Jiuquan Chinese "Luminous" Jade

Cleaning up the office today, and as often happens I found a small box of jade bangle bracelets I had stashed away a few years ago.  I had a couple of them on the Ying Yu Jade web site and decided to add a few to JadeBangleBracelets.  The Chinese jade is from Jiuquan, China and is also called "luminous" jade.  It's very deep green, almost black when you look at it.  It was used for centuries to make cups, and gaiwan cups for tea. When the jade is carved very thinly, light shines through it and gives it a radiant and luminous appearance. 

My jade man was in that part of China a few years ago and met with one of his carving friends who makes this kind of jade cup.  He knows he can sell me almost any kind of unique jade bangle bracelets, and they carved up some jade bangles out of left overs from the cups.  This kind of jade is usually not used for bangles because bangle shape is too
thick to show off the luminance.  They must have spent a lot of time making these, because they had to be made rather thin, yet be strong enough to be durable for a bangle.  Some that I have are very thin and wide, and really show off the luminance nicely.  Some are thin around the edges and thicker in the center to have durability.  And they could hardly wait to show them to me!  In the middle of the night (12 hour time difference) my iphone kept dinging my "jade guy" ring, and I woke up to see them.  I'm sure they could hear my shriek of delight half way around the world, and of course I gladly paid for them all.

These Jiuquan jade bangle bracelets are for jade lovers. The energy varies in them because some are thinner and more translucent.  They are yang because of the color, and it's the luminousness that changes the qi energy.  The price is higher than regular Chinese jade, and each one is hand carved and different. 

Notice the luminescence through the front part of the jade bangle. 

Very limited supply.  There are a few more in inventory that will be added when I get feedback from customers who purchase these.  You can see some of the luminescence in parts of these jade bangles, difficult for the camera to capture it.

"Costume Jade Jewelry"

I was searching on ebay for RFID credit card holders to protect my credit cards.  It's unbelievably irresponsible of credit card companies to not be as secure with technology as they are in European countries.  But it's not the credit card company that takes the loss when cardholder information is hacked and fraudulent credit card use happens.  It's the merchant who pays the price by losing not only the product they sold but paying the hefty chargeback fee required by merchant accounts.  I'm sure I'm not the only online business that loses an incredible amount of money because of this.

Anyway, I noticed many of the RFID credit card holder packs were being shipped from China, and that's about the last country I want to purchase anything that that is security related.  I read a news story about a new fake Apple store that opened in China and sold more than 150,000 fake iPhones before it was closed.  And last week when I was sorting through the "silk" scarved I purchased in China several years ago, not one of them was real silk.  A name brand rain jacket I purchased during a downpour in Beijing fell apart a couple days after I bought it.  "No returns", I was told when I took it back to the seller.  It's very sad for Chinese business people who truly want a legitimate business because they are a tiny minority in the "fakes" Chinese business culture. 

So it's no surprise that jade sold on ebay is not real jade.  And what's even more disturbing to many of us "jade lovers" is that most people don't know what the good quality, genuine and natural jadeite looks like.  The modern jadeite stone of today is pretty, but the quality is nothing special.  It's like the "costume jewelry of jade" today.  Just like the days of affordable good quality gold, sterling silver, and diamonds are gone, so is the good quality of jadeite.

A long time customer who has purchased enough jade bangle bracelets from YYJ over the years to have her own jade business still loves to buy jade.  But she's aware that some jadeite has real value that is actually an investment because it's so rare to find now.  So
she asks about the jade bangles she's interested in.   The investment quality jadeite on Ying Yu Jade and Jade Heaven is listed in the "old mine" or "lao pit" collections.   That jadeite was mined prior to the year 2000 and has qualities about the stone that the modern jade doesn't have.  It's difficult to explain because it's based on "gemology Daoism", the appearance having the energies that give jadeite it's unique quality.   Another jade lover
and long time customer sent me a link to a Burmese gemologist explaining this, and it's similar to what's been written in these blogs, but also comes from the Burmese point of view regarding the stone and the value.  I will post that article soon.

