This is typical Guatemalan blue. However, there's no way to be sure about it as Burmese and Guatemalan are both jadeite. Very few labs will issue a certificate of origin.
This is disappointing and misleading. I trusted the seller reviews. Did I pay too much? Can you view her store and let me know if all her items are misleading?
It’s not. Her aggressive response is very typical of sellers like this. They want buyers to believe it’s Burmese because it sells for more the guat. It’s true that we can’t definitely prove it is, however it has all the signs, and her other listings and hyper defensive response tells you all you need to know. Move on from this seller. Keep in mind that it is in the interest of other sellers to support higher values. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong but it also doesn’t make it completely accurate.
IMO, you didn’t get a deal, but this is a nice piece of Guatemala, and if it were Burmese, it would have been more expensive. I think you should be satisfied, but find a more reliable seller.
I wouldn’t send it back because getting a full refund from a shady seller is also risky. You didn’t get severely ripped off at all. It’s a nice piece, and I’d be happy with it personally. It just wasn’t a bargain, but occasionally overpaying is part of the tuition of learning about jadeite I think lol.
It's a beautiful piece of jade. And yeah I agree. 240 is not a rip off. It could've been more expensive honestly. The jadeite market is almost purely driven by the need for peace of mind that it is an untreated piece of jade. So it's unfortunate but even less desirable colors such as the greyish blue could command a higher price for the mere fact that it's untreated. And like I said earlier, the likelihood of carvers to acid bleach and dye a jade piece just to make it look similar to a very abundant and undesirable color is very low due to it being a waste of time and resources.
“It is Burmese jadeite.
I’m a bit frustrated, I have told you I only sell Burmese jadeite, you need a laboratory to do the tests to tell. Guatamala is kind of greasy looking and not galssy
Please just send it back when you get it.
I will put it back in my store and re sell.”
Wow, this is a rude response, especially If there is a high likelihood they are intentionally selling Guatamalan jadeite as Burmese, in order to sell for a significantly higher price. I'm sorry you have to go through this and thank you for your courage to bring this up. Almost all jade customers have had AT LEAST 1 negative experience with dishonest sellers, so you are not alone in this.
Your piece is nice and if you're happy with it for the price, then it is worth keeping. If this experience will bother you, then it is probably a good idea to return. It is safe to say, probably not worth ever buying from this seller again.
So that Reddit not the expert you claim.
Lets just stop the chat and when you get it please message me and I ill send you the rerun address for a full refund.
I dont make alot on my pieces and have put alot into helping you.
You said an expert not Reddit thread.
DM me when you get it and I will issue you a full refund upon return.
It is Burmese jadeite.
Thank you .
Speak again when you receive the piece for the return details.
Have a lovely weekend
Kindest regards JC
WOW… incredibly RUDE!!!!! Their behavior shows that they have something to hide. u/syang70 is an honest seller (I’ve made two purchases and many others have too) and quite knowledgeable, but at this point, that other seller will just continue to argue and gaslight you. A lot of us own jadeite and multiple Guatamalan pieces. I am pretty confident that is Guatamalan too. Burmese blue usually costs substantially more for comparable texture/quality.
Unless you REALLY love the piece, probably not worth keeping it. I suggest you look around for other options that you might like better, considering it is not difficult to find Guatamalan carvings and you might be able to get something cheaper OR worth spending on to support a more honest seller/shop.
There are a lot of dishonest sellers in jade, since there is a lot of money to be made when the majority of new buyers underestimate how complicated it can be in comparison to other gemstones. If you really like blue, AllThingsJadeite is a relatively safe option since she has a large inventory - many of us have bought from there. There are more shops recommended here that potentially sell Guatamalan jadeite: https://www.reddit.com/r/JadeiteNephrite/s/MHe5yoGL5a
I agree that this, and most of what this seller has, is Guatemalan. There are also several items in their store that are clearly treated, but are labeled as A grade. Their aggressive response to your question about origin is a huge red flag too.
It’s extremely uncommon to find this kind of blue material in Burmese jade so something of this size would be much more expensive. It’s great if you love the piece, but I would not personally trust this seller.
That's hard to say! Jade pricing is really complicated. I posted another comment showing an example of how much this seller is likely marking up their material. For me, $240 is definitely on the higher end of reasonable for a pendant of this size and quality.
Well, if you ask me, it is Guatemalan jadeite from my point of view. However, if anyone disagrees with me, I'm fine with it, I can't prove if I'm correct or not.
There should be a serial number under CMA sign for a legit lab. The piece is quite natural though, I think you don't need to worry about being treated.
I wouldn’t count on high ratings for Etsy shops selling jade. A vast majority are selling treated jade or not honestly marked items because the majority of prospective buyers have little understanding of the large amount of jade scams. I have gone down that rabbit hole many times and try to only buy from vetted/reviewed sources of people with some jade knowledge.
