"I Think I'll Wait Until I Go to China to Buy My Jade There" - Buying Jade in China

I often get emails for people who are booked on a tour of China, and looking for information about jade.  They plan to purchase their jade in China instead of buying online.

One of my friends, a couple who travels the world extensively, just came back from a tour of China.  They went to the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and then a cruise on the Yangtze River.  She was eager to show me the jade ring she purchased.  They are professional people, intelligent, sophisticated.  But that doesn't seem to mean very much when purchasing jade in China.  I think it's more risky to purchase jade while traveling in China, than it is to buy online, because you can't make a return from China when you find it out it's either not real jade, or you thought it was natural and it is color treated.

When I saw the ring was sterling silver (sterling silver is low grade in China), I knew the jade would be Chinese jade.  Burmese jadeite is sold with 18-22k gold.  It was,purchased in a government store while they traveled in China.  Of course, it was beautiful. She wanted my opinion, and I told her it was beautiful. 

Then she showed me the pearl ring she bought in Beijing.  If it was a natural Chinese south sea pearl, it was probably natural. 

When you shop for jade, pearls and other gemstones on reputable web sites, like HSN.com, there are always disclaimers on the gemstones they sell.  The first disclaimer is that gemstones all look slightly different from the photo shown. Then there's the disclaimer that it's common to color enhance gemstones so they look as pretty as possible.  That's honest.

Buying in China in tourist shops is not. 

And when you show a jade shop worker your jade bangle bracelet you bought online, and ask for an opinion, what do you think they will tell you?  That it's fake, and they will even make up a certificate that states it is either not genuine, or not natural.  How amazing they can do that without gemology testing!

My friend is very happy with her jade and pearls, and since they are major travelers, it will remind her of her enjoyable China trip.  That's what is important, unless you are buying jade for the qi energy for wellness, "jade as medicine".  I didn't spent any time analyzing it, because it's her special token. 

My personal carved jadeite bangle bracelet, Qing Dynasty, I made a personal deal with the owner.
It tested as genuine and natural grade A jadeite. 

 It's safer to purchase your jade from a reputable online seller than it is in China if you are a tourist.  You have more options if the item you receive is not as described, or you get it tested by a GIA gemologist.  If you spend a lot of money on jade in China, and find out later it's not genuine and/or natural, and those qualities are important to you,  getting a refund is probably not going to happen.

And that's why Jade Heaven and Ying Yu Jade offer guarantees of authenticity.

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"Modern" Burmese Jadeite Bangle Bracelets

Prior to the Lantos Embargo on Burmese jadeite that prohibited jade from Burma (Myanamar) I went to China every year to personally buy jade from the jade carvers near the Burma border.  They did not work with "commercial jade", but made genuine and natural jadeite bangle bracelets for Chinese and Asian people.  That's reason the jadeite bangle bracelets on Jade Heaven and Ying Yu Jade web sites are smaller size, usually less that 60mm inside diameter, and it was rare that I could find jadeite bangle bracelets larger than 60mm.   (The Lantos Embargo affected rubies also.  But very few people knew about it, and bought jadeite on ebay and it was rare that they were confiscated in US customs.)

When I went on a buying trip in 2005 I hired a young Chinese woman to go with us because I wanted to explore, and needed a "local" to help with travel and language.  She was in her mid-20's, and she told me that neither she or her friends cared about jade bangle bracelets.  Jade bangles were for "grandmothers",  and they were more modern.  We were in a small city popular with jade carvers, and saw some jade bangle bracelets that were really different from the usual ones I bought.  They had less translucency, the green was not the cherished imperial green color, but they were very green and the colors more "yang", deep color.

I started bargaining for them (there are no prices on jade in jade markets, and you bargain for everything you buy).  They were very cheap compared to the other jadeite I had purchased, and I wanted only a few to see if my web site customers would like them. As I was finishing the bargaining, myy assistant nudged me and put three more in the in the lot to bargain for, then two more.  She whispered that she would pay me later.  I was surprised, but didn't say anything because I didn't want the seller to know how much we wanted them.  And of course I got one for myself.

After we can done with the purchase, and tea ceremony that followed, my assistant told me that she was so excited because she found "modern jade" and that's what she and her friends would like to wear.   And a few weeks later, she sent me an email about how much her friends really did like them.




After the embargo, I ordered 100 jadeite bangles, and my other jade supplier in China said the A grade included certificates of gemology testing.  Many of them looked like the "modern" jadeite I had purchased years before.  So I ordered another 100, and they were the same.  I couldn't purchase the "old mine" kind of jadeite anymore.  That was not available, or kept in safes and sold one at a time because you couldn't get that quality.



