embloom3

I'm taking a trip to China soon and wanted to find a reputable place to buy jade. A friend of mine who went several years ago bought a carving at the Jade Crafts Factory and the tag has Kwangchow, China on the tag. I think that call in Guangzhou now.

Does anyone know anything about this company. I would just hate to get home from my trip and realize that I bought a fake.

Thanks so much in advance!

MmePerdu

This is possibly a more complex question than you know. What is it you want to buy that makes you worried about fakes? Fake antiques? Stone that isn't first quality? Jewelry or sculpture? If you limit the amount you're willing to spend to what you'll pay for a souvenir rather than a work of art or an investment then you can simply buy what you like and not worry about whatever it is that concerns you. Good jade is very expensive and likely won't be sold at places tourists are routinely taken which sounds like the sort of place you mention.

Marija

If you want to buy a red jade Son of Dragon sculpture, I"ll give you a good price. Bought it from a shop in a 5 star hotel in Hangzhou. Originally $10,000 or so. Got a great deal. Oh, yeah, the concrete is beginning to show through. Don't believe <b>any </b> merchant in China and you won't go wrong!

Kathie

I agree with Marija. If you want to buy good jade, don't buy it in China.

temppeternh

If you are not an expert, you shouldn't buy jade (or anything else with a high price, e.g. carpets, 'antiques', gems) in China.

If you are an expert you won't be buying. As an aside, for centuries China's jade producing regions (e.g. Khotan) have only produced small pieces, and most quality material has come in from Burma, and now New Zealand, Canada, etc.

But the chances that you'll buy even any of this, and at a fair price, are practically indistinguishable from zero. And if instead you're thinking about antique carved pieces, there are none to be had. By all means buy jade-like objects for throwaway prices, but don't believe anything you're told, and only spend sums you think appropriate for a fake.

chris45ny

Went to China 2007. Bought a small dragon piece at a place in Beijing. It was jadeite and very expensive. I love it as much today as I did on the day I saw it. I always take any pieces of stone/jewelry to my local store to have it appraised or validated. So far I've been lucky and haven't been ripped off. But I just as easily could have been! I think you do have to be very careful about buying stuff like this overseas as you could easily get fooled.

Kathie

Chris, it's true one must be careful buying things in foreign countries, but China is a special case. China is renowned for making fakes of everything, from fake gems to fake electronics to even a fake Apple store! You are fortunate to have purchased a piece that you love, and it's even real jade.

Shanghainese

embloom3:

It's clear no one is suggesting you buy jade in China, period. Nevertheless, enjoy your trip!

MmePerdu

I think the suggestion is to go ahead but at souvenir, not serious, prices. If they don't spend much there's little to worry about. Just never think about getting a great deal. The only "steals" are the ones where the buyer is the victim.

HappyTrvlr

Are you including Hong Kong on your trip? You might get a better quality product there.

Elainee

Jade costs more than gold...for good hade.

Leslie_S

Any guess on what a jadeite puzzle ball might really have been made from?

We went to a jade factory in China with what seemed like acres of cases of jewelry. I didn't have any expectation that the cheap beaded bracelets I got were real jade - maybe not even real jadeite - but I love them and wear them a lot.

But I did also get a really cool carved sphere within a sphere - I think mine has 4 layers of balls - that I see pictures of online which call it a puzzle ball. I don't see any seam so I hope it was really carved of one piece of something but who knows. It's still very cool even if fake fake fake.

Kathie

I have a charming little "Han dynasty dragon" I bought at the jade market in Hong Kong. I think I paid about $8 for it quite a few years ago. It is made from some sort of stone, though clearly not jade. So buy something if you enjoy it, but have no illusions that they sold it to you for less than it's true value.

JPDeM

If you see something you like and it is cheap then buy it. Just understand that it is probably not real jade. A basic and very simple jade bracelet will cost $5,000+. So if you see something for a few 100RMBs, then bargain it down as it is not real. Unless you are an expert, do not buy, In China or elsewhere.

jobin

Loved my few days in Hotan, Xinjiang Prov. 6 years back. An entire street devoted to stones, including many 'jade' of various sizes, some monstrously large. Massive mountains rise in the background and folks dig through the town's rivers searching for interesting or valuable stones. May also be spelled Khotan, Hetian depending on the language emulated. Unfortunately, now the area is under heavy military occupation so probably troublemakers (ie, westerners) not permitted. That entire region is frankly more interesting than the bulk of Han China and i am very thankful i visited when i did.