My Jade Bangle Bracelet Has a Crack

When I went to Beijing, China for the first time in 1999 with a qigong, Chinese medicine group, I wore a gold necklace with a heart that was a gift from husband.  He was nervous about me going to China without him, and I wanted to keep him in my "heart".   One of our group guides asked me if my necklace was gold and I proudly told her that it was.  She looked confused, and I thought maybe she was envious of my pretty gold necklace.  One day she took us to a government high-end jade store for shopping.  The jade was beautiful, very green and translucent. The prices were quite high, none of us in the group wanted to pay those high prices.  I asked her what made this jade so expensive because when we were shopping at the street markets, jade was so much cheaper.  (That was before I knew about "fake jade".)  She explained the difference between Chinese jade and Burmese jadeite.  And she mentioned that the beautiful green jadeite stone was set in 22-24k gold.  Then she smiled at me, and I understood that my 10k gold necklace was "fake gold" to her! 24k gold is the highest quality gold, but can break and scratch more easily, and 22k gold is more sturdy and slightly less expensive.  She told me China and Asia recognize only 22-24k gold as "real gold". And the expensive Burmese jadeite deserved the 22k gold.

The year 2005 was the first year my husband went to China with me during my annual jade shopping trip.  Having husband jade shopping with me meant I could buy more because I had more help carrying it after I bought it.  It also meant I could take more USA cash with me, and convert it to more Chinese RMB,  and there was a limit on how much "tourists" could convert each day. So we had to stay in Guangzhou until we got all our dollars converted. 

While in Guangzhou I went to their big and famous jade market.  I had to be careful there because although the jade sellers all claimed their jade was genuine and natural, a lot of it was questionable.  I took some of the pieces I bought to a gemologist to test them for me.  He had a small shop and sold unique and interesting jade.  I found a beautiful green color Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet and was surprised to see gold etching on it.  The gemologist told me it was grade A, and the gold was 22k.  When I put it on my wrist, it felt like the gold was covering a crack, and he agreed that it was indeed a crack.  He said the jade itself was very valuable due to the coloring, so he had gold etching added to it to disguise the crack and make it look good so someone would buy it. I was concerned about the crack causing the jade to break, and he told me that because of the quality of the jade it probably would be as strong as one with no crack, and the crack actually took some of the pressure off the bangle so it would be less likely to crack if it struck something hard.  We bargained for awhile and I got a good price, and purchased it because I loved it and it fit me perfectly. 

I've had it and worn it occasionally for 14 years and it is still beautiful and not broken.

In a former blog post I wrote about my wrists being sore from toting broken luggage off a cruise ship to our bus pickup location.  I posted a photo of the jade bangle described in this post that I was wearing instead of my beloved carved jadeite regular bangle because it was more slender, lighter and more comfortable than the heavier carved bangle.

My grade A Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet with gold etching on crack

The color of this jade bangle is a very cherished shade of green and has a few imperial green veins
that add to the beauty and value with the 22k gold.  The slender size feels so comfortable on my wrist

BB2225 Burmese jadeite and 22k gold bangle bracelet

This jade bangle BB2225 is a jade bangle I purchased in 2000 from a friend of a friend in Tianjin.  No cracks.  Just the addition of 22k gold to make it unique.

JBB2210 22k gold etching color treated lavender genuine Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet

This lavender Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet with gold etching is genuine jadeite, color treated to make it more beautiful.  The etching is all around, covers a what appears to be small crack, the gold adding durability and making it a unique and beautiful jade bangle bracelet.

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What Kind of Jade Bangle Bracelet Should I Wear? What You Love, and Feels Good on Your Wrist

We are "back home" after our Caribbean cruise.  The cruise is our annual vacation, as my husband's birthday is the end of January and he loves cruising, so we go as his "gift". 

And as I usually do, I explored the port shopping areas.  If I like a port and think I would enjoy living there for a few months, I get information about renting a shop to sell my jade.  Some ports have quite aggressive sellers, and I eliminate those immediately.  And some ports have a happy, good feeling with interesting shops.  I consider having a cruise port shop to take all my jade there and sell all that I can so I can "retire".  When I discuss this with husband, he reminds me if I sell all the jade, I will be missing it so much I will only buy more! 

