Post subject: Transparent/ slightly opaque jade beads? (vintage find)
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 11:55 am
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Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:24 am Posts: 30
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I purchased a necklace that I plan to pearl knot again because the silk was really in bad shape. I used some traditional tests for temperature weight and even the old hair test. The sound is spot on for jade but.. not sure if these are worth sending to GIA for cert.
Post subject: Re: Transparent/ slightly opaque jade beads? (vintage find)
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:54 pm
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Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
Re: The old hair test: A hair wrapped around any stone will not burn. It will only burn when wrapped around plastic or glass.
Is there no one in your area that can do some preliminary optical testing? RI, microscopic evaluation, SG? When taking the SG of a bead, fill the end of the drill hole with a wee bit of wax. That was an original Dr. Hanneman suggestion.
Post subject: Re: Transparent/ slightly opaque jade beads? (vintage find)
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:07 pm
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Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:24 am Posts: 30
These are dry and not in oil. I have a very good camera. They may have wax on them which is typical for jade beads. The beads are not on silk anymore due to the silk having been aged . I can take more photos.
Post subject: Re: Transparent/ slightly opaque jade beads? (vintage find)
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:14 pm
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Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:24 am Posts: 30
As you can see these are dry. No oil no gimmicks. There are 48 beads in all. I picked them up from an estate sale. Other than that wondering if I should send one or all of them in?
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Post subject: Re: Transparent/ slightly opaque jade beads? (vintage find)
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:50 pm
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Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:58 pm Posts: 1424 Location: San Marcos, CA
Maybe a random number to start, then decide again when you get the report whether sending the rest in. I do not know sounds logical, not sure what all your variables entail in getting them tested all or one.
Post subject: Re: Transparent/ slightly opaque jade beads? (vintage find)
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 1:24 am
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Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2021 12:24 am Posts: 30
glhays wrote:
Maybe a random number to start, then decide again when you get the report whether sending the rest in. I do not know sounds logical, not sure what all your variables entail in getting them tested all or one.
Good advice. Jadeite seems to be such an iffy gem these days with so many fakes, dyes, filling etc. If they turn out to be genuine, I'll consider myself a very lucky girl. I already know they are not top grade based on the opaque factor- but I've seen much worse. I just find the uniformity of the beads to be a bit suspicious. I'll let you guys know what report I get back from a proper report.
Based on the first picture I'd bet money they're crackle-dyed. Maybe not too much money, but these stones can look great to the eye, particularly greens from what I've seen. I've seen two instances, one imitating emerald and one imitating jade, which were honestly pretty convincing in the hand and needed to be seen under the scope for it to be clear.
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