Ying Yu Jade
You can always see what's new, click here
Several customers have told me that their purchases this month are for the holiday season...yes, Christmas! They have been taking advantage of daily and weekly specials, stocking up on small gifts for later. I try to have a selection of small gifts, something for everyone even if they aren't jade fans, the jades are unique and interesting. And if you're like me, you love shopping online to find interesting things without leaving home. If you purchase a gift and want it shipped to the receiver's address, let me know in the "comments" box on the order form, and I'll send only a packing list, include a card, and pack it pretty, ship it fast. July 30
A new products is jade egg with gold Buddha face, for blessing and protection. I was thrilled to find them. I remember touring Longmen grotto in China, and fascinated by the Buddha carvings in the rocks. The Longmen Grotto was crowded with tourists, mostly Chinese tourists, who love their Buddhas. They feel blessed by Buddha when they visit. These jade eggs remind me of the Buddhas there. Minerals carved in egg shape are really nice, and to have jade eggs, and with Buddha, that's special. They fit nicely in the palm, and can slip into a pocket, but also have a wood stand to display. There's only a few left, friends who saw them bought most of them and I sent some as gifts, and some have been purchased. Unique! July 28
I have neglected my work over the past few days, no new listing, because i've been hooked on reading the novel "Temple of the Moon' by Ching Yun Bezine.the second in her trilogy. (I didn't read the first one, and just today ordered the third from Amazon.com) It takes place in Hawaii, San Francisco, China and Japan during 1933-1945, lots of culture, references to jade, and tragic. If you would like it, let me know when you place an order and I'll send it to you. It's in fair condition, was well used when I got it. So now that I've finished it and before "On Wings of Destiny" arrives, I'll get some new items listed. Watch for them next week. July 26
This past week I sold some "lao pit" jadeite to customers who had not purchased this kind of jade, and this was their first lao pit old mine jade bangle bracelet. Each customer has been so pleased with this kind of jade, stunned by the natural beauty, thrilled to hear the "chime" that only old mine fine grained jadeite has. Today I was stuck in traffic, had to wait for several traffic lights to change to turn, and it was hot, I was tired and getting irritable. I started tapping my jade bangle with my fingernail, and entertained myself listening to the chime in all part of the bangle: the part that falls away from the wrist, the part that rests on the wrist. Jade can be a relaxing distraction, and I do play with mine often. Jade: never leave home without it! July 24
The July 23 daily special has a "kiss of honey" pattern. The "kiss" comes from the part of the jade that is in the "skin" of a jade boulder. Jadeite is sold to jade carvers in boulder form, with a small window cut in the skin so the buyer can get a peak at what's inside. The skin looks like stone with no color showing, so the buyer never knows what it looks like inside until he buys it and cuts it. This buying is often called "gambling on jade" because he could get lucky and find imperial green, or not lucky and it will be gray and spotty. (A note: either is "A" quality, because "A" means not color treated, regardless of how beautiful or spotty and gray it appears). Some of the skin of the boulder is really pretty and if a carver is clever he can make a bangle with a "kiss" of this color, while the rest of the bangle comes from the rest of the boulder. July 22
The Weekly Special is a jade puzzle ball, a ball carved inside a ball. These are time consuming to make and often are broken during the carving process, so the carver loses a lot of these in order to get some "good ones". I've ordered these several times from my Chinese supplier. He packs them well, but during the customs inspections they are unpacked, and then customs doesn't re-pack, they simply tape up the box. So when I receive them, they arrive crushed. I ordered 25 on my last shipment, and only 5 made it. If I fixed the price to what each one actually cost after the damage, it would be a quite high price! Some of you have asked for them, I don't intend to order them again, so if you want one, this is your chance. July 21
