Editor’s Note
This article explores the factors that determine the value of jadeite, a prized gemstone in the jewelry industry. It highlights the significance of a rough stone’s potential finished surface weight as a key metric.
Jadeite is a precious, top-tier gemstone widely used in the jewelry industry. The weight of a jadeite rough stone’s potential finished surface is one of the most important indicators for measuring its value.
The story’s protagonist is an enormous piece of jadeite rough, originating from the Moshisha mine and weighing over 1 ton. The appearance of this behemoth caused an immediate sensation, attracting the attention of countless jadeite enthusiasts and collectors. At the 2006 Yangon Gems Emporium…
Jade culture has a long and storied history. However, jadeite, as a precious variety of jade, only began to gain prominence during the Ming and Qing dynasties, rapidly becoming popular across the nation. From the imperial court and nobility down to the common people, all developed a deep affection for jadeite. Through continuous development, it has culminated in the brilliant jadeite culture we see today.
To cut such perfectly round and captivating jadeite beads, more than half of the original rough stone is typically lost during the cutting process.
At the Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Jewelry” spring auction on April 7, 2014, a natural jadeite bead necklace was sold for $27.44 million USD, equivalent to approximately 700 million RMB at the time, setting a new auction record for jadeite.
Scarcity in the jadeite market has led to consistently high prices, with many top-tier pieces being snapped up by millionaires and collectors as soon as they appear. For example, on November 11, 2016—a day of nationwide shopping frenzy—the judicial auction market in Liuzhou City saw multiple auctions, all related to stones. These stones were ultimately successfully acquired by collectors.