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I have confirmed this piece is genuine untreated jade but I was wondering if anyone knew anything else about it such as age or current retail price. It weights 18grams (including the gild bail), approx. 5cm width and 2.5cm length. It looks like it was once a hanging ornament due to the hole on the bottom. Would this be a 20 century carved piece or maybe a 19th century piece? Price wise would it be able to fetch around $500usd? There is also a very very small chip on the bottom right hand side as seen in the second photo. Thanks

Please tell us how you know that it is untreated.
Ernest

I have taken the piece for professional services at my local gemological lab. Services included the normal examination with a Chelsea filter and examinations from a UV-VIS-NIR Spectrometer. From these two things, the gemologist promised there is more than 90% chance that the piece is untreated for polymer but is 100% not dyed. The local lab did not have a infrared spectrometer so the testings cannot be said to be 100% accurate. So it was my mistake of stating "untreated" in my original post even though there is the 10% that it could be treated.

THE Test looks like a test for jadeite, not Nephrite, am I wrong???
Ernest

Hi, I'm a bit confused on your question. The pendant itself is made out of jadeite not nephrite. The test conducted can be used for jadeite and nephrite and is not specific to a certain type of rock/gem. It was just a test to see if it was dyed or if the piece was treated with polymer.

I am not so sure if the Chelsea filter is really a 100% accurate tool for confirming a jadeite piece is 100% undyed:

"Interesting discussion to me as I have read that two kinds of jade will show red in a chelsea, dyed jade and green chromium jade, which would render the filter useless in this case as that would most likely be the two types we would want to separate.
Also, I think very few dyes make any red reaction to the chelsea anyway, I have looked at many known dyed pieces and see only green. I have never looked at any chromium jade with a chelsea since it seemed useless to do so but now I am curious. "

"Works exactly as it should. I'm a GIA gemologist and bought this to use while completing my Gem ID class. 500 gemstones analyzed and this is great for questionable green & blue gems. It will show blue gems that are dyed, resulting in a red/pink color under the filter. Green gems colored by chromium (emeralds), will show pink. Tough for dyed jadeite, as some green dyes will not show red & remain green under the filter. Magnification and spectrum are really the key to identifying jadeite."

How did your gemologist confirm that your piece was indeed made of jadeite? What is its refractive index and specific gravity?

Your piece can indeed be jadeite but its texture and luster just looks different than most of the jadeite pieces I have seen (of course, I am not really an expert on jadeite). It almost (I said almost) looks like its color does not look natural on your pictures. Now have you checked the gold clasp on its top because it does appear to be made of real gold to me, probably between 18k - 22k. If it was indeed made of real gold it can indeed be an older piece. The small chip will surely reduce its value though.

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