Old Mine Lao Pit Jadeite Bangle Bracelet

Yes, most of the old mine, the lao pit jadeite bangle bracelets on Jade Heaven and YYJ are priced more than $1000.  When you buy our jade, you truly do get what you pay for.  And the prices are actually much lower than their true value, as I hear from my two jadeite experts in China who give me no end of grief for pricing them so low, and wishing I would bring it to China to sell to them because even they can't purchase this quality anymore. I bought it when I had a "real job", using every dollar I could spare to buy up jadeite bangle bracelets to accumulate enough to leave my job to do jade business full time.  I didn't know a jadeite embargo was being passed in Congress, or political problems in Burma would change the price of jadeite, or that the old mine jadeite was getting more scarce.    I was just crazy about jade, and it turned into a business and an investment. 

If you want "costume jade", buy the cheap jade on ebay.  If you want a precious, old mine good qi energy jadeite bangle bracelets, shop at YYJ and Jade Heaven.  I'll be listing more of these kinds of jade over the next few weeks because I still haven't added all the older jade bangles that were on the "old" web site when we changed to the new site.

Old Mine Lao Pit Jadeite Bangle Bracelet

Jade Gua Sha tools

After posting the "Beauty Secrets" blog earlier this week, there were views and purchases of the jade rollers for health and beauty.  There are also jade gua sha tools for traditional Chinese health listed on the Ying Yu Jade web site.  And I had many emails asking what they are used for.  There's a short video in the basic description of the jade health tools collection.  After a "real life" use reply to their email, most customers who purchased the jade rollers also purchased a gua sha tool for their first time use.

Gua sha tools have been used in China for centuries.  They are more like a "home remedy" than a Chinese doctor treatment.  When I was in China buying jade gua sha tools, adults would tell me stories about when they were children and started getting a cold or cough their parent would get out the gua sha tool and start scraping their upper back around the neck area, how painful it was and they would cry and try to get away from it.  That's where the meridian for treating coughs, colds and other illness is located.  Instead of taking a pill like we do in USA, gua sha is used for immediate and safe treatment in China and Asian countries.

My first experience with gua sha was after arriving in Beijing after a long and exhausting flight from Ohio in USA, checking into my hotel on Wang Fu Jing street.   I had made arrangements with the hotel to get a private treatment from a Chinese doctor for jet lag so I could make the most of my time in China.  I was surprised the doctor started with a gua sha tool because I assumed it would be acupuncture.  He did the gua sha scraping on my upper back, I felt immediately better, slept wonderfully, and felt great when I got up the next morning.  And that's a surprise because the 12 hour time difference usually takes me a few days to adjust to. 

The doctor and I became friends.  He had heard about yoga and Reiki and wanted to learn them so we decided to teach and learn from each other and became very good friends.  He helped me get started with the jade health tools, and we found a "jade guy" in east north China and went to meet him.  We all drove to Xiuyan to meet with the jade carver and get the "right kind of jade" (genuine, pure and natural) and have them made to western standards (good condition, not cracks, chips and shoddy jade carving).  The doctor had always used buffalo horn gua sha tools.  We discussed how that comes from animal and might not have good qi energy because the animal suffers to make the tool for our use, and he immediately decided that Chinese jade was a much better material.  At the end of my trip, two huge and heavy boxes of jade rollers, gua sha tools, acupressure rings, and Chinese jade bangle bracelets and pendants were shipped to USA for me.

Gua sha can be used for a variety of conditions.  For example, if you have body pain, stiff neck, the gentle scraping is similar to myofascial therapy.  In China, scraping with gua sha is quite severe and you know when you can hardly tolerate it anymore, the treatment is over.  It leaves a bruise like mark on your body from the raising of the blood, which is the healing process.  I sometimes use a jade gua sha tool on my "restless leg" days, which helps.  These two styles are the ones I personally like for the way they are carved and able to use on different body parts including hands and feet.

 

Jade Gua Sha Tools

 

 

Unfortunately, there are some estheticians who advertise using these on the face for "beauty".  I cringe when someone who bought a gua sha tool writes to tell me how much they like it and use it on their face often because using this on your face will break the small capillaries and make your face look worse.  And perhaps can't be reversed.  

So jade gua sha is for health and wellness, NOT for face.  If you are going to use a gua sha tool moderately and NOT raise the petechiae (blood mark that looks like a bruise) it's safe to experiment with.  However, I suggest you find a Chinese doctor and tell your symptoms to get a Chinese meridian diagnosis, then get specific instructions for using it on yourself.  There are workshops healers who use gua sha attend so they know how to use them, so make sure the practitioner you choose has certificate of completion of a workshop, or is a Chinese doctor.  Light scraping "on your own" is beneficial, but deep gua sha work really needs instruction.