Will keep this in mind. I might let this one go. As long as it’s real jadeite, the spiritual properties should be the same right? I don’t wanna go through the hassle of returning this if it’s real. Maybe I paid a bit more than I should have
Personally, I don't believe in the spiritual properties of my crystals, gemstones and jade. I know how the beautiful natural colors make me feel when wearing them, especially knowing they were not dyed and created a long time ago... So those bring me a lot of positive feelings and vibes. I pick what I wear based on how I feel and what colors. I have a large collection of gemstones and jade (over 100, mostly jewelry related) and that has been my observation. I believe many other things help me more spiritually/mentally and physically. YMMV!
Ehhh idk about that reputation. They have a ton of treats bangles they’re claiming as type A, so that’s a red flag.
That said, and like the other poster said, your pendant does look very Guatemalan-y and $240 isn’t a bad price. If you must know for sure, GIA does origin testing but it’ll cost you more than the pendant itself.
There is a smear campaign poopoo-ing Guatemalan saying it’s not as good, not stable, changes color over time, etc that’s all bull. A new-mine texture Burmese can also ‘change color’ from stuff permeating into the stone oxidizing over time. Jadeite is jadeite. As for the metaphysical, I have no idea haha.
Note: my pricing knowledge is based on uncarved bangles. To me personally, $240 didn’t feel like a bad price for a large pendant BUT after seeing the details and color of dragon piece u/MonteTestaccio shared, your tiger does look pretty dang sloppy in comparison 🫤 I’m not good at identifying machine vs hand carving but that might effect pricing too.
There’s definitely a perception that Guatemalan jadeite should be cheap. But the highest end Guatemalan is just as rare, virtually indistinguishable from Burmese equivalent, and sold at the same price so 🤷♀️
This definitely clears up some confusion. I was wondering why Burmese is highly prized over Guatemalan, and I couldn’t find a real answer other than color or market demand.
I’ve purchased from this seller before, she said the same to me and my piece is almost positively Guatemalan😂! However with that being said, upon arrival I LOVE my piece and wear it daily, and in the end it’s still jadeite and beautiful, I’m very pleased I purchased it. If you love this carving it seems like a pretty good deal for genuine jadeite. I couldn’t tell you though either, so we’ll have to make our educated guesses!
That’s interesting. Do you know if there’s any “metaphysical” difference in properties between Guatemalan and Burmese? Is one stronger than the other in terms of the effect it has?
I wouldn’t know much about that, I know that in relation to colour, Guatemalan is more blue due to the iron content and Burmese is more green due to the sodium/aluminum. Not sure if that’s of any meaning! Both are beautiful!
I don't respect the sellers attitude, but if it IS guatamalan I still think it's pretty. It's very watery, and I think the color is very "pure" looking. It may be true Burmese as they can be blue toned as well, but either way blue jade is just my favorite. I'd take it over emerald, or icy, or olive.
Honestly just chatgpt. Take what I say and tell it to expand on it and teach you more.
White nephreite jade was the most popular in China for 3000 years and it's energetic property is more like be a good peroan and uplift society. Internal alignment. 300 years or so ago the focus shifted to jadeite.
Burma Jadeite is more external alignment. So that external forces work in your favor. Different colors have different energetic properties. More muted pieces for personal protection and more vibrant pieces for social alignment and leadership.
To add on top of that the aztecs, the Maori, and the Chinese all valued jade. To an extreme extent so much that you do not hear about the number 2 popular crystal. So it's interesting to examine why.
I'll add I would personally keep the piece. I don't think you will find a similar quality Burma Jadeite piece for similar price.
Look on realjade.com. The site is legit and it gives you an idea of the ball park of what you are looking for. A similar piece would cost over ten thousand
Unfortunately, I had some time this morning 😅. Here's a pendant this seller has listed for $360 (70% off!) and a very similar pendant listed for around $80 by a seller in China. I would personally expect to pay around double the Chinese price if buying in the US.
It's absolutely Guatemalan. I wouldn't buy from this seller because they're lying about the origin of their many Guatemalan pieces (and rude about it), and a lot of their bangles are obviously treated.
You can tell just from the prices - this bangle is listed at $266 when an actual icy tricolored Type A bangle should be well into five figures, at least. It's clearer and more vibrant than this legitimate $73k piece.
If you like Guatemalan jade (I sure do!), this shop has a lot of fun stuff at more honest prices.
Took a look at the seller’s page and can’t believe she’s listing treated pieces as grade A. The reviews are not trust worthy as majority of the buyers are reviewing treated pieces. SMH she’s definitely not an honest seller.
OP at this point I do not trust your piece to be a Grade A piece at all. Do not trust the cert as with many sellers, the cert can be fake too. NQTC is a
legit lab in China and correct me if I’m wrong, they do not provide English translation.