I still have quite a few of the older jadeite in inventory, not listed.  I always labeled each box with the year I purchased them, and the location.  You can see the difference of jadeite stone when you look at the https://jadeheaven.com/collections/heavenly-vintage-jadeite-bangle-bracelets and the newer ones with certificates on Jade Heaven.  And the "old mine" jadeite bangle bracelets are priced higher because they have higher value for being more rare now.







They are all genuine and natural jadeite.  You have your choice of older traditional jadeite, and "modern" jade.

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Jade Bangle Bracelets and Heat - Too Much Heat

I received a jade question last week from someone whose family tradition jade pendant set in gold was found when cleaning up from a house fire.  The gold had melted slightly, and the jade had turned black.  She was wondering if maybe the jade was not natural color, or even real jade, because it turned black.

To know if the jade was real, of course it should be tested by refraction.

The fire had to be quite intense for gold to melt.

And jade doesn't like heat.  Jade likes cool temperatures and moistness.  The shops where I bought jade in China did not have lights on until they were turned on for a customer, or other reason.  And there were bowls of water around the jade to give it moisture.

I live in central Florida, and it has been unseasonably heat the past few weeks.  My regular every day jade bangle bracelet felt too heavy, so I changed to a more slender and lighter color jadeite bangle bracelet a couple of days ago.  I keep all of the jade that is listed on the web site, and those jades in inventory in a very cool room, in boxes or closet to keep it dark.  Often customers will tell me that when they receive their jade, they're not sure it was the one they ordered because the color seemed bland, but then they put it on and wear it and their body and qi energy improve the color and give it a glow.  When jade bangles are being photographed and listed, they are often on my wrist, or nearby in a room temperature area for the weeks I am working with them, and the color is at its best.

My slender, summer Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet worn with a carved jadeite bead stretch bracelet to keep it from sliding up my armCarved bead bracelet available on Jade Heaven #JHBRAC-18

Although jade likes coolness, none of my jade has been damaged during the many hot months during the year when I wear it outdoors, in the pool with chlorine, or in the hot tub. When I return indoors after being out in the heat, I wash my jade bangle with cool water and hand soap to remove sweat and sunscreen, chlorine from the pool..  Polish it with a soft cloth, and it is in good condition.

I keep pieces of Chinese jade when it breaks, or I receive damaged jade.  I use them outdoors and bury them along with the roots of my favorite plants in the landscape.  Sometimes the squirrels and other animals dig them up and they are on the top of the soil for a long time.  The heat really damages them, the lose their good green color and polish, and look grainy, not even like jade.

So you can wear your every day jade bangle bracelet all day, every day, and it will be fine if you keep it clean.  Wear it in the shower or when you bathe.  If you enjoy the environment, chances are your jade will enjoy it, too.

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Get Jaded! Beautiful for Jade for Your Beautiful Face and Hair

Jade is beautiful and will enhance your personal beauty and health.  Ying Yu Jade put together this kit of jade health tools to help relax wrinkles, help your facial skin to become more healthy and beautiful, and stimulate your scalp to improve head health and better hair, and maybe even stimulate your brain.

Listed just today and will be the Weekend Special. Save nearly one third if you purchased each separately, and you will have them all together for you to use at your convenience.

I personally have used all of the jade tools on my face and scalp.  The heat pack was developed by a Chinese doctor in Beijing and I have kept the "recipe" and continued making them here in the USA.  I have used jade rollers since I learned about them in 1999, and saw them featured when I toured the Forbidden City, learning the concubines and royalty have used them for centuries.  The jade mask feels so awesome, I use it every night as soon as I get into bed.  It calms me, and feels so good on my face and head.  And as I'm aging, my hair had been getting more thin, so I also use the jade gua sha tool with the comb to stimulate my scalp.  I use it at night, and maybe that's why I have such interesting dreams!  I am sure it also stimulates the brain, and that's important as you age.

Be the first to purchase these revolutionary "ancient" jade health tools and "get jaded", jade for your head and face. Check them out now!

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Options to Wearing a Jade Bangle Bracelet, and Wearing More Than One Jade Bangle Bracelet

Two girlfriends came over to visit with me today.  Of course, they wanted to see that jade that I have been getting the past few weeks.  I pulled out a selection of jade bangle bracelets and other jade items before they came over, otherwise we would we be tempted to go through all the boxes, all the drawers, the shelves, the cases and the closet where the jade is stored.  And that would mean a big mess to clean up!  I brought the selection into the dining area, made tea, and we spent a couple of hours looking, feeling, trying on.