When I got my gua sha treatment in China, and was out and about and the gua sha petechiae was very obvious on my body, Chinese people who saw it would smile at me and give me the "thumbs up".  It's so common and healthful in China, and has so much potential for the rest of the world.

5 Ancient Chinese Beauty Secrets for Better Skin

I like to look at the Yahoo page every day to see what's going on in the world.  Today, the second article I saw was "5 Ancient Chinese Beauty Secrets for Better Skin".  

I had researched one of the recommendation, goji berries, when I listed jade goji berry pendants on Jade Heaven.

My acupuncture doctor buys them from a reputable source, and advises me to eat some every day.  They are known for longevity and wellness. She says you have to be careful where you buy them because just like jade, they can be low quality and useless or even fake.

The other item in the article was about using a jade roller.  I have seen jade rollers in the Forbidden City in Beijing, and know they had been used by women living in Forbidden City and other royal palaces for centuries.  They improve circulation and detoxify, open the acupuncture points so qi flows smoothly, and the natural healing powers of jade improve skin.  The article recommends jade rollers from Ling in New York for $90.  We sell them on both Jade Heaven and Ying Yu Jade for less than half their price.  And I work with the jade carver to use good quality natural jade stone and make them to Western standards so they are smooth and work well.  There's even a Wrinkle Reducer kit with a moist heat pad that includes our secret formula of Chinese herbs and jade pieces.  The jade rollers are available in different sizes for different purposes.  The small jade roller has a point at the end you can use to press acupressure points on the body.

Ying Yu Jade Roller Wrinkle Reducer on Jade Heaven web site

 

 

I use my jade roller every night when I go to bed.  I keep it on the bed stand and roll it over my face for a few minutes.  It's cooling, relaxing, and of course jade just feels good!  I use the pointed end to press on sore areas in other parts of my body.  The moist heat pack relaxes the frown lines between my eyes.  When I don't use it, I don't sleep as well.  Amazing what a few minutes of jade roller work does for the body, mind and spirit.

I also use turmeric, but it's so messy I don't use it as a facial mask.  It's a main ingredient in Chinese medicine for arthritis, joint pain, also.  I buy turmeric powder, cook it with water so it makes a paste, then refrigerate it in a glass bottle.  I make a tea with about 1/2 teaspoon of the turmeric, mixed with honey and ginger powder and drink it daily.   You can buy turmeric capsules, but your really don't know what's in a capsule, so it's worth it to me to buy the powder so I know for sure what I'm getting and using.

Keeping your face and skin beautiful is not just cosmetic.  When your skin looks good, you know it reflects the health of your body.  And of course jade always helps with improving body health.

Now you can buy Ying Yu Jade on Facebook

It's taken weeks to get it figured out, but finally, Ying Yu Jade products are now on Facebook so you can purchase them directly from Facebook.

Buy Ying Yu Jade on Facebook

The jade is  not organized into categories like on the web site, there is no orderly option to do that on Facebook, but everything is listed.  If it works out good, I will do the same with Jade Heaven.  Right now I'm working on getting Jade Heaven products listed with a button so you can purchase them directly from Pinterest. The message I get from Pinterest is that my inventory is in the queue waiting to get posted.  I'm guessing there are many other businesses trying to get listed on Pinterest since this option became available only this month.  This "old dog learning new tricks" is a lot of work, but to me, it's more fun than work.  It's a challenge mentally and with technology, and amazes me when I finally get something to work. And it's one of those things that makes me feel good when accomplished, another "endorphin raiser".

A blog reader asked my about the comment I made about jade making you feel good.  It's the comment about looking into a dog's eyes.  I read a medical article about patients in hospitals, nursing homes and therapy programs having access to "helper dogs".  My mother is in an assisted living facility, and tells me about the dogs visiting every month, and that some residents get very excited about having contact with the dogs.  Looking into the eyes of a sweet dog was shown to raise endorphin levels and alleviate pain in patients.  Maybe that's why I have kept this jade pendant on my desk, and played with it a lot prior to listing it last week.

