,300
Or sometimes we research them from the
auction house.
1108
01:14:56,660 --> 01:14:58,540
Yeah. So it's quite different.
1109
01:14:58,820 --> 01:15:00,980
It's a hard job, too. It's a lot of research.
1110
01:15:00,980 --> 01:15:03,900
It's a lot of time, a lot of money,
a lot of equipment.
1111
01:15:04,140 --> 01:15:09,000
It makes sense that you can't just look at
something and know how much it's worth.
1112
01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:12,080
Like there's a lot that goes into an
appraisal.
1113
01:15:12,080 --> 01:15:16,360
So Zemin, can you talk a little bit about the
equipment that you use?
1114
01:15:17,160 --> 01:15:20,120
Yes. So I don't know whether you can see..
1115
01:15:20,400 --> 01:15:23,240
Okay. Yeah. This one is a microscope.
1116
01:15:23,240 --> 01:15:25,520
So I have used this for several years.
1117
01:15:25,520 --> 01:15:28,720
So this is the diamond detector because most
of the jewelry,
1118
01:15:28,880 --> 01:15:32,480
they accompanied by the jade and this is the
infrared spectra,
1119
01:15:32,520 --> 01:15:35,280
this can detect whether it's treated or not.
1120
01:15:35,600 --> 01:15:40,320
And this Raman spectra can help you quickly
determine whether it's jadeite omphacite or
1121
01:15:40,320 --> 01:15:42,520
kosmochlor. And for this.
1122
01:15:42,520 --> 01:15:44,600
I didn't mean to make you talk so fast.
1123
01:15:44,640 --> 01:15:46,400
It's just a quick video.
1124
01:15:47,440 --> 01:15:48,800
It wasn't me. I wasn't doing.
1125
01:15:48,800 --> 01:15:49,040
That.
1126
01:15:49,040 --> 01:15:50,840
To her. You guys, it's okay,
it's okay.
1127
01:15:51,560 --> 01:15:53,720
And I do have some samples.
1128
01:15:53,760 --> 01:15:57,880
Yeah. So for small laboratories we do have
samples.
1129
01:15:58,120 --> 01:16:04,260
So we have natural jade samples and treated
samples and also simulants I mean,
1130
01:16:04,300 --> 01:16:08,940
for most of the jade they’re usually accompanied
by some diamonds.
1131
01:16:09,060 --> 01:16:12,460
So right now, as far as we know,
diamonds is very popular.
1132
01:16:12,460 --> 01:16:16,740
So we need to know whether the diamonds are
accompanied by the jade.
1133
01:16:16,780 --> 01:16:19,020
They are natural diamonds or not.
1134
01:16:19,780 --> 01:16:21,380
And the big thing right now.
1135
01:16:21,420 --> 01:16:26,740
Yeah. So for for the Jade appraiser,
we need infrared spectrum.
1136
01:16:26,860 --> 01:16:33,100
Yeah. So that's reason I bought this machine
just two months ago because it's it's very
1137
01:16:33,540 --> 01:16:40,380
hard to identify some high end simulants of
the fei cui right now because some,
1138
01:16:40,580 --> 01:16:46,340
some high, high end simulants,
they don't fluorescence by the ultraviolet
1139
01:16:46,380 --> 01:16:50,420
lights. They don't have the surface crack.
1140
01:16:50,460 --> 01:16:54,540
I mean cracks. Yes. So it's difficult to
identify them.
1141
01:16:54,540 --> 01:16:59,860
But the infrared spectrometer can help us
quickly determine whether it's natural jade
1142
01:16:59,900 --> 01:17:01,820
or bleached jade or that.
1143
01:17:05,360 --> 01:17:07,920
Yeah, it's it's high tech stuff,
you guys.
1144
01:17:07,920 --> 01:17:13,360
So I mean, if someone wants you to appraise
their jade jewelry.
1145
01:17:14,280 --> 01:17:15,400
How can they do that.
1146
01:17:17,160 --> 01:17:22,640
Yeah. Thank you. So first if the people is
local so I,
1147
01:17:22,960 --> 01:17:27,120
I strongly suggest they come to my home
office.
1148
01:17:27,160 --> 01:17:27,520
Where.
