Buying Grade A Jadeite Without Getting Burned

A, B And C Are Treatment Grades

Type A is natural and untreated. Type B has been bleached with acid and impregnated with polymer to fill the resulting structure, which makes it look better immediately and degrade over years. Type C is dyed. Type B+C is both. None of these letters says anything about how good the colour is, and a plain Type A piece can be worth far less than a vivid one.

Quality Is Colour, Translucency And Texture

Those three, judged in daylight, are what set value. The cabochon in this range is described as intense green with very good translucency, which is the vocabulary to use in a brief. Ask for daylight photographs and video, not light-box stills, because a light box flatters translucency that is not there.

Inclusions Are Normal And Should Be Shown

Jade is a natural material with mineral structure characteristics: small cracks, stone grain, cloudy clusters and colour root vein. A bangle is the largest single piece most buyers ever purchase, so it shows more of them. The jade bangle listing in this range says so explicitly and asks the buyer to look at the actual photographs before ordering. That is the behaviour to demand from any jade seller.

Get Certification, And Know Its Limit

A Type A certificate confirms the material is untreated. It does not grade colour or value. Certification is available on the jade in this range; ask for it by name, and do not accept a treatment claim without a document.

Never Ultrasonic Clean It

Jade is brittle under impact and can be damaged by ultrasonic cleaning. Warm water, mild soap without detergent and a soft cloth. Store it away from harder stones, which will scratch it, and keep it away from cosmetics and hairspray.