When we arrived back at our home port and were preparing to get off the ship, we noticed that one of the wheels on our big and heavy suitcase was broken.  We had opted to carry our luggage off the ship because we had  parked in a lot and took a shuttle to the cruise ship.   To get to the shuttle to return to our car was a fairly long walk after we disembarked.  Husband was really struggling with the heavy suitcase, so I took the other large suitcase and carry on bag.  My hands and wrists were aching from the lugging them around, and we both knew we would be quite sore the next day.

And we were.

The surprise for me was that my regular jade bangle that I wear most of the time was hurting my wrist.  It felt heavy, hard on my wrist and bones, and I was so amazed because jade has good qi energy for health and healing. 

My wrist was swollen, but I used a plastic bag over my hand to remove it.  I have worn a jade bangle on my left wrist for 20+ years, and looked for one in my stash that would be more comfortable.

The more slender Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet is 9.5mm wide, so with about half the jade in it that my "regular" old mine carved jade bangle has.  It actually feels good!  No pain on my swollen and achy wrist.   And by the end of the day, my wrist felt much better.   I put the "regular" one back on, but it still hurt so I went back to the more slender one.

Since I often mention "retiring" in these blogs, you can guess that I'm getting older, and as we age, pain often becomes more of an issue.  Several years ago, a long time customer asked if I could find her a jade bangle similar to the one she loved the most but in a larger size.  I found one, she received it, it was easier to get on and off, but she said it still hurt her wrist.  I didn't understand why, but now that I have had the experience, I understand completely.  We found her a more slender bangle and she could wear it comfortably.

If you wear a large size jade bangle bracelet, you might love your jade bangle, but be distressed because it hurts your wrist.  A less wide jade bangle will be less heavy, so you can still wear a jade bangle bracelet. 

My jade associate in China purchased some larger jade bangles with certificates of gemology testing for me last year, and some of them are classic round style, slender, and not heavy.  And beautiful, too!

Classic round slender Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet with certificate JadeBangleBraclets web site

Classic round slender Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet with certificate Jade Heaven web site

There are some of these jade bangle bracelets on Jade Heaven and JadeBangleBracelets in the "China's Favorite Jade Bangle Bracelets with Certificates" collections. 

I hope we jade lovers will always be able to wear our cherished jade bangle bracelets.  But if you just can't, consider wearing the jade bead bracelets on elastic for comfort.

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What Kind of Jade Do You Wear? Here's My "Collection"

I often get requests to show more photos of the very vintage Burmese jadeite carved bangle bracelet I wear.  So here are some photos, and photos of my custom made jade jewelry.

This is the jade bangle I have blogged about previously.  I was sitting across from a Chinese woman on a train from Beijing to Tianjin.  At that time, around the year 2000, many Chinese women were very curious about what "Western women" carried in their purses and bags.  I was organizing the chaos in my bags, and she watched intently.  I had learned a little Chinese language, and showed offered her some of those sample cosmetics you can get at cosmetic counters.  She was thrilled.  Then she took this jade bangle off her wrist, and asked to trade it for my handbag.  She was a young woman and the ancestry wasn't as meaningful to her, and she thought wearing the bangle was "old fashioned".  So we traded.  And I never regret swapping that bag for this bangle.  It has some "hong" reddish orange veins, and the carving is very detailed, bamboo, some lucky coins, lotus. In the photo of my wrist with bangle and bead bracelet, you can see how this jade had a clarification line.  As the jadeite stone was being formed, it cracked and resealed, which actually makes the stone more hard.  It's been around more than 100 years, and I wear it most of the time for the last 19 years, so it is certainly very strong, as I am an active person.

The first Burmese jadeite pendant I purchased was in 1999 when I was traveling in China with my qigong group and Master who lived in USA but home is Beijing.  Most tourist groups only go to tourist oriented jade shops, but we were traveling with a person who knew his way around China.  He taught me that "diamonds and gold have a price, but jade has no price", and since we were not in a tourist shop, the jade had "no price".  The bargaining lesson for me began.

Burmese jadeite double coins, auspicious carving pendant made into a necklace

I made the chain with jadeite beads and silver and learned how to wire wrap to attach pendants.

'Guan Yin" Buddha of Compassion Burmese jadeite pendant made into a necklace

The next pendant I bought on my next trip to China in 2000 when I went there on my own was so beautiful I could not resist it.  The seller was like I am when I love a certain jade piece, he didn't really want to sell it.   But he was impressed I could speak some Chinese AND had that gorgeous carved jadeite bangle bracelet, so I was able to bargain for it.  Then attached it to a wire with jadeite beads to wear as a necklace.