When they left, with their souvenirs from the visit, I brought all the jade back into my home office and started putting it away.  I keep everything that's listed in storage boxes with labels on them, and they boxes fit well on the wall of shelves.  As I was moving the boxes around, I saw the hollow bead Burmese jadeite stretch bracelets that I had never had a chance to list.  I also wanted to get a photo to put on Pinterest to show how they look as a "spacer" between two jadeite bangle bracelets, both with different coloring.  The lighting outdoors on my lanai looked just right for taking the photo, but it took me several attempts getting a photo on my wrist.  That meant going in the office when I got done with 20-25 photos, seeing how they looked, then going back out and taking 20-25 more, six times.  About an hour.  I finally got a photo that 1) didn't have my toes in at as I aimed the camera down to get the best lighting on it, and 2) didn't make my wrist look too wrinkled and weird.

I still had all the boxes out all over the floor, and had to put them back in order.  But I was exhausted.  Jade is stone, and a box is quite heavy, and moving them around takes more energy than working out in a gym.

Just for curiosity, I decided to weigh the two jade bangle bracelets and bead bracelet I had on my wrist, because it felt really heavy.  The two jade bangles were larger sizes and the bead bracelet is heavy because the beads are large.  It weighed 10 oz.

Burmese jadeite hollow carved stretch bracelet, worn as a "spacer" between jade bangle bracelets

If you want to wear two jade bangle bracelets together but don't want them to hit each other and possibly crack,  you can wear a "spacer" between them, a regular bracelet, or a jade bead bracelet.  Notice how genuine and natural jadeite always looks good with other jade, even though they are not the same color.  If you wear smaller jade bangle bracelets and one of the smaller jadeite bead bracelets, it's comfortable.  But if you want to give your arm a workout and build muscle, try two wide or large bangle bracelets with the large hollow jadeite bead bracelet shown in the photo.


Some women just cannot wear a jade bangle bracelet.  Perhaps their knuckles and wrist bones are tender, and it hurts too much to get a jade bangle on.  And some women who wear a larger size may not be able to find a genuine, natural jadeite bangle bracelet that's affordable to them, so they can wear one of the jadeite bead bracelets instead.

The hollow bead bracelet and the single beads that can be worn on a chain or on a Pandora style bracelet are the same beads.

Hollow Carved Jadeite Bead on a Chain

Jade bangle bracelets can be heavy.  You can also get accustomed to wearing a  heavy jade bangle, and miss it very much when you take it off.  Wearing jade can help you to become more mindful in your daily living.  It's also enjoyable.  The girlfriends were commenting about how cold the jade felt when they first touched it, then it warmed to their skin temperature, but the part of the jade bangle that didn't touch their wrist or skin was still cold.  Being aware of that is mindfulness, and that's part of the spirituality of wearing jade.

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Jade Gua Sha Tool for Hair and Scalp Care and Beauty

Ying Yu Jade was the first seller of jade gua sha scraping tools in the US, and we've been selling them for 17 years now.  I started with a basic style, the kind Chinese people kept in their "medicine cabinets" to use when someone was coming down with a cold.  We reach for the cold pills, and they reach for gua sha tools to scrape the back of the neck, raising the "sha", blood, to release stuck qi that's causing illness.
In the past couple of years, I'm shocked that jade gua sha tools are being sold for facial beauty and wrinkle reducing on the face.  Scraping the delicate face breaks the small blood vessels and can permanently leave marks on your facial skin.  And that's not  "beauty".   Never scrape your face with jade gua sha tools.  Use a jade roller to gently loosen the wrinkle areas, like in our FrownEase kits.

Ying Yu Jade FrownEase Wrinkle Relaxer Kit

One of the jade gua sha tools is getting more attention the past few months.  It's the tool that has a "comb" on one edge.

Jade Gua Sha and Comb Combination

 I sold the last jade comb on Ying Yu Jade this week.  But jade combs are not really made for combing your hair.  They are meant for stimulating your scalp.  I keep one on my night stand and use it every morning before I get up, running the "comb" points over my scalp.  This use stimulates the scalp and can improve hair growth, especially as you age.  It also stimulates your brain.  What could be more wonderful than a dose of jade on your brain, first thing in the morning!

I also sold the last jade facial mask from inventory the end of last month.  I wasn't going to order more because it is costly to get them made, tying together the small pieces of jade so they are flexible and will feel comfortable on your face.  I have one that I use at night, after using the jade roller and heat pad on my forehead.  I love the cooling, good energy feel of the mask.  So I ordered more jade masks and more jade gua sha tools with comb, and plan to put together a package for customers who want to use pure and natural jade for health and beauty.  And if you also love some of the "beauty creams" available, you can put the mask over your face after you have used your creams, and the weight of the jade will help it "set" for good results.

 I'm waiting...waiting....waiting for them to arrive.  I would like to make a video about using these, but can't find a volunteer to show how they are used while I make and narrate the video.  We're all getting up in years, and using the jade because we need it, and somewhat reluctant to have the internet world see what we really look like!

Too bad jade isn't "magic".  But natural, healthy jade is very good for the skin.

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