1149
01:17:27,680 --> 01:17:28,760
What city are you in?
1150
01:17:29,760 --> 01:17:32,160
I'm in Pleasanton, East Bay.
1151
01:17:32,280 --> 01:17:38,560
Oh, yeah, San Francisco (California,
USA.) So but before they come here,
1152
01:17:38,560 --> 01:17:43,440
it's better to call me or email me about
what's the intended use.
1153
01:17:43,480 --> 01:17:48,680
It is. And it's better to send some images of your jade beforehand.
1154
01:17:49,400 --> 01:17:52,880
Sometimes, if the jade looks very cheap,
1155
01:17:52,920 --> 01:17:55,800
I don't think it's worth the money to do the appraisal.
1156
01:17:56,040 --> 01:17:58,640
But sometimes most of them.
1157
01:17:58,640 --> 01:18:03,740
I need to see the jade in person. So it's better to call me or email me and
1158
01:18:03,740 --> 01:18:09,660
send me some images, and then we can discuss whether it is worth appraisal or not.
1159
01:18:09,780 --> 01:18:12,100
Then you can come to my office.
1160
01:18:12,140 --> 01:18:13,580
We can make appointments.
1161
01:18:13,580 --> 01:18:17,420
I inspect the jade in front of you.
1162
01:18:17,740 --> 01:18:24,860
I try a quick test or try to get all the value characteristics of this jade and
1163
01:18:24,860 --> 01:18:28,540
determine how many hours I need to appraise this jade.
1164
01:18:28,580 --> 01:18:31,980
I give you an estimate cost of the appraisal,
1165
01:18:31,980 --> 01:18:35,860
so you can determine whether you want me to do the appraisal or not.
1166
01:18:36,380 --> 01:18:40,100
But you just pay me the appointment time.
1167
01:18:40,100 --> 01:18:43,540
We spent just five minutes or just by half hour.
1168
01:18:43,700 --> 01:18:45,300
Well, and just give people an idea.
1169
01:18:45,340 --> 01:18:54,220
Zemin, like, for a piece of jade jewelry, what is probably the average range of prices
1170
01:18:54,220 --> 01:18:55,300
for an appraisal?
1171
01:18:56,300 --> 01:18:59,560
For jade jewelry? It depends.
1172
01:19:00,040 --> 01:19:01,360
If there's only one jade.
1173
01:19:01,400 --> 01:19:03,160
I mean, one jade piece.
1174
01:19:04,280 --> 01:19:08,280
Usually. And there are some.
1175
01:19:08,440 --> 01:19:10,720
There are some diamonds or colored stones there.
1176
01:19:11,120 --> 01:19:13,280
If it's just jade and metal.
1177
01:19:13,400 --> 01:19:14,040
Yeah.
1178
01:19:14,120 --> 01:19:18,480
Well, give people an idea. Like, is it over $100?
1179
01:19:18,960 --> 01:19:21,440
If the jade is just over hundreds of dollars?
1180
01:19:21,600 --> 01:19:24,520
No, is the appraisal. Is the appraisal over $100?
1181
01:19:24,680 --> 01:19:31,320
Okay okay okay. So maybe 1 or 2 hours to appraise a simple jade just with jade and
1182
01:19:31,320 --> 01:19:35,680
metal. But if they have some colored stones like sapphire,
1183
01:19:36,680 --> 01:19:39,040
emerald or some diamond.
1184
01:19:39,360 --> 01:19:40,520
It might get more complicated.
1185
01:19:40,560 --> 01:19:42,640
Yeah, especially with fancy color diamonds.
1186
01:19:42,680 --> 01:19:45,000
Yes. I need to spend more time.
1187
01:19:45,480 --> 01:19:49,080
Yeah, yeah. So it depends on the complexity.
1188
01:19:49,080 --> 01:19:50,840
The complexity of the jewelry?
1189
01:19:50,880 --> 01:19:51,360
Yes.
1190
01:19:51,840 --> 01:19:55,560
And I will say, like I've always told people when they're concerned about the cost of an appraisal, because it's not cheap.
1191
01:19:55,680 --> 01:19:59,060
It's not cheap, but it's well worth it.