This is another necklace I made.  The jade piece is Chinese jade, from north east China where the jade mines are.  It's basically a simple polished stone, to which I attached an opal heart, and then mixed beads on a wire to wear as a necklace.

I'm not the only one in my home who wears jade.  My husband has no interest in wearing jade, but my teddy bears love it!

Teddy is actually wearing the jadeite bracelets that are adjustable with silk cord.  I can dress up Teddy whenever I find some jade that needs wearing.  Teddy is also watching the Christmas "necklace" bracelet that was worn during the Christmas holiday season.  These adjustable jadeite bracelets are beautiful and very versatile.   You can see more here.

Yes, I have draws full of jade that I just can't put on the web sites to be sold.  Of course I can't wear it all, but when jade touches your heart, that means it's good for you and you should have it, even if you can't wear it all the time.

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Jade Surving Paradise California Camp Fire: Is My Jade Real?

I finally heard from a "jade sister" long time customer who lives (lived) in Paradise, California and survived the Camp fire that destroyed the community.  She survived, and is living with family now, a relief to hear that from her. 

She is a true jade lover, and cherished her jade bangle bracelet.  She liked to bury them in her yard so they could experience the natural soil, coolness.  However, she wasn't able to evacuate with one of them.   When she returned to Paradise, this is what she found:

Paradise, California after the Camp fire, still smoldering

Jade bangle bracelet buried underground and surviving Camp fire, Paradise, California

She is a GIA gemologist, and knew that the jade she bought from Ying Yu Jade web site was genuine and natural Chinese jade and Burmese jadeite.  But there have been complaints posts by "customers" stating jade they bought was "fake".  When customers don't like the jade they purchased, or think it is fake, we accept returns.  But the complainers did not return them, probably because they want a refund and keep their jade bangle, too.  You have probably read other JadeBlogger posts about the "drama" that surrounds jade. 

This is the note "jade sister" included with the photo:

"Please understand no polymer treated or resin material would withstand the heat of a fire that destroyed an entire town at the rate of one football field per second.

This is a bangle from Ying Yu jade, found in the ashes of my home, destroyed in the Camp Fire, along with the entire town of Paradise, CA.

Temper your credulity with some hard evidence, public readers.
Thank you, "S", G.G.(G.I.A.)"

She tried to clean it up, but poor jade bangle had to "sleep".

Of course I sent her another jade bangle bracelet, one of the "old mine" Burmese jadeite because the jade she had purchased previously was from that era. I chose one with qi energy for peace, dealing with difficult situations.

And I am very pleased that she sent the email about jade surviving, and being genuine, natural jade.

By the way, because many people like older jade, some jade sellers are taking new Chinese jade bangle bracelets and burying them in dirt, adding fire, heat to them for a short amount of time to make them look "old". They even include the dirt on the bangle to "prove" that it's old. More Jade Drama!

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What Kind of Jade Bangle Should I Wear? Jade Really is "Medicine"

These last two months have been a physical and emotional nightmare for me.  Brother needed heart surgery.  Mother in assisted living and going downhill fast.  Husband ill, three doctors, three different diagnosis, he never gets ill but this has lasted six weeks.  One of my best friends suffered an arm injury and hasn't been able to live life as she would like to.  Another best friend dying.  Then I fell outdoors on concrete on my right sided, pain and blood everywhere.  I needed a wheelchair for two days because I couldn't walk.  I have severe osteoporosis and went to emergency room because it felt like I "broke my hip", something my endocrinologist has been lecturing me for years about, me refusing to take osteoporosis injections.  I think I had been so distracted by all my emotional pain I wasn't taking care of myself. 

Early in December, a long time jade loving customer purchased a Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet because it appealed to her so much.  She kept coming back to look at it.   As I packed it for her, I slipped it on my wrist "one more time" because I would have loved to keep it if it were just a couple mm smaller.

And as I sadly took it off and packed, I couldn't believe I was being so dense that I didn't go through my jade bangle bracelet "stash" until I found, and "felt" the right one for me at the time. 

The jade bangle that appealed to me is my Chinese jade carved bamboo jade bangle.  The jade is simple because it's Chinese jade, the qi energy is related to liver meridian for healing.   I know that, but why didn't I put it on weeks ago?

Chinese jade carved "bamboo" bangle bracelet, translucent green color

I slept well for the first time in weeks.  And I got back into my mindfulness, helping me to deal with all the problems going on.

