What Kind of Jade Bangle Bracelet to Buy? Here's How We Shop for Jade in China

My jade associate in China and I "shop together" using our smart phones.  When he goes to the Burma border to purchase Burmese jadeite bangle bracelets directly from the jade carver, he shares his experience with me.

People often ask:  why do you have to purchase directly from the jade carver?   Jade is not an item that you can make good purchases unless you are physically present with the seller.  There is a Chinese saying:  Diamond and Gold have a price, but Jade has no price".   Diamonds and gold are priced by carat and karat, but jadeite is not like that.  When you go to a jade market, there are no prices on the jade.  Everything you purchase must be negotiated, bargained for.

The real jade markets, not the markets for tourists, are quite huge and different than "shops".  This is what you see:

Then you start negotiating and chatting with the jade sellers.

We need to purchase larger sizes now because I still have a good inventory of Burmese jadeite "old mine" bangle bracelets, mined and carved around the turn of the century, and the sizes are mostly 51-60 mm, 60 mm being one of the largest sizes.  Now more men want to wear jade bangle bracelets, and many women are more active, larger than the traditional small Chinese and Asian women 20+ years ago, so the shopping today is for sizes 60-72 mm.

During the "old mine" Burmese jadeite selling day, there was no question that the jade was "real", genuine and natural grade A.  You could see what the carving shop was working on, and you could see it was genuine, natural and not bleached and color added.  So certificates of gemology testing were extremely rare.   Then there was the USA conflict with Myanmar and sanction put on bringing jadeite to USA . Sanctions were dropped on everything except jadeite until only a few years ago.  During that time, sadly many people sold "fake jade", or color treated grades B and C but described it as "real, grade A".   That's when it became common to purchase Chinese gemology testing certificates.

This newer jadeite is different from the "old mine".   It is genuine jadeite, but often not as translucent, rare to find any imperial green color not even veins of imperial green.  But the newer jadeite is still beautiful, just different.

And jade carving is different.  In the Dynasty times, older times, the jade carver would study the stone, decide the best way to use the good features in bangles, pendants, other carvings.  Then on an "auspicious day" the jade carver would carefully carve the jade stone to make the best use of the colors, veins, features.   Today it is like a "job" that people get trained for, and work automatically according to what customers want.

When the jade arrives to us here in USA, we open the box and let the jade set outdoors for a couple of days, then wash it gently with soap and water, and let it set outdoors for a couple more days and a cool shady area so it is clean, COVID-19 free, and ready to photography, and list for sale.

So we have a new supply of the larger Burmese jadeite bangle bracelets with certificates of gemology testing now, and will be getting them ready to list over the next few weeks.  The "China's Favorite Every Day Burmese Jadeite Bangle Bracelets with Certificates" are listed on both Ying Yu Jade (click to view)  and Jade Heaven (click to view).   They will also be in the "What's New" Collection when we finally get them well photographed, edited, described and ready to sell.

Ying Yu Jade

Jade Bangle Bracelets

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Burmese Jade Mine Disaster Last Week - 170+ People Killed Another Story

Here is an excerpt from NewsAsia about a disaster in Myanmar at a jade mine last week:

Mandalay, Myanmar - Aye Mon, 30, is left alone with a two-year-old daughter after her husband and younger brother died in Myanmar's worst jade mine landslide that killed more than 170 people on Thursday.

In hopes of finding gems that might transform his future, her brother, Shwe Moe Tun, 22, had travelled more than 600km (370 miles) from his village in Monywa to Hpakant area of Kachin state in northern Myanmar, home to a secretive billion-dollar jade industry.

"My husband had been working in the jade mining business for more than 10 years. But it was the first time for my brother. It was his second working day in the mine," Aye Mon told Al Jazeera.

At least 40 jade pickers killed in the disaster at Wai Khar mine were buried on Saturday, the country's fire services department said on their Facebook page, while 77 others were interred in a mass grave on Friday.

Aye Mon's husband Soe Min, 31, and her brother were among hundreds of jade pickers at the mine when the disaster struck as heavy rains filled the mine with water, creating a lake.

A wall of the mine crashed into the lake, with the huge wave of mud resulting in the deadly landslide.

"My husband and my brother were both buried yesterday [Saturday]. I have nothing to depend on in my life. All I have left is just my two-year-old daughter," Aye Mon said.

In search of jadeite, a stone exported across the border into China, migrants from across Myanmar travel hundreds of kilometres to Hpakant, in hope of finding the overlooked pieces of jade.

The Wai Khar mine had officially shut down because of the danger of landslides, the Hpakant member of parliament, Khin Aung Myint, told Al Jazeera.

But unauthorised jade pickers, who are expected to pay a share of their earnings to rebel groups operating in the area, still flocked to the mine.

The jade industry is largely controlled by firms linked to Myanmar's powerful military and the trade is worth billions of dollars a year.

Rights group Global Witness says the trade funds fuel the armed conflict between government troops and ethnic Kachin rebels fighting for self-rule in the region.

It also said the landslide was a "damning indictment of the government's failure to curb reckless and irresponsible mining practices".

Despite the risks, thousands of workers, including Win Kyaw, are still ready to go back to the mines to scour for precious stones in desperation with hopes to strike it rich.

Officials say that makes it harder to prevent disasters like the one that occurred on Thursday."

Sad story, and some of the information in this article give you more information about "jade pickers" and the how people risk their lives to find jadeite just to make a living.

My jade associate in China was shopping for Burmese jadeite bangle bracelets for us when this happened.  He was at jade carvers near the border, but still in China.  He had purchased a good quantity of jadeite bangle bracelets and was getting the jadeite tested by gemologists, making certificates of gemology testing.  We "shop together" on our smart phones, keep in touch, and make decisions together.  Something happened, not sure exactly what, but prices changed, good quality was removed from markets, and although he had not purchased all that I wanted, he immediately shipped them by the expensive express service so they would leave the country and get to USA before something would happen to them.  If customs inspection in China, then Hong Kong would seize the package they would "disappear".   I received them yesterday, and in the process of leaving them out "in the open" to make sure there is not COVID-19 or other contamination before I complete the unpacking and start listing them.  

You know how you feel when you order your jade online, and can't wait to receive the parcel, open it and look at it.  That's how I feel.  Can't wait to see what was purchased.  There are some larger sizes, good for men and women who need larger sizes.  I have not yet received my final prices, and when I do it will be interesting to learn if this incident has affected prices, quality, and availability.  These jade mine "disasters" often happen, either by nature or politically.  

And that's a reason why your Burmese jadeite is so special.

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