People say that "gold is valuable and jade is priceless" because the artistry of jade works is difficult to evaluate. So, how should we appreciate jade?
First of all, it depends on what raw materials are made of. Jade raw materials or jade, white jade, or agate, crystal, or coral, green gold ... different jade materials, different origins, different textures, different carving techniques, different prices. "Pretty color" is almost a special word for jade appreciation. Even the low-grade jade material, if it has "color" and is used skillfully, will multiply its value; The price of high-end and beautiful products is even more difficult to estimate.
The same jade is divided into many details. Such as agate, there are raw and cooked points. Cooked agate is burnt red agate with gorgeous color; There are many kinds of raw agates, such as egg green agate, purple agate and weed agate. The dyed agate developed in recent years has ended the history that jade materials cannot be colored, but most of them are small pieces and are only used in the jewelry industry. Agate water sac is the rarest and the most difficult to cut. First, the water bag should be arranged properly. It is necessary to polish the bladder wall very thin to fully expose the water inside, and be careful not to wear through the bladder wall and miss the water. Since the first national arts and crafts exhibition "water curtain cave" and "Giant Waterfall in the Mountain" were exhibited, some outstanding works have come out one after another, which are precious.
Secondly, it depends on the category of the work. Jade works include stoves, bottles, fumigation, flowers, insects and birds, figures and animals, innovations and antiques. Different types of works have different quality standards. Generally speaking, the craft is relatively simple: flowers and birds, ladies with flowers, animals, bonsai; The more complicated ones are vases, figures and animals, and the most difficult ones are traditional jade articles such as stoves, bottles and fumigations. It is necessary to carefully select materials, cut materials, blank and cavity, and then make relief patterns. If it is a bottle with a chain and a halogen lamp with a hanging beam, the chain and hanging beam must be made first, and the process is even more difficult.
The third is to look at the topic, conception and expression. Jade articles are mostly auspicious patterns or stories, and some good works reflecting modern life have appeared in modern times. In a word, the selected theme and the author's conception should complement each other, and finally they should be expressed through cutting skills. The vast majority of jade works are mainly made of materials and materials. Generally, you should dig out the jade material first, and then conceive it. Designers should use rich historical knowledge and industry knowledge to find suitable themes. In the process of making a product, it is often necessary to modify the scheme several times according to the situation.
In the 1960s, a famous work, Coral Six-armed Buddha Town Dragon, could no longer be chained. The artist painstakingly came up with a way to solve the problem by changing the chain into "horse tongue" (another connection form). The design and practice of this change has saved an artistic treasure and has been passed down as a much-told story so far.
Fourth, look at the workmanship. Jade cutting tools are basically round, mainly composed of thulium, rolled thallium and hook thallium, as well as bends, pipes, lines and edges. It is not easy to cut jade articles into smooth lines, rounded turns and clean. In addition, whether the proportion of modeling is appropriate and whether the action is natural is particularly important. The workmanship of plain work, plane, animal head, ring and chain is also very particular, and each has different requirements.
Finally, it depends on the effect of "bright". A good work, if the polishing technology is not good, will have a great impact on the viewing effect and directly affect the value of the work.
The easiest thing to start with is the color and texture of jade. Two unique laws are: jade with enough color, eye-catching and good texture, which is called steel taste and expensive.
There are many colors of jade, such as green, white, purple, red, yellow and black, each with its own beauty.
The most popular are green and white, and purple and red are also loved by many people.
Texture refers to permeability and purity.
There will be some proper nouns in jade shops, such as bean green, gold thread, old pit, glass seed and so on. Most of them describe different permeability and purity. Obviously, the more transparent, the more beautiful and the more expensive. Pure jade has impurities, uniform texture and good quality. Transparent jade is not necessarily pure enough, and pure enough is not necessarily transparent enough. Jade that is both transparent and pure is rare.
The cutting master will make a unique theme according to the characteristics of each piece of jade, and at the same time show the most beautiful side of the jade, as well as the carving process of the jade master. It can be said that every jade article is an elaborate handicraft. Deciding the size and thickness of jade is a question asked by the university that cuts jade. If the jade piece is too thick, it will not be transparent enough, and if it is too thin, it will look pale.
Jade is formed in the depths of the earth's crust, and jade patterns or stone patterns are produced by changes in the earth's crust and natural erosion. It is natural to have lines and cracks. Many jadeite stones are badly cracked. The most important thing is that the jade lines are not obvious.
In addition to the unique color, germplasm and feeling, a very important reason for buying jade is that its theme has far-reaching implications. Yu Pei, Yuzui, Ruyi, Shoutao, Liu Jie and Hulu all have auspicious meanings. Jade, bead chains, jade saddle rings and jade rings are even more precious and generous.
It is also worth mentioning that jade articles that can be matched and matched are very rare. Imagine how difficult and rare it is to have one or more works with similar shapes, colors, germplasm, purity, size and thickness!
Appreciating jade can start from the above different angles, but the most important thing to buy jade is to close your eyes. Every jade article is unique, and it is much more difficult to find two identical jade articles than to find an identical diamond. A thousand dollars can't buy a kind heart. Although this statement is a bit "rustic", it is a fact.
Topaz has poor toughness and is easy to crack when it is hit by external force. It is not suitable for making men's rings, but the texture of topaz is quite hard, with a hardness of 8 degrees. The proportion of topaz is very high, almost the same as that of diamonds. Only the refractive index is much lower than that of diamond. Topaz usually has some cracks, but as long as no defects can be found with the naked eye, such topaz is considered as top grade.
The charm of topaz lies in its unusually beautiful color. Precious topaz, the color should be very bright yellow, slightly orange, and the whole is golden yellow, which is called golden topaz or imperial topaz. Sydney topaz with red and tan tones and topaz with extremely light blue tones are relatively precious gems, while other gems include pink to red topaz and colorless topaz. Red topaz is usually heated with brown topaz, and colorless topaz is very cheap. The value of topaz lies in its beautiful color. The brighter the color, the greater the value.
Although there are many producing areas of topaz, the countries that actually produce top-quality topaz are rare except Brazil and Sri Lanka, so topaz can be regarded as a relatively precious gem. People call it "the stone of friendship" and list it as the birthstone of 1 1 month.
When choosing topaz, we should first pay attention to observing the defects. Defects that can't be found by the naked eye can only be seen under a magnifying glass of 10 times. In addition, according to its color, we should choose topaz with pleasing color and velvet appearance, and identify whether it has excellent polishing process.
Topaz and topaz look alike and are easily confused. Topaz is a very common gem, its luster is far less than topaz, but it is often used as a substitute for topaz because of its cheap price, fine processing and beautiful appearance.