Customers often tell me they find a jade bangle they really like, and keep coming back to it.  That's because your body, mind and spirit knows what you need if you pay attention to your instinct.  I get emails from customers telling me about a difficult situation they had, and that their jade bangle helped.

Jade has qi energy to help balance body, mind and spirit.  It has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.  When you wear it, touch it, your qi energy and the jade qi energy work together.

So do yourself a favor and find a jade bangle bracelet, pendant or other piece that makes you feel good.   It's not only beautiful, it's medicine you wear.

By the way, if you find a jade bangle bracelet that has a high price, but your body, mind and spirit keep calling to you, contact me through the email address on the web site and make an offer.  I want you to feel good about your jade, and if it's too costly we can do layaway and/or get a discount.  I know how jade feels and helps me feel better, and I treat my customers the way I like to be treated.

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What Kind of Jade to Gift for Holidays

I see a lot of customer browsing activity on the jade web sites, especially during the holidays.  Then I get emails asking what jade makes good gifts. 

Yes, we all love jade bangle bracelets!  But unless you know the inner diameter size of the person, buying a jade bangle can become a disappointment if it doesn't fit.  Disappointing for the receiver, and the giver.   An alternative is stretch jade bead bracelets. 

Ying Yu Jade Rollers, view the selection of styles

Jade Mask for face and eye health

and jade carvings.  Sometimes customers know exactly what they want to purchase, and some customers give me some information about what the receiver likes, and I can suggest recommendations.   These are some of Ying Yu Jade most popular jade carvings being purchased this season.

These jades are also what I give my special family and friends for gifts. 

It's true!   I buy the kind of jade I personally like, and treat customers the way I like to be treated

Have fun shopping!

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What's the "Best Jade Bangle Bracelet" for You?

As I have mentioned in previous posts,  the "best" jade bangle for you is the one that attracts you the most.  It's the jade bangle you see for the first time, it kind of takes your breath away.  You keep coming back to look at it.  It gives you "feelings" inside.  That's the qi energy that works best for you "calling to you".  And that's the jade bangle you will be very happy and healthy wearing.

I often get photos from customers who purchased a jade bangle bracelet, and they are wearing it on their wrist.  Sometimes they are customers who have purchased more than one, perhaps several, jade bangle bracelets.  But when they put their new jade bangle on, they feel like they will never take it off.

The problem I have is that I handle jade bangle bracelets every day.  I get them ready for their photos.  Then we take at least 10, usually 50 or more photos of the more expensive ones.  Then the photos are slightly edited so they show the color and quality as best as possible, and look as much like "the real thing" as possible.  We would rather you be pleasantly pleased when you receive it and see it is so much more pretty than the photo shows, as opposed to being disappointed because it doesn't look as good as the photo.  We never "photo shop" our photos.  That's how we can show how they look.  Then I handle them to describe them as best as possible on the web sites, measuring them carefully and spending about 30 minutes getting each one listed. 

And that's where the problem for me is.  The "small ones", my size, look more pretty as I handle them.  The qi energy of the jade bangle may truly respond to me.   And I struggle listing it to sell, because I want to keep it for myself.  The more I handle it, the more I want it.  And if I put it on my wrist, that's the end of selling it. 

JHBB577 is an example of this "problem".   It's a Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet I purchased in 2002 when I was shopping near the Burma border, directly from the jade carver.  Classic "fu lu shou" coloring, "hong" reddish-honey color, green and white.  Moderately translucent. 

JHBB557 "Old Mine" Burmese Jadeite Bangle Bracelet

When I first purchased it, I couldn't wait to list it.  It was one of the most expensive I bought and I wanted to get it listed and sold.   But a few weeks after I listed it, I decided I wanted to keep it for myself.  So I removed it from the Jade Heaven web site. 

Today I added it again. 

I couldn't fit it in the drawer where I keep my personal jade bangle bracelets without removing one to make space for it.

Within a few hours of listing it, I got an email from a jade seller in Hong Kong who is always criticizing me for selling the "old mine" jadeite bangles too cheap.  He thought it should sell for around $100,000.  Sure, that would be nice, but I really do price my jade cheaper than you would buy it in China.   And there's a statement is ships to USA addresses only, because Chinese and Hong Kong jade sellers really believe some of the prices are too low and they could sell them much higher priced.

I would keep it if I thought I would wear it often.  But most of the time I still wear my "old" carved Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet I "traded" a woman on a train in China for.   This one has the best qi energy for me:   calming, soothing, healing.

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