1192
01:19:59,060 --> 01:20:01,220
I say, you know, take a look at your insurance policy.
1193
01:20:01,220 --> 01:20:04,540
What do they require? What is the piece worth?
1194
01:20:04,900 --> 01:20:08,220
If it's not valuable enough that it's still covered by your homeowner's insurance, then you don't need an appraisal.
1195
01:20:08,220 --> 01:20:16,620
Yes. Yes. Totally.
1196
01:20:16,660 --> 01:20:21,060
If it's so valuable that your homeowner's insurance will not cover it, and you need a separate policy for your jewelry, you need to get an appraisal.
1197
01:20:21,060 --> 01:20:22,860
Yeah.
1198
01:20:23,100 --> 01:20:27,820
So it's worth it for peace of mind, for insurance. Also, you know, this is something else I experienced at a jewelry store.
1199
01:20:27,820 --> 01:20:32,140
Customers would come in, they lost a loved one, and their loved one left behind all this jewelry.
1200
01:20:32,140 --> 01:20:36,580
They had no appraisals, so they didn't know what anything was worth.
1207
01:20:44,220 --> 01:20:47,420
And then they're paying to have to test all of it,
1208
01:20:47,820 --> 01:20:50,460
not knowing if any of it is even worth testing.
1209
01:20:50,460 --> 01:20:54,580
So there’s that element too, for your estate, when you leave
1210
01:20:54,580 --> 01:20:56,840
behind your jewelry to your loved ones.
1211
01:20:56,840 --> 01:21:02,120
Having appraisals really goes a long way in helping them save money so they don’t
1212
01:21:02,120 --> 01:21:04,560
have to have it valued after you’re gone.
1213
01:21:05,400 --> 01:21:09,120
So that’s… yeah, just for anybody who’s thinking of getting an appraisal,
1214
01:21:09,120 --> 01:21:12,160
it is a very responsible thing to do and I do highly recommend it.
1215
01:21:13,200 --> 01:21:16,120
So let’s take a look at the live chat real quick.
1216
01:21:16,280 --> 01:21:19,720
Oh, Dake says, “Zemin, can you talk about the necklace that you’re wearing?”
1217
01:21:20,160 --> 01:21:20,440
Oh.
1218
01:21:21,480 --> 01:21:22,200
Gorgeous.
1219
01:21:22,240 --> 01:21:27,720
Okay, so here, the bigger one is nephrite from Canada,
1220
01:21:27,760 --> 01:21:29,080
British Columbia.
1221
01:21:29,320 --> 01:21:30,240
Looks so good.
1222
01:21:30,280 --> 01:21:30,680
It looks…
1223
01:21:30,720 --> 01:21:31,400
So good.
1224
01:21:32,160 --> 01:21:35,720
So this one I bought from Jade West.
1225
01:21:36,280 --> 01:21:36,800
I mean…
1226
01:21:36,840 --> 01:21:38,960
Our friends at Jade West. You guys know Jade West?
1227
01:21:39,000 --> 01:21:39,440
Yeah. Yeah.
1228
01:21:39,960 --> 01:21:47,200
Yeah, yeah. So I bought from their GJX Tucson show last year.
1229
01:21:47,440 --> 01:21:49,880
So that price is very reasonable right now.
1230
01:21:52,320 --> 01:21:55,370
So, yeah, compared with Russian…
1231
01:21:55,410 --> 01:21:58,370
I mean, Russian necklace is much more expensive.
1232
01:21:58,570 --> 01:22:01,530
Yeah, we don’t talk much about the green nephrite,
1233
01:22:01,530 --> 01:22:05,450
but Russian nephrite, green nephrite, is more expensive than Canada.
1234
01:22:05,770 --> 01:22:09,250
And the smaller one is a Guatemalan jade necklace.
1235
01:22:09,290 --> 01:22:10,930
Yeah, the smaller one.
1236
01:22:10,970 --> 01:22:12,530
Good. They look good together.
1237
01:22:13,050 --> 01:22:15,650
Before we started the live stream, Zemin told me…
1238
01:22:15,650 --> 01:22:17,170
She said, “I think two is enough.”
1239
01:22:18,690 --> 01:22:19,610
I have four.
