jadeite

Historic Jade Necklace to be sold by Sotheby's

Filed under: Auctions

Magnificent and historic imperial jadeite bead neckalce Quing Dynasty

An important and historic Chinese imperial jadeite bead necklace, owned by the family of Oei Tiong Ham family, will be sold by Sotheby's in New York on December 10. Its pre-sale estimate is $1.9 million to $2.2 million, but it is quite possible deep-pocked jade collectors in Asia will drive the hammer price much higher.

The sale of the magnificent neckalce marks the first time in more than 30 years that a jadeite jewel of major historical importance will appear at auction at Sotheby's in New York.

The story of The Oei Tiong Ham Necklace began more than 100 years ago when Oei Tiong Ham, a successful Chinese businessman, is said to have purchased two necklaces composed of beads from an Imperial court necklace from the leading jadeite dealer in Peking, who had reputedly obtained them from the family of Emperor Puyi. After descending through multiple generations of the family, the exceptional necklace is offered by a direct descendant of Oei Tiong Ham.

Gallery: Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels

Tiffany & Co.'s classic emerald-cut diamond weighing 27.19 carats

A magnificient and rare light pink diamond ring

Pair of platinum, natural pearl and diamond pendant earclips by Tiffany & Co.

A magnificent and historic Imperial jadeite bead neckalce

Tags: jade, jadeite, jewelry, Oei Tiong Ham Necklace, Sothebys

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Jadeite Dealers Doing Business in Burma

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

A few weeks ago I mentioned the concerns over rubies from Myanmar (Burma) but there is another stone exported from Burma to be aware of, jadeite. While the country is famed for its beautiful red rubies, Businessweek reports that the export of jadeite from Burma to Hong Kong and China is worth about $433.2 million a year, which is around 10% of the country's total exports. And that's just the official figure, it doesn't factor in the sales of smuggled goods which runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Myammar currently runs six auctions a year to sell rough stones and polished pieces of the stone which is extremely popular in China. Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE), a unit of the Ministry of Mines, has thus far postponed the latest auction, which was set to take place in October, possibly because the regime is nervous about having foreigners enter the country at this time. Recently a fax sent by the Burmese Consulate to a Hong Kong jadeite trade association said that the auction would take place at the end of November but that has not been confirmed yet.

Cartier, Bulgari and other jewelers have pledged not to do business in Burma, but Chinese and Hong Kong traders have said that they plan to go right doing business in the area. The Businessweek article quotes Kim Wing Yau of Kam Wing Cheong Jewelry as saying that business and politics should be separate. For these businessmen seeking to keep customers happy they don't have much of a choice. While rubies have a worldwide appeal, the jadeite markets are mainly located in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Burma has some of the best deposits of gem-quality jadeite in the world. With China's increased purchasing power, the demand for jadeite is steadily on the rise. The Burmese government is aware of the lure of the stones and has increased the amount of jadeite auctions.

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Tags: burma, expire-images:2008-11-8, gemstones, jadeite, myanmar