I notice that when I am outside taking care of the landscaping, trimming, pruning, etc, my jade bangle seems to really glow, looks very green, and overall looks so much better when my arm is stuck in a gardenia bush pruning back branches. Jade loves plants, and plants love jade. A while ago, a friend brought me a Chinese jade bangle that broke in two pieces, which we replaced, and I thought I would see if I could use the information I learned from a jade carver how to fix jade. I did get it fixed, but since it was really translucent, I could see the repair line, so I wore it around for awhile to see if it would stay fixed, because I could probably fix non-translucent jade if it worked. I was outside with my husband discussing the fate of a jasmine vine that lost almost all its leaves and looked like it was dying as there was no new growth on it. During our discussion I learned that when husband was powerwashing, he used bleach which drained into the landscaping area right on the jasmine vine. So we figured it was dying and would need to be dug out and replaced. When it was in its prime, it smelled heavenly when in bloom, and we both felt terrible about losing it. I took off the repaired jade bangle and wrapped some of the dead vines around it, weaving the vines so they would hold it as a "farewell". Things came up, there was bad weather and when we finally got around to doing something with the jasmine, as we started to work on it, we noticed green shoots coming out of it near the jade bangle. So we left it alone for awhile, and now it is huge, lots of green leaves again. Amazing! Last week I found the jade bangle still entwined as I was cutting away some of the dead branches and put it on an old orange tree that looks like it's going to die, as all the oranges fell off, most of the leaves are gone, and it's yellow instead of green. It's also 20+ years old. It's a big tree, and the jade is awfully little next to it, but we'll see if we get another miracle! July 19
And now a new
video instruction "how to put on a too small jade bangle" July
18
From a reader,
Pamela, who has a fabulous collection of jade bangles:
" The first jade bangle I ever bought is beautiful but too big.
I put it on first, then an ivory bangle, then another jade, and finally
another ivory. This keeps the too big one in place so it doesn't clunk
around." Thanks! July 17
A reader wrote telling me about two beautiful jade bangles she received as gifts that are so large they almost go over her elbow, and wanted to know if there was anything you could put inside them to make them fit closer to her arm. It's really too bad when your jade bangle is so large, becuause there's a higher risk to it being damaged than if it fits close to your wrist. Some things you can do are: wear on the outside of a long sleeved shirt; try your other arm to see if it's bigger as we usually have one arm bigger than the other; and just wear it for special occasions when it won't clunk around so much. If you have any ideas, they are welcome! If you have a too large jade bangle and would like to purchase a smaller one from YYJ or JadeBangleBracelets.com click the blue feedback box and send me a message about which jade bangle you would like to purchase and I'll give you a discount this week. July 16
I listed some new "summer white" jadeite bangles today, you can click the link above to see them. They were purchased as "ring of bangles", also called "sisters" because they are carved from the same jade stone rough and then sold in a ring. They are all old mine lao pit jadeite, fine grained with high chime and have the same good energy. Chinese people love to buy "sisters", one to wear and then several to give to family members, best friends so they are "jade sisters" and share the same wonderful jade qi energy. The colors on these "sisters" range from white and light green, with imperial green veins and soft hues of lavender. I truly love the one I've been wearing, it feels wonderful, has an inner "glow" and looks beautiful. The sizes vary from 53-59mm, Chinese sizes. If you see one that you want to buy, and would like an additional one or more in the same or different sizes, let me know. Right now I have a good selection and can probably help you purchase these special "sisters" for your family/friends. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so don't wait if you really want "sisters". July 15
Another tip for
summer jade care: My jade bangle gets really dirty during the day, starting
with my using body lotion, then sunscreen in the morning. Add some heavy-duty
Florida sweat, some debris from yardwork, and stuff I get on it preparing
meals/eating, and insect repellent (the anti-mosquito strips don't work
when you're walking or running, the repellent doesn't keep up with your
movement) and my jade bangle looks and feels filthy by the end of the
day. I wash it when I bathe, make sure the water is not too hot, dry it,
and if it looks dull, use a little spray wax on it, like Pledge or other
furniture cleaner. My bangle has a very good and high polish, but daily
wear causes little scratches, and these scratches, chips, nicks make jade
look dull, and spray polish really makes it look better. Sometimes I use
car wax. The waxy polish is designed to fill any imperfections and really
gives the jade appearance a boost. So wear your jade, but keep it clean
and looking good. July 14
PS Today's
Special is a vintage jade bangle with a small rough spot that I showed
in the photo, but car polish would probably fill it and make it feel smooth.
I left it "as is" so there would be no unpleasant surprises
for the buyer.
