Jade Bracelets

The bangle, and why it deserves a stop

Nine of the thirty-eight pieces are bangles: a solid ring, carved from the block, with no hinge and no clasp. It is the oldest form of the jade bracelet, and the only one that cannot be rescued if the measurement is wrong.

Jade lends itself to it because it is tough rather than hard. Its interlocking fibrous structure lets it hold as a thin ring where a stone with cleavage would split, and it is the same property that made the polished axes of the Neolithic. The difference between hardness and toughness is worth understanding before buying: it also explains why a bangle survives daily wear and snaps cleanly on a corner knock.

The inner diameter of each bangle is written on its product page, and it is written there after the example has arrived. You will not find a conversion chart here: I publish no measurement I have not taken.

The green, and everything it is not

The green of a jade does not come from the same element in each species. In jadeite, the clean vivid green comes from chromium; in nephrite, from iron, hence the so called spinach green, darker and more closed. That is why two equally green stones do not look alike.

This grid runs from an almost transparent water green to a bottle green that looks black in the shade, by way of the moss green of the bead strands. There is also an ivory white and a honey coloured nephrite, because jade is not only green.

A word on what is sold elsewhere as a green jade bracelet: a fluorescent, even green with no grain is almost always dyed material. Added colour can be recognized, and the true green of jade never has that regularity.

Genuine, and what the word covers exactly

Jade is one of the most imitated stones on the market. What circulates under its name is very often serpentine, sold as “new jade” or “Korean jade”, or dyed quartzite, sold as “Malaysia jade”. None of these labels means jade.

The difference can be measured. Before I put a listing online I order one example; when it reaches me without a setting, I weigh it in air and then hanging in a glass of water, and I publish the density obtained with its date.

It is that figure which allows the word genuine on this page: it sets real jade against serpentine, and nothing else. The method, with its three limits, and how to check for yourself.

Beads or bangle, how I would choose

The bangle

Does not open, does not adjust, almost never comes off. It is an object you wear for years. It asks for an accurate measurement and it rewards one.

The bead strand

Slips on and off, forgives a wrist that changes, and is strung on doubled thread. The green varies from one bead to the next, which is the opposite of a flaw.

With metal

A clasp in sterling silver, or gold plated. Plated is written plated, on the product page as here. What gold changes in the way the green is seen.

With no metal at all

The strands closed with a flat knot, and the bangles. Nothing that can green the skin, nothing that snags a jumper.

For a gift the question is different: what to choose without knowing the size. And if the bracelet is for a man, dark greens and solid beads are the safest track.

Wearing it, and not damaging it

Jade is tough but its hardness is ordinary, 6 to 6.5 for nephrite and 6.5 to 7 for jadeite. The quartz in household dust is at 7: it therefore scratches a jade polish. A bracelet that travels in the same pouch as another piece arrives marked.

• Lukewarm water, a mild soap, a soft cloth. The detail.
• Never ultrasound, never steam, never solvent, since the treatment status is unknown and a resin would not withstand it.
• Each piece in its own pouch. Storing jade jewellery.
• On a bead strand, the thread wears out before the stone. When to have it restrung.

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell whether a jade bracelet is genuine?

Density settles it without ambiguity: a jadeite is at 3.25 or above, a nephrite around 2.95, a serpentine at 2.6 and a quartzite at 2.65. It can be measured with a kitchen scale, a thread and a glass of water. The other signs, coolness to the touch, the sound when struck, translucency, point a direction but prove nothing on their own. The steps to follow.

Which bangle diameter should I choose?

The one that lets your closed hand through, thumb folded, with one to two millimetres of margin. Measure the circumference of the hand at its widest point and divide by 3.14. A bangle that only just fits goes on once and will not go on again on a hot day. Send me your measurement if you are torn between two diameters.

Are your bracelets treated?

I do not know, so I write it nowhere. My supplier does not know the status of their stock, and weighing establishes the mineral without saying anything about resin. Only infrared spectroscopy in a laboratory would settle it. Treat every piece as if it might be impregnated: no heat, no ultrasound, no solvent. The detail.

Jadeite or nephrite, which should I choose?

Jadeite is harder, more translucent, and its vivid green is more sought after. Nephrite is tougher, more muted, and gives the dark greens and the milky whites. They are two unrelated minerals, separated in 1863 by Alexis Damour. What really tells them apart.

Can a jade bracelet be worn every day?

Yes, and that is exactly what it is made for: jade takes knocks better than most stones. What it fears is the polish being scratched by dust, and thin edges on a hard corner. Take it off for sport and for housework.

Where does your jade come from?

From channels outside Burma. The state company that controls Burmese jade has been sanctioned by the United States since 8 April 2021 and by the European Union since 21 June 2021, and a large part of that trade benefits the military: I do not want it in this catalogue. When an origin is not confirmed to me in writing, the product page does not state it. My origin charter.

• The whole shop
• Hydrostatic weighing
• Size guide
• Delivery and returns