Ying Yu Jade Rollers - Best Quality, Workmanship, Genuine Natural Jade Health Tools

My jade associate in China took the four hour trip to the jade mines and our jade carver this weekend.  I met him in the year 2000, and we have been working with our jade carver since that time.  Over the years,  the jade rollers have improved in quality.  When I first started buying the jade rollers in wholesale quantity, more than 100 pieces of each style, the jade carver wanted to get them made fast so I would be pleased with getting my order fast.  It took awhile for him,  who speaks and understands only Chinese language, and whose cultural ideas and expectations are so different than "western", to really understand that quality is more important than speed.  And presentation is almost as important.  My associate packs them well for DHL shipping.  He understands some English, the language more than the meaning, and I have ordered tons of jade from him over the years, so he "gets it", what we western people expect. 

My orders are always quite large, so he buys the jade rough directly from the jade mines and chooses very good quality and color.  The rough doesn't look very attractive, but he knows how to choose genuine and natural good quality jade.

Chinese Jade Rough

Then he carves them so they will be as smooth and polished as possible.  There's a saying: "the jade carver always leaves something behind" so they are not "perfect".  We want minimal work done on them so they remain as natural and traditional as possible.  Then he makes the metal parts.  These are designed to not only hold in the jade roller, but also to make them adjustable, so the person who uses the jade roller can have an easy roll or one that is tighter.  The metal parts are glued on to preserve the jade from getting any chemicals or heat.  If they fall apart during shipping, I can glue the part together, and the customer can glue if anything falls apart so they can continue to use the jade roller.  It's not "broken" if you receive the jade roller with a metal part that came off during shipping.  You can easily glue it back on.

Sometimes the jade carver can find a person to make a mold of protective cushioning that fits the large jade roller boxes, so they ship more safely and make a good presentation when you open the box.

Large Double Ying Yu Jade Roller with custom made box

I have had customers who place regular orders for jade rollers that they searched online and found them cheaper, but stay with Ying Yu Jade rollers because they are much better quality than others.  Working with my associate in China and the jade carver for more than 15 years makes a difference.  You get genuine natural jade, (not plastic or fake jade), well made, adjustable, and this means you not only get good quality, you get the traditional good qi energy of the jade that Chinese doctors have cherished for centuries.

Ying Yu Jade Roller CollectionLeft to Right: Acu Roller with "needles",Practitioners Style Jade Roller, Classic Large Double Jade Roller, Medium Roller, Small Roller

What Kind of Jade Bangle is Good for Traveling?

We took four days to travel to Ohio to visit my family on Saturday, go to my husband's class reunion on Sunday, visit my husband's family in Pittsburgh on Monday, then spent  yesterday flying from Canton Akron airport to Orlando, one plane change.

We had intended to take only one carry on luggage each.  But when I checked the weather, it was "only" in the mid 70's during the day, which means "winter clothes" for us.  And there were just a handful of things that wouldn't fit in our combined carry ons, so we took a third luggage to check through.  And that was a good choice, because we like to shop at the outlet mall in Burbank, and we both bought enough clothes for our "winter" in the stores there.

While I was trying to get all my clothes and personal items in one carry on, I decided to take only the jewelry I was wearing, and one jade bangle.  If you read this blog, you probably read that I always wear or take a black jade bangle for protection, physically and for health.  And I spent half a day deciding which one jade bangle I would wear. I chose my very old carved jadeite bangle bracelet because it was carved with bat for happiness, flowers for happiness, bamboo for flexibility, symbols for luck, and some "hong" red veins for my heart (that hurts when I have to leave my mom in assisted living, and family) and spleen meridian (eating too much in strange places).   It's also a jadeite bangle I received in a trade on a train trip from Beijing to Tianjin years ago, my handbag and most of the contents for this lovely, precious, and highly valuable jade bangle bracelet.  At that time, Chinese women were fascinated by what was inside my handbag, so I carried things they might like. I could write a book about those experiences!

It was a good choice.  Our TSA pre check and flights, car rental went very well, and overall we had a good but fast paced trip.

I decided to attend my husband's class reunion with him because I wanted to meet his past friends.  Some of the women commented on my jade bangle, although they didn't know it was jadeite until I told them.  They thought like most people do:  jade is supposed to be green.   It got more pretty each day as I wore it, mixing with my body qi energy.  It had been in a drawer for several months, and lost its glow, but that came back shortly after I put it on.  That's a characteristic of very good quality jadeite, with fine grain, the old "lao pit" kind.

And it's one of my favorite jade bangle bracelets.  Sometimes you are torn between wanting to wear your best jade bangle, and being concerned it might break while you're wearing it.   I've resigned myself to "nothing lasts forever", not even jade.

You can view my other personal favorite jade bangle bracelets on the Pinterest page

Jade Heaven Personal Jade Bangle Bracelets on Pinterest

"Ying Yu Jade's Jewelry Box" New Collection

As promised, I have started listing some of the vintage jewelry I have that is NOT jade.

I have a pile of jewelry that's really nice.  Some of it was purchased as part of an estate sale when all I really wanted was the piece of jade in the auction or box for sale.  Some of it was given to me by family members to sell for them.  And several pieces are sterling silver and turquoise Native American made jewelry from tribes in Arizona where I lived for several years.  I loved driving around Arizona, visiting the mountains, the deserts, and rock hounding.  I think the experience taught me about buying jade:  I wouldn't buy the silver and turquoise jewelry at standard tourist attractions.  I went into the residential areas of the Native Americans and bought directly from them.  Most of these are signed by the person who made it. 

