Experts reveal the secret of Hetian jade

The ancients used this sentence to judge the color of Hetian jade: white as fat, yellow as steamed chest, blue as moss, green as green feather, black as pure paint. In so many colors, the white jade is the most precious, and its price is very different from that of ordinary Hetian jade. And the "skin" seed material, the price is relatively higher.

Although compared with jade, the number of counterfeit Hetian jade and the optimal treatment of Hetian jade are relatively small, but with the soaring price of Hetian jade, the tricks of fake and fake skin have begun to emerge. The most careful thing to do with Hetian jade is to fake the real seed with a fake skin, in addition to the fake filling on the material.

Afghan jade is actually marble

Yangcheng Evening News: With the soaring price of Hetian jade, there are many varieties of counterfeit and Tianyu on the market. Is there any way for consumers to identify them by the naked eye?

Hu Xuenian: At present, there are three kinds of varieties similar to Hetian jade on the market. There are three kinds of quartzite, marble and glass.

The first is quartzite, whose composition is quartz. Quartzite is generally used for hanging pieces, bracelets, ornaments, etc. The most accurate method for identifying Hetian jade and quartzite is of course carried out in the laboratory, using data to identify density, refractive index, etc. But consumers can also use the following three methods to identify. First, measure the density. The density of quartzite is 2.6-2.65, and the density of Hetian jade is 2.95. Two jade of the same size can be rubbed by hand, and Hetian jade will be heavier; secondly, look at gloss. Hetian jade's luster is grease luster. Many friends who play jade know that the longer Hetian jade plays, the stronger the gloss, while the quartzite is the glass luster. The two lusters are different; again, look at the structure. It is not necessary to use a magnifying glass or a microscope. It is usually visible to the naked eye. Hetian jade is a dense fiber interweaving structure, and quartzite is a typical granular structure. Two completely different structures determine two different qualities. Hetian Yu is beaten and beaten. He won't break and crack, and the toughness is very good. Quartzite falls to the ground and is easily damaged.

The second type is marble, also known as marble, which also has a confusing name "Afghanistan jade" that sounds like imported. "Afghanistan jade" imitation white jade is very similar, so there are many on the market, especially at some tourist spots. The luster of marble belongs to the luster of the glass rather than the luster of the grease. The density is lighter than that of Tian Yu, and the handcuffs are not so "hands-on", not so heavy. At the same time, its structure is mostly strip-like structure, which is observed by a flashlight, which is a curved band structure. It is impossible for Hetian jade to have a strip-like structure, which is a relatively remarkable feature. In addition, the marble is afraid of hydrochloric acid, and it will violently foam when it is treated with hydrochloric acid, and Hetian jade will not. However, this is a destructive test method and should not be used. The general jewelry identification is non-destructive identification.

The third type is glass. Glass can be like many gems, such as imitation diamonds, but it is generally far worse, but it is similar to white jade, which is called “feeder” in the industry. Some white jade-like white jade, if not carefully identified, is indeed easy to get away with. The luster of the glass is different from the luster of Hetian jade. It is easy to distinguish. Its density is about 2.5. It is also lightly rubbed by hand. It feels lighter than Hetian jade, and the whole glass looks more sluggish. The whole looks very uniform. Because it is artificial, there are often bubbles inside.

Potassium permanganate dyeing to make fake skin

Yangcheng Evening News: We know that there are cases of jade, red sapphires, etc. that have been optimized and processed in the market. What is the optimal treatment of Hetian jade?

Hu Xuenian: At present, most of Hetian jade on the market are natural Hetian jade, but there are still some Hetian jade that have been optimized in the later stage. There are two main categories of Hetian jade, dyeing and “tiring”.

The first method is dyeing, which is to make fake skin. Because many people think that the seed material with skin is more valuable than the skin without skin, some unscrupulous businessmen will dye and make fake skin for Hetian jade in order to sell high prices. There are many methods for dyeing, some are chemical methods, some chemicals such as potassium permanganate are used for dyeing, some are directly burned, and some are even combined with several methods. At present, the identification of dermis and fake skin is a problem. However, the difficulty in identification does not mean that it cannot be identified. In the laboratory, comprehensive identification by a variety of instruments can still identify true and false. If it is a natural skin, it is certainly no problem. If it is a fake skin, it is a fake seed.

The second method is “done old” antique jade. The price of ancient jade is relatively expensive. In order to be able to sell a good price, some unscrupulous merchants use some jade for “old” treatment, and some even put jade in the soil for a year or two. Usually used to "done" are poor quality jade, there is a saying in the industry, "good jade is not antique", its own good quality jade, the price is not low, if you want to take the antique, but lower The value of the type of jade picture may not be worth the candle. The identification of antique jade often relies on the identification of cultural relics experts, from the surface immersion, modeling, carving, knife and other aspects to distinguish whether it is true ancient jade or "antique jade."