Ying Yu Jade
All About Jade's Imperfections-Cracks, Hairline Root, and More
I had a lengthy discussion with a friend recently about cracks in jade. She purchased jade bangles in her China Town, and when she got home she used a bright light and saw cracks in them. When she returned them requesting a refund, she was told that they were NOT cracks, and the Chinese seller told her they were called je lai, part of the natural appearance of the jade stone. Another Chinese customer in the stone verified that that they were indeed not cracks. However, to her they looked like cracks running the circumference of the jade bangles.
These are also called jade root, or hairline root, and are not considered to be cracks. A crack is considered to be a crack you can feel that runs up and down the width of the bangle.
The jade seller was upset with her because she brought a flash light to show him the cracks. He said if you use a flash light to look at jade you will certainly see something. There is a Chinese saying, "the carver always leaves something behind". Jade pieces are hand made, and you will see nicks, scratches, small cracks, but these are considered to be part of the beauty of jade stone and uniqueness of owning a hand crafted item. They don't affect the durability. The less expensive bangles will have more of these, while the more expensive ones have fewer. After the bangle has been carved and polished, it is usually waxed to fill in the minor imperfections.
While I acknowledge that these hairline root-je lai are part of natural jade, I know that my customers see them as cracks and don't like to see this. So I pay more to get jade that doesn't have this. You can expect to find hairline on jade bangles under $500 retail. Most of the jade bangles on Ying Yu Jade do NOT have this, and are put in the "clearance section". I take a loss when I sell them as clearance, but I want my customers to be happy. However, if you use a bright light when you inspect your jade bangle, you will most likely find "something" that isn't perfect. But this is not considered to be a crack. I have accepted returns/exchanges for some bangles that have a natural hairline, even tiny ones you can't see without a bright light, because I want customers to be happy. But as jade becomes more expensive and the exchange rate for the US dollar continues to fall, I can't afford to sell jade bangles for under $350-500 that are completely free of small hairline natural je lai, or inclusions. I want to continue to sell natural jade and jadeite, and not try to cheat by purchasing fake jade, such as quartz and quartzite that is commonly sold very inexpensively as "jade" and "jadeite". So that's why I'm writing this information page.
I describe each jade piece as accurately as possible. If you see a small hairline in a jade bangle that's under $500, and it's not up and down on the width, it's NOT considered a crack or damage.
If you can't tolerate imperfections, then don't buy jade, pearls and other natural jewerly, because nature isn't "perfect". If it's perfect, there's a good chance it's not natural.
Please let me know if you have questions, or comment about this. I love to hear from you!