I always wear a jade bangle bracelet.  And I enjoy wearing other jewelry, too.  The prices on the Collection are low so you can purchase them "just for fun".  And you will find unique jewelry, one of a kind.

This jewelry is not YYJ main item, of course, so will be added to slowly as we get photos. Jade is the priority!

Ying Yu's  Jewelry Box Collection

Frown Ease Wrinkle Reducer Jade Roller Kit

When we moved out of our home in May while our new home was getting built, I packed my most important items to take with me, but of course some of the boxes wound up in storage and not with me when I needed them.  One of the items I missed the most was my Frown Ease wrinkle reducer items.  I thought not using the jade roller with the heat pad and patches wouldn't make a difference in only  7 weeks.  But when I looked at a recent photo, I was dismayed to see the prominent wrinkles on my forehead.  And it's been so hot and sunny here in Florida, I've been squinting a lot when I'm outdoors, or driving in the car. 

Frown Ease Wrinkle Reducer Power Pak

About a week ago I started using it again at bedtime.  I warm the small heat pad in the microwave about 15-20 seconds.  I dampen it first to regenerate the Chinese herbs inside.  Then put it on my forehead for at least 10 minutes.  The jade roller is very cooling, and helps to smooth the tissue of the tough wrinkles.  It's sort of like myofascial release of the tissue.  Then if I have a small jade roller I use the point on the end to tap along the wrinkle lines.  Sometimes I heat the pad again and repeat the process.  I cleanse my face, apply the skin care including wrinkle cream on wrinkle lines.  Then moisten the Frownies patch.  While spreading the area between my eyebrows with two fingers, I apply the Frownies patch and hold it with a dry towel for at least 30 seconds so it sticks well to my skin.  I can feel the patch but after a few minutes it doesn't bother me.  In fact, it reminds me to not squint.  It usually stays on all night.  In the morning I remove it, use the roller again, then do my regular facial cleansing routine.  I noticed a difference in the deepness of the wrinkles after 6 days, and each day it looks smoother.  During the day, I take a few seconds to occasionally smooth the skin to relax those muscles that cause the wrinkles. 

I learned about this technique in China.  My Chinese doctor friend in Beijing sends me herbs to put in the pads, and I have a local woman sew the pads from cotton I purchase here in USA.  Then I personally add the rice for weight, Chinese herbal products, and crushed jade and sew the ends.  I want to be sure there are no contaminated products in the pad as well as use my special herb mixture.

This is something that needs to be used regularly or the wrinkles return, as I found out!  After you get the appearance you are satisfied with, you can use the jade roller every day, the heat pad and patches 2-3 times per week.  It's best to do this at bedtime and leave the patch on all night, but even  3-4 hours is helpful.

One of the Today's Special early this week will be extra facial Frownies patches with your purchase.  I've tried the patches for smoothing wrinkles on the corners of the mouth and purchased enough to offer them for you to try, also.  If you don't see the extra patches on the Today's Special, write "Extra Frownies" in the comments box on the order form.  This offer is good through August 11.

This is a Ying Yu Jade exclusive.  The herbs in the heat pad come from a pharmacy in Beijing.  And the jade rollers are genuine, natural jade made by my jade carver.  A natural treatment for our natural aging process!

Emerald Green Jadeite Jade with Certificate Mined in Saudi Arabia (?)

I received many emails from people who want me to purchase their jade and jadeite to sell on the web sites.  I learned a long time ago that the only jade I can trust that is genuine and natural is the jade I personally buy from the jade carver when I'm shopping in China.  The buying trips have always been extremely challenging.  It takes a long time to travel to near the Burma border where the best jade and most talented jade carvers are found.  And jade is stone.  Carrying it around is exhausting.  But when I buy jade from the carver, have tea with him and his family, see the jade stone he uses and watch him and his carvers make jade bangle bracelets, pendants and other carvings, I know I can trust what I purchase.  Some of the jade carver/sellers are surprised I know the "ancient Chinese secret of qi testing" for jade, and when they see me doing that, they then pull out their best pieces.  And we bargain for the final prices.

The emails I get, I rarely respond to.  If it's truly Burmese jadeite, then it would be illegal for me to import it because of the Lantos embargo, which is still in effect, ridiculous as that sanction is because it gets sneaked into the US all the time.  This email over the weekend was a man claiming that they have a jadeite mine in Saudi Arabia, and showed me some "emerald green" cabochan pendants with certificates of authenticity from their gemologist.  They photo doesn't show true emerald green, and it doesn't look like good quality, and their pricing is by the killogram. 

The only other country that has been known to have jadeite mines other than Burma (Myanmar) is Guatemala.  A few years ago I took a cruise that left from Florida, went through the Panama Canal, and ended in San Diego.  The port I couldn't wait to get to was in Guatemala.  I took the excursion to Antigua area to visit the jade museum and of course shop.

Guatemala jade is different from Burmese jadeite.  The big difference was the lack of translucence.  But the good green color was beautiful, more rich and dense than Burmese jadeite. 

 The pieces I bought included a cute little turtle carving that is palm sized and can be carried in a pocket.  I also purchased a "bi" donut hole pendant that is about 2" wide, and has a huge silver bail with a sterling silver flower with small round jadeite center.  And the stretch bracelet is light green and dark green "yin and yang" color small tablets of jade stone strung together. 

I love them, but they don't have qi energy.

Unless something miraculous happened recently, I haven't read about genuine jadeite mines in Saudi Arabia.  But "emerald green jadeite with certificates" sure does sound appealing to people who are looking for that good green color, and believe it came from their jade mine, certified by their gemologist.