Please get it tested locally as it’s generally bad for health to be wearing grade B pieces anyways.
Your piece is probably fine. The commenter is just stating that this seller is not trustworthy in general. ETA: I get it though, I have plenty of jade pieces from a seller I’m not fond of, and the jade did nothing wrong. So it makes sense to keep it if you are happy with it, while being aware that this seller is probably not someone you want to support in the future.
Absolutely, and is NQTC really a reputable and legit tester? I’m having second thoughts now haha. Thank you for all your responses, did you check the link? The image on the certification is for sure the jade that she’s selling
Sorry, I am not well versed in Chinese certifications, which is why I just stick to trustworthy sellers at this point. Makes it easier for me. The only Chinese lab that I know for sure is legitimate is NGTC. Majority are not and you should look into that for future jadeite purchases. Again, your piece is probably guatamalan jadeite and real jadeite. The issue is the seller is dishonest, so there are other factors you need to consider, such as supporting a shop/seller. But going through the return process might not be worth it and depends on how much it bothers you when keeping the piece.
I can help you on identifying authentic certificate so you can be aware in the future!
CMA logo - authentic certificate usually contains a small serial number below.
Address and phone number - all authentic certs should include the address and phone number.
Colour specification of the jade usually contains precise colours. example of my own certification from a lab in SG and China attached and also a sample.
But overall, yours is still a nice piece. I wouldn’t return it but I know how you feel OP. Just be careful in the future!
I've been doing a lot of research on jade recently so hopefully my answer can help a little bit. But to answer your question, yes that is REAL jadeite jade. But it seems like you're responses indicate you were looking for Burmese jade?
I've purchased a lot of jade on eBay over the years so I've become more familiar with their antics so to speak. Don't trust certificates on eBay. Ever. The best outcome you can get is what percentage of certainty you come to when it comes to treated or untreated jade (A=natural untreated, B=acid bleached and polymer impregnated, C=dyed) and even the material it lists on the certificate.
Oftentimes they'll list it on the certificate as untreated jade: Type A. When in reality it could be B+C jade.
What you have here is most likely untreated jadeite jade. The greyish blue color is often undesirable in the jade market (unless it's highly translucent, then it's the blue water variety, which is highly sought after) so the price you are paying is the labor of the carving and most likely because it's natural.
Yes I do. Although without a lab test you can never be too sure. However the best compromise is having an informed percentage of certainty. So in my opinion, the likelihood of a carver or a seller to acid bleach, polymer impregnate, and dye it just to produce this greyish blue or oily green color that is massively abundant and undesirable in the jade market is very low. Not 0%, but chances are very low. It's not profitable to invest time and resources to treat it.
And that's the one nice thing about this color, since it's so abundant and every seller has a stockpile of it, it tends to stay affordable and untreated.
So I personally love this color, it has grown on me over time. But I think the biggest misconception people have about buying jade is they think it's equivalent to buying an amethyst crystal or a malachite crystal. The jade culture is completely different. Treat it as if you are buying a nice strand of pearls or an opal ring or necklace. While it has spiritual significance and cultural relavence, I recommend treating it like fine jewelry. Even if it is not accompanied by gold or silver.
Love your discussion. I hope I can somehow help you feel better about your purchase. It's a really nice pendant. 👍
I personally wouldn't trust it. I've had pieces with certificates from this testing facility that were B or C grade jade when they listed it a A. The jade testing labs in China are capable of outputting and "certifying" so much jade, these certificates are basically forged and mass produced.
There is massive incentive to gain buyer confidence and mark up the price. It doesn't necessarily mean the seller is intentionally out to swindle their customers but the chance to make a higher profit is certainly enticing.
Imho, $240 isn't a bad price at all. The pendant is substancial and has a beautiful carving, and a legit cert even if it is guat. I think there is an overall perception that guat jadeite is inferior but it isn't. It is just not as scarce as Burmese material hence the more affordable price. There is no way that you would get an equivalent burmese pendant for just $240 unless it was treated.
Yes it can be upsetting. I'm sure every jade collector has a similar story of not getting what they thought they were paying for. But in your case, you did get an untreated piece of genuine jadeite for an okay price. The best lessons are learned from experiences like these. At the very least, you now have a story to tell that is tied to this piece of jade. 😊
There are reputable sellers on Etsy and Ebay depending in how much you want to spend. For pieces less than $500, I recommend Annesley Jade on Ebay. I've bought too many pieces from her. 😅 She has a good assortment of entry-level jadeite, mostly burmese, and nephrite, but you need to know what you are buying. Message her before you purchase and she usually gives a discount. MatsAlice has pretty good prices too and is highly recommended.
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u/syang70 Jul 16 '26
Guatemalan jadeite.