Expert Guide: Spotting Authentic Jade in Taipei – Tips from a Senior Gemologist
Valued across Asia for its timeless beauty and elegance, jade is a coveted souvenir for visitors to Taipei. The city boasts hundreds of specialized stores and the massive weekend Jade Market. As a long-time Taiwan resident, I've often been asked to help friends buy jade but always declined due to my limited knowledge. That changed when I attended a jade identification workshop led by Roxanne Tu, Senior Gemologist at the Taipei Museum of Jade Art.
Roxanne presented a velvet-lined box with nine jade bracelets. 'Only three are genuine jade; the rest are fakes. Can you spot them?' We examined them closely, relying on intuition—like dismissing those that seemed suspiciously perfect. Roxanne smiled without revealing the answers, then asked if we were ready to learn.
Jade chrysanthemum at the Taipei Museum of Jade Art
'In the jade trade, we use specialized spectrometers to analyze light passing through the stone,' Roxanne explained, showing two authenticity certificates with spectral graphs. One showed a smooth arc—true jade. The other, a jagged line—like a serrated knife edge—was fake. 'Always look for the smooth graph on a certificate,' she advised.
'That's helpful for experts,' I noted, 'but what about casual buyers?'
Roxanne revealed another box of translucent jade pieces. She dangled a slim women's bangle and struck it with a 10 NT coin, producing a light 'plink.' The next gave a dull thud. We assumed the clearer sound indicated better quality.
'A common mistake,' she said. 'Neither is high quality. Listen for the duration and resonance of the sound.' She struck a third bangle; its tone lingered with a clear vibration. 'Real jade resonates longer, especially translucent "water jade." Mountain jade requires different tests.'
She compared two green mountain jade bracelets by backlighting them. In genuine jade, light sharpened color distinctions; in fakes, it blurred them. 'This works for any mountain jade item,' Roxanne noted.
Roxanne Tu and her son at the Taipei Museum of Jade Art
Additional advice: Buy only from licensed dealers with certificates. Skip high-end purchases at the Jade Market—it's ideal for affordable trinkets.
Refreshed, we re-examined the nine bangles using our new skills. We correctly identified two of the three genuines—'two out of three ain't bad,' as the saying goes.
But reality checked our enthusiasm. Roxanne held up a dark green authentic bracelet: 'This one's worth about $30,000 USD—or more.'
Now wiser about jade's value and authenticity, we left the museum, ready to browse the Jade Market for modest souvenirs.
Joshua Samuel Brown, a long-time Taiwan resident and Lonely Planet contributor, is currently traveling in Central America. Follow his adventures at Snarky Tofu.