1240
01:22:22,450 --> 01:22:26,010
And Mark also loves your necklace.
1241
01:22:26,050 --> 01:22:28,330
Nia says, “Zemin is wonderful.”
1242
01:22:28,330 --> 01:22:31,890
Exquisitely thorough. I concur, I agree. I love Zemin,
1243
01:22:31,890 --> 01:22:32,970
I think Zemin is great.
1244
01:22:33,290 --> 01:22:37,290
Jade Love wants to know what’s going to happen to that 30-ton Guatemalan boulder.
1245
01:22:37,450 --> 01:22:39,930
I mean, do you know? Could anybody possibly know?
1246
01:22:40,530 --> 01:22:45,850
Yes. I didn’t, I didn’t know right now, but this July,
1247
01:22:45,890 --> 01:22:47,490
I will go back to that city.
1248
01:22:47,530 --> 01:22:49,970
I will try to see that jade, and I will…
1249
01:22:49,970 --> 01:22:54,830
I want to see whether it’s there or not, whether they are cutting it into several pieces.
1250
01:22:55,230 --> 01:22:59,310
We’re gonna have to have a follow-up live stream where you talk about what you learn.
1251
01:23:00,710 --> 01:23:04,790
That’s awesome. You’re going to be like, “Who’s in charge of the 30-ton boulder?
1252
01:23:04,950 --> 01:23:13,590
Let me speak to them!” Dawn says nephrite has more unique character than jadeite.
1253
01:23:13,630 --> 01:23:17,030
People, a lot of times, tend to be on one side or the other. They either like nephrite or
1254
01:23:17,030 --> 01:23:19,990
jadeite. My husband and I, we love both, and a lot of people in the
1255
01:23:19,990 --> 01:23:24,790
Discord love both. But it is kind of funny how people, they…
1256
01:23:25,110 --> 01:23:28,870
they have so much loyalty to, like, Guatemalan versus Burmese,
1257
01:23:28,910 --> 01:23:31,430
you know, or Siberian versus Canadian nephrite.
1258
01:23:31,470 --> 01:23:34,790
It’s just… I love it. I love that people are passionate about jade,
1259
01:23:34,790 --> 01:23:39,470
and I love that people are informed enough to have these educated opinions on jade too.
1260
01:23:39,630 --> 01:23:44,870
Dake says that men need larger pieces and large jadeite is too expensive.
1261
01:23:46,230 --> 01:23:48,310
Yeah, jadeite too expensive.
1262
01:23:48,350 --> 01:23:49,310
Use nephrite.
1263
01:23:49,350 --> 01:23:54,770
Yeah, exactly. Especially once you’ve seen jadeite jade prices.
1264
01:23:54,770 --> 01:23:56,530
Then you look at nephrite, you’re like, “Oh my gosh!”
1265
01:23:56,570 --> 01:23:57,490
It’s like, yeah.
1266
01:23:57,530 --> 01:24:00,450
It’s a bargain. So awesome.
1267
01:24:00,450 --> 01:24:06,290
Well, I can’t thank you enough for coming on the channel and sharing your wisdom for an
1268
01:24:06,290 --> 01:24:09,530
hour and a half. This has been incredible.
1269
01:24:09,530 --> 01:24:13,490
This has been like one of the best videos on the JOTT channel ever.
1270
01:24:13,490 --> 01:24:17,610
So I thank you. Thank you for teaching everybody about nephrite,
1271
01:24:17,610 --> 01:24:20,250
jade and Guatemalan jade and jade appraising.
1272
01:24:20,290 --> 01:24:22,890
If anybody wants to get an appraisal from Zemin,
1273
01:24:23,290 --> 01:24:26,370
you can reach out to her at bayareagemlab.com.
1274
01:24:28,570 --> 01:24:32,130
And if anyone wants to continue the
conversation about jade in China,
1275
01:24:32,130 --> 01:24:36,690
join the Discord — a group chat that brings
together jade collectors,
1276
01:24:36,810 --> 01:24:40,970
carvers, researchers, sellers and more to
build the largest
1277
01:24:40,970 --> 01:24:44,530
repository of accurate jade information on
the internet.
1278
01:24:44,730 --> 01:24:47,530
You can join via the link in the video
description.