"Yang Dog Protects, Brings Luck" JHP77 on Jade Heaven

 

 

I'm not a dog owner, but really got attached to this jadeite pendant.  It's very unique and it must have good qi energy for me, because it makes me feel good to touch it.

If you want to play on Facebook, look at jade, check out the Ying Yu Jade new Facebook page.  If you purchase anything from FB, let me know your experience because that's why I learn these "new tricks", to make an enjoyable shopping experience for my customers.
I'll send you a 10% coupon good on your next purchase if give it a try!

Why does jade feel so good?

Since Amazon was having a special sale today, I thought maybe people want to start their holiday shopping early, or maybe they need something special for themselves.  So Ying Yu Jade and Jade Heaven both have "Halfway through July" sales today, that continue until 8PM EST tomorrow.  Like Amazon, select products are on sale at half price. 

Several customers who  made purchases today commented that they were happy to buy a piece of jade at half price and couldn't wait to receive it.  They commented about how jade makes them feel so good, it's like a drug and they are addicted.  Long time blog readers know we call that "Jade Affective Disorder" or JAD!  

So why does jade feel so good?  Is it  like every other purchase, the thrill of buying something new?   Commenting as a psychologist, I say yes, buying something new often makes one feel good.  But the good feeling doesn't last long, and sometimes there is guilt or regret for compulsive shoppers.  But jade is different.  Jade has qi energy.  You know how when you look at a photo of the jade, you feel really, really attracted to certain pieces?  That's because it has the qi energy that's right for you.  Your eyes see it, send a message to the brain, and then if it's right for your qi energy, it's almost like you drool when you see it (more qi working for you).   Again, a comment as a psychologist, that response is stimulation of your endorphins, the "feel good" hormones your body produces.  Pain medicines act on the endorphins to help relieve pain.  When you're miserable,  if you are doing natural techniques to manage your physical and emotional pain, you know certain things you can do to feel better, like taking a walk, doing yoga, visiting with a friend.  Here's a good one: looking into the eyes of sweet dog.   Or touching your jade.  If you are wearing a jade bangle bracelet with the right qi energy for you, you touch your jade and it raises your endorphins.  Another advantage to a jade bangle bracelet is that it stimulates the acupuncture points around  your wrist to help your qi flow more smoothly.

 A long time jade bangle wearer who had to remove her jade bangle while she completed chemotherapy for cancer contacted me because her body changed and her jade bangle didn't fit anymore, and didn't feel right energetically.  We found a wide cuff jadeite bangle that made her "drool" when she looked at it and she felt she needed all the acupuncture point stimulation of the wide cuff of jade to get her qi balanced after her cancer and chemo.

A 17mm wide "cuff" of jade like in the photo above felt heavy but stimulating. The lighter yin color helped balance all the yang of the cancer and the chemo.  The tiny "hong" Chinese red veins had qi energy for balancing her heart and especially her spleen meridian to get her stomach feeling better again, and return to healthier eating habits. 

That's why you see qi energy descriptions in most of the jade bangle bracelet descriptions.  I learned about jade and qi during my Qi Healing training both in USA and China.  In my work as a psychologist and counselor, I realized people with emotional pain almost always had physical pain, too.  I learned Reiki, Qi Healing, and combined it with cognitive behavioral therapy to help people feel better. And I always had small jade carving in my office for clients to touch, feel. 

Many people wear jade as "medicine".  If you get the qi from the jade that benefits you the most, it really does help you to feel better. And even when you are feeling very good, playing with your jade, touch it, holding it,  can make you feel even more happy. 

Jade shopping is not just shopping for fun.  It's a purchase that will help you feel better, balance qi for body, mind and spirit. 

Jade for July

One of my friends texted me this afternoon while she was sitting with her husband who has been hospitalized for three days, and not getting better.  She needed some moral support and friendship, so I went to visit with her.  Whenever someone is not feeling well, or having emotional distress, my first instinct is to find a piece of jade that will be helpful to them.  When I'm not sure what's going on with them, the jade "worry stone" is my go-to choice.  When I give the worry stone, they start stroking it and feeling better, calming themselves.

Ying Yu Jade "worry stone"

My girlfriends all have jade and wear it often.  This week I noticed the two jade bangle wearers had on their natural Chinese jade bangle bracelets.  I took off my everyday jade bangle earlier this week and started wearing the Chinese jade bangle.

