Chinese Jade and Burmese Jadeite - What's the Difference?

Chinese jade is the kind of jade Chinese people wore for centuries, used for carvings, teapots, Chinese medicine tools like jade rollers, gua sha tools.  And especially jade bangle bracelets.  It is mined mostly in the north east China, where weather is cooler in the winter and there are rivers, waters.  Then in the 18th century, Burmese jadeite was introduced, and Chinese people were quite attracted to it.  When I used to go to Beijing, China as my "starting point" for jade shopping and enjoying the culture, and I wandered around the shopping areas for the "locals", there were government owned jade shops that sold only Chinese jade.  They were often filled with customers, men and women couples, the man buying a classic round Chinese jade bangle bracelet for his beloved woman as an engagement gift.  The jade shops that tourists were taken to had some Chinese jade, but sold mostly Burmese jadeite. 

Burmese jadeite is different because it is gemologically considered a "gem stone", and can be tested by refraction and other methods, and labeled as grade A, genuine and natural, or grades B and C, color added, often bleached with acid to remove unpleasant color and replaced with a good green color, "hong" red, lavender.  Chinese jade is not considered a "gem stone".

Genuine natural traditional classic round Chinese Jade bangle bracelet

Genuine natural grade A Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet

We take all the jade photos in natural outdoor lighting, the bangles at different angles so you can see how they look all around, as the lighting varies.  We do not use Photoshop to edit photos because that makes them look "too perfect", not like the "real thing".  It is truly a time consuming process to get the photos, get them edited and listed so they look as close to the "real thing" as possible.  And most customers tell me that that when they receive their jade, it truly is more pretty than the photo shows.

An interesting thing is that more people who purchase Chinese jade send me an email telling me how much more pretty their jade looks and how pleased they are with it.  In my opinion, that's because Chinese jade has more "qi energy", is more alive than than Burmese jadeite.   And that's a reason it is used in Chinese medicine, not only for the tool itself, but for the qi energy of the jade.

Chinese jade roller, gua sha tools and jade mask for eyes and face

This is one of the Chinese jade pendants that looks great in the photo, and customers tell me how much more beautiful it is in person, more detailed, and has a "glow" that the photo just can't show:

"Butterfly Brings Love" Chinese Jade Pendant looks much more pretty "in person"

We probably spent at least an hour, several times, getting a good photo and editing it so it looks like the "real thing", but it is still so much more pretty in person.  And yes, the Chinese jade pendants are lower prices that Burmese jadeite.  But I can not resist getting the best photo possible of this cherished, traditional Chinese jade.  

There's more ways Chinese jade and Burmese jadeite are different, but if you are a jade lover, love to wear, touch, own jade, these are the "basics" as I have experienced both jades over the past 22 years.

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