How to identify the broken and repaired jade
“Intactness” is a very important required virtue of a valuable jade piece. If a jade piece is broken, even to a tiniest extend, the value shall drop drastically. Unfortunately, thanks to the advanced repair technique its becoming more and more difficult for a collector to identify a broken piece.
The key to identify if a jade piece is broken and repaired, is the detail oriented observation. No matter how delicate the repair is, you always can find a clue. Today I will introduce you few jade repair techniques and how to sleuth.
1. If the broken part is obvious, the repairer might use other materials to replace such as gold, silver or even platinum. This technique does sound very obvious too. However if the vendor told you it’s a gold inlaid jade piece and the gold part add some artistic touch shall bring up the value, then you might totally neglect the obvious part . The principal of any inlaid jade is the precious metal shall not coat the intactness of this jade piece. Because the golden rule in the jade biz is no precious metal can be more valuable then the entire complete nice piece of jade, unless there is some flaws.
2. The glued-back and refilled jade can be more difficult to recognize. Due to the advancement of materials, the bond can really make the broken part invisible from bare eyes. Or if there is a chip, the repairer might inject the refilling. After the polish and coating, the broken part might disappear from the glance. However, don’t forget the key– detail oriented observation. If you are careful enough, you always can find the clue under the bright light and magnifier. One import tip is, when you check under a bright light, let the light go through different angles. It will help you to identify between a nature texture and a crack.
3. Second-handed carving. It’s a way to treat the small broken parts. The repairer carves away the chipped part or adds on some new patens to make the jade piece still look as intact. If the repair is through a real pair of master hands, the dropped the value can be minimized. If you find some part of a jade piece looks newer than others, then it might be repaired by second-handed carving. Another way to find out is to check the integrity of the whole pattern.
As a general rule to buy an valuable and expensive jade piece, you shall assume there are flaws. Ask yourself all different issues, and eliminate them one by one.
