6 Essential Facts You Need to Know About Jade Bracelet
Ancient bracelets were made of exquisite materials. Each piece is a rare masterpiece. After all, it has experienced hundreds and thousands of years of vicissitudes.
Those that have been passed down are mostly things of the royal family. They are often expensive gemstones like jadeite and tourmaline. How can they not be valuable?
Table of Contents
- Fake jade is mixed with real jade on the market
- The Meaning of Color
- The Meaning of the Shape
- The Meaning of Carving
- How to Choose Between the Large Price Difference of Jade Bracelets
- The Essentials of Wearing a Jade Bracelet
Jade bracelets were originally popular in the upper class of the Qing Dynasty. This is largely due to the Qing royal family's love for jade.
However, unlike today, the nobles of the Qing Dynasty preferred jade-beaded bracelets rather than the jade bangles favored by modern people.
And when they wear jade bracelets, there is also an exceptional rule and it has been passed down till now:
That is, the number of beads in the jade bracelet should be eighteen.
So, how did this particularity come about? Originally, the bracelet originated from Buddhist beads. Buddhism has the concept of the Eighteen Arhats, which means that each string of eighteen beads is carved with different shapes of the eighteen Arhats.
The imperial concubines of the Qing Dynasty were all worshipers and believers in Buddhism. There were many Buddhist halls in the harem, and they spent their lonely and leisurely palace life reciting and chanting Buddha's name.
In ancient China, a mother's son was her greatest asset, especially in the imperial palace. Therefore, the concubines also called each emerald bead in the bracelet a "zi", which is homophonic to son, meaning that they hoped to be favored by the emperor and rise to prominence.
Therefore, the importance of having eighteen beads for jade bracelets has been passed down from that time to the present, with the meaning of more beads, more blessings. In fact, besides the quantity of beads, there are many other aspects that we need to pay attention to when purchasing and selecting jade bracelets.
Fake jade is mixed with real jade on the market
Nowadays, many people prefer jade bangles over jade-beaded bracelets. One important reason is that the quality of the beads is difficult to judge.
The perfect jade beads on the market take more time and material to produce. However, there are now a large number of beads on the market that cost hundreds or even one or two hundred yuan, which are mixed with fish and sold at high prices. Most of these beads are made of scraps, and the raw material cost is very low.
Jade bracelets are made of loose beads, and a string of jade with excellent quality, color, and uniform beauty is very rare. Therefore, there are a lot of colorful bracelets on the market, allowing customers to match them according to their preferences.
Speaking of the matching of jadeite, there are also many considerations. Today, we will talk about the various meanings of jadeite.
The Meaning of Color
In ancient China, the monochromatic "red, green, purple, yellow, and white" of jadeite represented "fortune, prosperity, longevity, joy, and wealth", in accordance to "Fu, Lu, Shou, Xi, Cai" in Feng Shui.
To be precise, jade can have seven colors: yellow, white, green, red, purple, black, and blue.
These colors can appear on the same material at the same time, making it easier to obtain if it is a bracelet.
Generally, for every additional color block displayed on jade, the price will increase by many times.
There are several types of multicolored situations:
Yellow + green: also known as "royal green", yellow jade green, symbolizes the royal temperament and style.
Purple + green: the common "spring with color", meaning the spring breeze, won the applause of the crowd.
Red + Green + Purple: called "Fu Lu Shou", meaning blessing, high official, longevity, including the three best luck in life.
Red + green + purple + white (or yellow): "happiness and longevity", not only high-ranking officials, happiness and longevity, but also every day.
Red + Green + Purple + White + Yellow: "Five Blessings at the Door", Fu Lu Shou Xi Cai readily available.
The Meaning of the Shape
Round beads: It is not easy to string jadeite beads, which requires the quality and water of each bead to be very close. Moreover, there should be no obvious cracks on each bead, which is very consumable. Therefore, the value of the jadeite round bead string with uniform color is the highest, implying that everything is perfect, everything is smooth, and the world is round.
18K inlaid bead: Gold and jade have always been a very suitable pair. Jadeite bead chains and bracelets are made in the form of 18K gold inlay. On the one hand, it is to protect the beads from scratches and collisions, and on the other hand, it has a good meaning.
1) The combination of gold and jade symbolizes the combination of men and women and the good relationship between gold and jade (jade for men, gold for women).
2) In the Five Elements, it is said that "earth can produce gold". When gold and jade are together, more wealth can be generated, wealth can be attracted, and wealth can be abundant
The Meaning of Carving
There are millions of carvings, and there are too many meanings. Especially the multi-colored jade bead strings, which have multiple colors and strong plasticity, are more convenient for conceiving and creating various themes, showing the unique cultural connotation of jade.
For example, the 18-child bracelet is often carved into various facial expressions of the 18 Arhats, symbolizing the protection of the 18 Arhats and helping people overcome disasters and difficulties.
People with ingenuity sometimes carve bead strings into cartoon images of little pigs and fish. Little pigs symbolize "fat pig arch", also known as "wealth beads"; small fish symbolize "having more than enough years".
How to Choose Between the Large Price Difference of Jade Bracelets
The quality of jade bracelets on the market varies greatly, and the prices are also vastly different. If you are accidentally fooled and get hit, it will be an unpleasant experience.
However, as long as you master the six methods of "color, transparency, uniformity, shape, pattern, and illumination", you can easily avoid many traps.
Color
Regardless of the color of the jade bracelet, the jade color must be bright and artistic. It can be summarized as "white as fat cutting", "yellow as steamed millet", "green as emerald feathers", and "black as ink light". Those with mixed colors or dark colors will depreciate.
Transparency
Transparency is one of the identification criteria, and high transparency is of course high quality. Semi-transparent and opaque are intermediate jade and ordinary jade. Transparent and greenish ones are preferred.
Shape
In terms of "shape", firstly, look at the carving, good carving has a high value; secondly, look at the diameter of the jade beads, small beads can also be worn. However, if you want to collect, it is recommended to choose large beads, which will inevitably have higher value.
Pattern
Jadeite is most afraid of cracking, so when choosing, be sure to carefully observe whether the beads have cracks. At the same time, pay attention to whether they are B or C products.
Illumination
When necessary, you should also use a special flashlight to check, which can help you find black spots and flaws that are not easily visible to the naked eye; you can also use a 10x magnifying glass to illuminate under the light, and the flaws and counterfeits will be exposed.
The Essentials of Wearing a Jade Bracelet
After selecting a string of jade bracelets that you like, you need to pay attention to wearing them to best protect the bracelet and show all its beauty.
It is not recommended to have too many pearl strings made of precious stones, nor is it recommended to wrap them around. Because precious stones are relatively heavy, they can burden and even damage the wrists. precious stones are brittle, and wrapping them around can easily cause friction and collision with each other, which is also not good.
The jade bead string feels lighter and more charming than a bracelet, and it is not easy to bump or break. It is a good choice for every jade lover.