Soft green and light color or white jade has the best "yin" energy for balancing the body during hot summer months. I love the cool feel of jade when I sleep on my jade pillow cover. When it's really hot outside and I have on my white jade bangle with imperial green veins, the white glows and the green veins really pop, look more green. This bangle keeps my qi balanced. But be careful to not wear your jade in direct sunlight, as the sun will damage it. Heat treating is also a method for color enhancing jade, and hot sun on a hot day will compromise your beautiful jade, so wear it when it's hot, but keep it out of the direct sun. July 12
Lovemaking and the reference to jade were "intertwined" during the reign of the emperors. The emperor kept the name of each concubine on a jade tablet, and when he wanted a concubine he would turn over the jade tablet with her name on it and a eunuch would bring her to the emperor. A penis was known as the "Jade Stalk" and a woman's vagina "Jade Garden" and the man entered the Jade Gate to stimulate her Jade Veins. The man drank a an elixer for potency and the main ingredient was powdered jade and consumed three times each day. These practices and references to jade were written in the ancient Dao de Jing, a classic writing of living in harmony with nature and the basis for feng shui. Just another reason why jade makes us feel so good! July 9
A customer asked me to help her choose a jadeite bangle that was in her price range and what I thought was the best "deal" for the money, with good energy to wear in the summer. I have some very soft color old mine lao pit jadeite bangles that vary in color from white to white with soft green veins, that were a a good "deal" because I purchased a large quantity from a seller and bargained hard for a great price. One of them is July 8 daily special, and example of one that is very moderately priced for the high quality. I fell in love with these because the quality is so good, you can see all the "stone" pattern of the jade (called "flower"), they are fine grained and have a high "chime", and feel icy cold. Most are also wider than the standard 12mm, so you get a lot of jade in them and a fabulous "cuff" look. It's the kind of bangle I've been wearing and when I take mine off to wear something different, I can't wait to put it back on, the energy is so good. So, if you are looking for a "deal", I highly recommend one of these, they are classic, precious, and lovely. You can see more of them as they are listed as "new" items on the front page of the automated shopping cart. July 7
Jade loving women often ask if it's OK to wear more than one jade bangle at a time, and on the same wrist. The answer is "yes". I have a 24k gold bangle I wear between two as a buffer, but if you are careful you can wear together and they sound wonderful chiming against each other. There are stories about Chinese women wearing multiple jade bangles and using them as trade or bribes in ancient times. During the Qing Dynasty, Yehenara, a lovely young woman perfect in every way except as a virgin knew she wouldn't pass they gynecology exam, and wore a pair of valuable jade bangles that she secretly passed to the woman examiner in exchange for her certificate of passing the exam. (Another example of fake Chinese certificates!). The jade she wore during that time was probably similar to the Chinese jade bangle that is the Daily Special. I have seen women jade sellers wearing two jade bangles on the same wrist. We love our jade, can't get enough of it, and then need to wear it! July 5
"River jade" gets its name from the location where it's found, near rivers. The wonderful colors are caused by the minerals the water brings to the jade stone. This kind of jade was prized by the Emperor of the Qing dynasty and he truly had "JAD" ("jade acquisition disorder" as we jade lovers call it!). Legend tells of his great desire for this river jade, and the "jade master" responsible for supplying this jade sent very young women into the river, barefoot, to find these jade stones and pebbles. It was believed that jade which is yang energy was more easily found by young women who had high yin energy, and their yin attracted the yang of the jade so they could feel which rocks and pebbles were jade, and which were only stone. You will notice that most of the jade descriptions on the YYJ web site have an energetic description, because the Chinese have always prized the energy of jade, the "qi" of the jade. And that's why YYJ is always natural and untreated. July 2
Thanks to those
of you who sent a link about the story of the first $1 million appraisal
on Antiques Roadshow, and it's jade! Here's a link to one of the stories
that also has a link to a photo.
http://www.comcast.net/articles/entertainment/20090629/ENTERTAINMENT-US-USA-ANTIQUES/
Jade certainly does
have value and is a good investment.
The Calm Spirit / Ying Yu Jade complete July newsletter is available online now, click here. This month features Chinese medicine wellness information forJuly regarding balance of body, mind and spirit. There is information about what kind of jade to wear this month if you wear jade for your health, and more.
