Appraising the value of a jadeite jade jewelry or a jade carving is one of the most demanding task as there is no international grading system like the 4Cs of diamond.  However, among the jade collectors and connoisseurs there are always some universal 'standards' and benchmark whereby a jade piece can be evaluated on the basis of beauty and desirability.  Though with a history as old as civilization the problems that there is no international grading system for jadeite jade can be attributed to the following:

1)    Jade is more of an 'Asian' phenomenal originating in China about 5,000 years ago.  Though there are a lot of collectors among Western people and other races the Chinese are still the predominant owners of jade;

2)    Throughout the ages the Chinese are the hard working people who keep the trade to themselves and who are interested to make more money for themselves than to go into some non-profit area of research and development and breaking new frontiers of knowledge where jade is concerned. Unlike the Western counterparts where a lot of diamonds and gemstones research are supported by grants from universities, institutions and associations there are non among the Chinese fraternity though you can find a Chinese in every nook and corner of the earth. (No offence meant to Chinese as I am an immigrant Chinese too.)

3)   No two pieces of jadeite jade are the same.  Each piece of jadeite jade is a unique stone with varying translucency, color and texture. The color of two jade pieces cut from the same stone may differ even though their translucency and texture may be of almost the same quality. This makes evaluation difficult.

4)    Translucency, color and texture cannot be measured scientifically on exact terms and to conduct an empirical study would involve few millions of combinations and the acquisition of many expensive samples. (Anyway who wants to conduct a study on low grade jade).

So the factors that determine the quality of a jadeite jade piece are TRANSLUCENCY, COLOR and TEXTURE which is not necessary of the same order.  Evalucating a jade piece with these 3 factors must be taken as a whole.  Of course, a highly priced jade would have excellent translucency, vivid color hue and extremely fine and compact grains.

Pic 1: Translucency though the light of a microscope. Pic 2: Vivid hue of green in a bangle. Pic 3 Very very fine compact grain in a rectangle peice of jade.

TRANSLUCENCY         The more translucent a jade piece is the more valuable it is. For a top quality Imperial Jade the term used may be semi-transparent. Usually in translucenct jade there is still some minor clouds within the jade piece.  Now do not be mistaken that a vivid color jadeite jade would mean that the translucency is being obscured by the color. A lively vivid color jadeite jade can still be very translucent.  I have seen some black jadeite jade bangles (Yes black in color) which is very translucent though it is interspaced with some crystal clear colorless strips. Translucency also has great appeal to the eye as an object of beauty. Its luster is luminous, its surface well polished and there is a 'softness' in the jade piece. The most valuable piece of translucent jade is called 'glassy', that is, it looks like clear glass. Following behind the glassy grade is the 'icy' grade. Then we have the translucent, semi-translucent and opaque. One also has to be careful when evaluating translucency.  Given a big boulder with an open polished window and the crust intact how do you shine a light through to see whether it is translucent or not? The best way is to use a fiber optic light and touch it against the jade. The optic light should be able to penetrate the jade piece totally if it is a pendant of say 1/4 inche or if it is a thick slab or boulder with an open window the light should penetrate as deep as possible.

COLOR          Color in a jadeite jade should be of a vivid hue, saturated, lively and vibrant. A totally colorless jade, if it is a bangle or a pendant, would be the most highly prized and its value is much higher than an old mine Imperial green or lavender. Of course this is the rarest. A vivid hue of fresh green or lavender is much desired as it will add 'color' to the wearer. The color within a highly prized jade should be evenly spread and not blotched with dark spots or whitish clouds. Often times a combination of bi or tri colors are preferred especially in carving pieces.

TEXTURE        The texture is the composition of the grains within a jade piece. The more grainy a jade piece is the bigger the monoclinic crystals and it looks 'dry'.  The more compact the grain is the more it can take on a hard polish and the more luster will the jade be. Grains should be at least medium fine for a good piece of jade.  The rule of the thumb is the more you can see the grain the less worth it is.

For the 3 factors there is no standard benchmark or text books to read on. One needs to acquire experience in the field, one needs to view a lot of jade pieces and one needs to be constantly updated on international auction houses like Sotheby or Christie's in Hong Kong where it is the major jade trading center.

Thank you for reading this guide. If you find the guide useful please give me a Yes vote. I will write more guides on jade from time to time for the benefit of my valued customers and also the whole of ebay community as a whole.