Las Vegas, Jade and Year of the Dog

We went to Las Vegas last weekend.  We used to go frequently but haven't been there for about 8 years, and my husband really likes Vegas, so it was time to go again.  We both have different missions when we go.  I go to pawn shops and look at jade, see if there's anything interesting to buy, and "people watch". 

We stayed downtown on Fremont, Gold Nugget.  The California hotel and casino are the next street over, and they have an Asian attraction, and Hawaiian people, too.  In the past, I have sold jade off my wrist and pendants off my neck there.  I looked at all the wrists in Californian and the attached Main Street hotel and casino.  I did not see anyone wearing a jade bangle bracelet.  I saw one woman wearing a jade bead bracelet. 

There is only one pawn shop in the downtown area now, and he always had some jade so of course I made a stop there.  He had six jade bangle bracelets not natural color for $388 each.  A classic round light green with deeper green and "hong" reddish veins caught my eye, it looked like my size.  He handed it to me, and then rolled his eyes and groaned when I tapped it with my fingernail to hear the chime.  He said "don't you know you need a $15,000 machine to test jade?".  Then I pulled my jade bangle onto my wrist (I was wearing a jacket and stuck it under so it wouldn't be obvious) and tapped mine and commented that mine had a higher chime, and wondered if the one in his store was natural color.  The price was $1900.  He wouldn't sell it to me.  And he started on the "jade drama rant".  So I left.  But I keep thinking about it.

We also went to the hotels and casinos on the Strip.  One of them had their main lobby decorated with Year of the Dog.  And they were still working on it.  It was awesome.

But I didn't see anyone wearing jade, although there were a lot of Asian people there.

If you are looking for a "heavenly" jade Year of the Dog pendant, this is our special:

"Year of the Dog" Burmese Jadeite Pendant

Limited quantity remaining.  Nice neutral green Burmese jadeite, and on sale for awhile.

It was an enjoyable trip.  As soon as I got home, I took off my darker green jadeite bangle bracelet and put on my white with green veins for "calming".  And getting my yin and yang energy balanced from the time zone change.

 

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Is Jade "Pawnable"? Jade and Pawn Shops

If you have never had an online store or business, you might think that working an online business is "at your leisure".  If you are passionate about what you buy and sell, and want to be productive, then you work 24/7 most of the time.  My former Ying Yu Jade web site was one that I built myself with Dreamweaver program and it was work every day to keep it updated, make sure everything was working well.  Then the norm for websites was that they had to be mobile friendly for Google, and didn't know where to begin.  So I changed to a format that was fairly new, but in process of always improving, and I thought it was so good, I bought some of its stock.  One of the things I like the most is that is shows what people are searching for and that gives me information that is very helpful.

One of the searches that I have seen a few times "is jade pawnable".  Here's one of my experiences.

Las Vegas has quite a few trade shows and other activities I find interesting.  I like to stay downtown on Fremont street.  There's a hotel called California on the next block where I usually stay. For some reason, it attracts Chinese and Asian people, maybe because of the food.  That's where I see women wearing jade bangle bracelets, men wearing jade pendants. And the pawn shops that used to be around the casinos often had pawned jade. 
 The pawn shop workers didn't really know anything about jade, and made up a lot of stories. Since I was used to "bargaining" for all the jade I bought while shopping in China, I did the same thing, bargaining, in the pawn shops.  Some of the jade bangle bracelets and pendants on Ying Yu Jade "Vintage Estate  and Pre Owned Jade" Collection came from pawn shops.

One time I saw a small dark green jade carving in the window with a $300 price tag on it so I went in to take a look at it.  The sales person told me it was a Buddha woman so I listened to all his nonsense talk, and told him I didn't think I wanted it.  He was probably referring to "Guan Yin" or "Kwan Yin" female Buddha of compassion.  Then I made the "mistake" of touching it.  It fit perfectly in my hand and was carved so fingers go easily around it and the reverse side was slightly rounded and comfortable in the hand.  I knew then that there was something special about it.  I feigned disinterest, and eventually we agreed on a lower price.

My associate in China who works for the government and knows Chinese history well and is a jade expert told me it was probably a carving for the concubines who lived in Forbidden City or one of the dynasty communities before the Mao changes mid 1900's.  He told me that the wealthy men who had concubines provided jade to them.  That's when all jade bangle bracelet for women were carved in the classic round style, because these women didn't work so wouldn't have the breakage that often happens with round jade bangles.  Sometimes the jade carver would study the concubines and women and then carve a personal statue for them. This jade woman carving is very old Chinese jade, the kind of jade that was very common and traditional. And is probably a one of a kind piece.

(FYI: Did you know that there are many jade sellers especially on ebay who show photos of jade they claim is "old", it looks dirty and they state that it was found buried.  I have personally seen the "business of old jade" in China, people buying very cheap jade, like the "river jade" and getting it carved but not polished, then burying it in filthy dirt for a few months.  Since it's cheap jade, it is porous and it absorbs the gross mess it is buried in.) 

The last time I was there,  the pawn shops were moving out of the downtown area, so I don't know if there are still any there.  The newer pawn shops had a lot of items that weren't pawned, just merchandise to sell, and I see that here in central Florida, too. 

So the answer to "is jade pawnable" is yes, but you really have to "know" jade to purchase it, and know what the value is, or what you want to get paid for it before you shop, or pawn.

I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend for a special event, not closing the online stores and will be back Monday so if you order anything the shipping might not be the next day, but it will be shipped on Tuesday.  Of course I'm going pawn shop exploring, and will blog about any jade I find there.

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Cold Winter Week: What Kind of Jade to Wear for Cold Weather

We love the touch of cold when we wear or hold our jade.  But many of us don't like the winter, especially the "explosion" winter storm we are still dealing with.  Here in central Florida it was not as icy and snowing as states north, but still very cold for us.  Three nights the temperature went below freezing, and I covered some of the "special plants" and brought the goutstalk, Christmas cactus, aloe vera, roses, orchids inside the warmer porch area.  I debated if I should leave extra "garden jade" with the covered plants, but didn't want to give them that extra cold

Jade eggs for plant health and wellness

We had a lot of food in our home, especially after making a New Year's dinner with everyone's "required" foods for the new year.  I was addicted to all the desserts, cookies, candies we had over the holidays, and my body was overloaded with sugar.  While I was going through my jade bangle bracelet collection to decide which jade bangle had the best energy for me, I was not wanting "icy cold" jadeite.  I had trouble finding a jade bangle that felt really good.  I went into my vintage collection that I keep for the value and rarely wear and found just the right one for me.

My personal "warm green" and honey color carved Burmese jadeite bangle bracelet

 It's not a color I usually wear.  The green is tinged with honey color and the carving is flowers all around.  The green is a warmer green, qi enegy related to liver meridian for health and wellness of body, and not getting a cold or flu is important to me.  The honey color, sort of yellow, jade is related to the spleen meridian, stomach and intestines and helpful for all the food I have been eating.  When I get a craving for more chocolate or sweets, I rub the jade bangle, especially the carved flowers to resist the temptation.

Green and honey/yellow jade are good colors of jade to wear during winter.  The green color that is warmer can be better for you if you don't like the coldness of winter.

If you have several jade bangle bracelets and not sure which one to wear for what's going on in your life,  lay them out and "feel" each one,  and then choose the one with the best appeal to you.  That's what will benefit you.  And look quite nice, too!

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