Genuine natural Chinese jade bangle bracelet  "water jade"

 

 

It's sometimes called "water jade" because of the translucent green color.  And that's the kind of jade that has good qi energy for hot July.  July is the month with the most "yang" and soft yin jade helps to balance the body.  Yin jade reduces agitation, nervous and heat exhaustion and helps the body to cool for better sleep.  Yang July also upsets the spleen meridian, causing stomach upset, overeating.  I tend to eat a lot of ice cream in summer, and I have lactose intolerance for which I take a Lactaid when I eat ice cream, but my stomach still gets slightly upset.  So if I know I'm having ice cream, I add a yellow jade bead bracelet to my "water jade". 

When I took the above photo today of my yin jade bangle on my wrist, moving it around the acupressure points on the wrist helped me to not get too much heat while I was taking the photo outdoors in the 97 degree heat of the day. 

I had this carved jade bangle made for me more than 10 years ago, and even though Chinese jade is not as hard as Burmese jadeite, it is still in very good condition.  So are the jade bangles my girlfriends were wearing this week.  None of our jade has scratched, chips or cracks, and here in hot Florida, we wear them a lot. 

So if you wear jade as medicine, choose light green jade for July.  White jade is also a good choice for its "summer white" yin qualities, very calming.  And add yellow jade if your stomach feels uneasy in the heat. 

This weekend we are offering free shipping for orders $100+ on Ying Yu Jade and Jade Heaven web sites.   As a bonus, you will also receive a 10% discount coupon good on your next order.   We're only half way through summer, so cooling yin jade is a good choice now.

When Working Feels More Like Healing than Work

Although I had house guests last week and very busy with July 4 holiday fun, I took a break to cool off in my office and listed a few new jadeite pendants on the Jade Heaven web site.
After being outdoors in 97 degree heat, the jade felt so cool to touch as I measured it, described it for the listings.

Some jade pendants I couldn't stop touching.  They felt so good.  There were two larger jade pendants that could also be used as small carvings that fit so perfectly in my hand and was a comfort to hold.  That's good qi energy!

The jadeite pendants listed today were all old mine lao pit jades from the Qing Dynasty that I have been hoarding since I bought them.  The look so nice, feel so good, of course they are jades I love personally.  My favorite jade pendant I listed today was a "Buddha Foot" deep green 3-D pendant.  It has a crab carved on the top of the foot, symbol of Enlightenment. That one felt really good to touch and hold and I carried it around most of the day, until it went into its "box".  It really should get purchased so it's on a body, not in a box. 

Handling the jade pendants this afternoon didn't feel like "work".  It felt like a mindful spiritual experience and when I finished I felt relaxed, calm and refreshed.  Now that's good jade qi energy.

View them all on Jade Heaven.

New Options for Jade Pendants

One of the things customers often ask for when they purchase jade pendants is "what to add to it" to make it wearable right away.  Jade pendants are carved slightly different. Most have a hole at the top through which a "dragon whiskers" silk cord or a metal bail can be attached.  But some jade pendants have holes the complement the design, and can accommodate only a silk cord or a hand wired bail.  One of my jade-loving customers shared her "bail drama" with her jeweler with me, and the experience motivated me to add more options for jade pendants so you can wear it as soon as you receive it, or give as a gift.

I went to a jewelry trade show this past weekend and spent the day looking at bails that can be attached to jade pendants.  I have some simple silver bails that a friend who lives nearby can attach for me when I get an order requiring bail installation, and she told me what she could work with.  So I purchased different bails and chains.  I added gold color bails and chains to the options you can now purchase.  Some are fancy.  Some are being shipped to me because the seller showed them to me, but didn't have any at the show to sell.  You would be amazed at the piles of jewelry findings that are for sale at these shows!  It was fun searching for good quality metals, and chains at attractive prices I can offer.

There are also new chains, ranging in 16-20" length and leather cords.  You can see them in the "Pendant Options"  category on Ying Yu Jade and Jade Heaven web sites. 

As I mentioned, jade pendants are hand carved and have different options for bails.  When you order, we will see how it all works together, and let you know if there is a problem.

I hope these bails, cord and chains make shopping for your jade pendants more enjoyable. Thanks for your feedback to let me know what is helpful to you.  Much appreciated!