Soft jade, also known as tremolite jade, is loved by people for its warmth, delicacy, toughness, and purity. The thousand year history of jade culture has gradually developed and improved the evaluation system of soft jade. In terms of materials alone, the white leather material has high value, and the sheep fat white jade material produced in the Hotan area of Xinjiang is the most precious. However, in recent years, due to the intensification of mechanized mining, the resources of raw materials in the Yushi River Basin of Xinjiang have gradually decreased and become depleted. Especially sheep fat jade, many older experts believe that Xinjiang has been unable to extract sheep fat jade for hundreds of years. Since 2003, relevant national regulations have allowed all jades with tremolite as the main component to be called "Hotan Jade". Therefore, Russia, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Qinghai Province, Liaoning Province, Jiangsu Province, Guizhou Province, Guangxi Province, Taiwan, as well as Sichuan Province, where mineral deposits were recently discovered, all the tremolite produced in the market appear as "Hotan Jade". Especially in Russia, Qinghai, and South Korea, white jade accounts for more than half of the white jade market. Although Xinjiang white jade, which has dominated the market for thousands of years, is extremely favored in today's market, its monopoly position is not guaranteed due to production issues. Changes in the market have led to changes in the evaluation system. In recent years, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region has issued formal regulations to classify the colors of Hotan Jade jade in broad sense, and sheepskin jade has been re launched on the market. But at this time, the sheep fat jade does not represent "jade leaving Hetian", and even breaks the boundary of "jade leaving Kunlun". According to the products defined by relevant departments in Xinjiang as "sheep fat jade" in the market, sheep fat jade mainly reflects the whiteness of soft jade, with some requirements for oiliness and texture. Therefore, regardless of whether jade enthusiasts agree or not, it must be acknowledged that some white jade produced in Russia and Qinghai can be classified as sheep fat white jade according to current relevant regulations, especially Russian white jade, which has a high proportion of "sheep fat jade". Of course, as far as the quality of jade is concerned, the current "sheepskin jade" is still the best in the broad sense of Hetian Yuzhong, including Xinjiang nephrite. It is generally believed that Russian and Qinghai soft jade do not have any raw materials, that is, Russian and Qinghai soft jade do not have materials that have been transported by water flow, but this does not mean that Russian and Qinghai materials do not have skins. All exposed rocks are subjected to weathering caused by natural conditions such as temperature difference fusion, sunlight exposure, and precipitation leaching during geological time. The common structural fractures such as joints in rocks can lead to the infiltration of some foreign substances, especially iron and manganese oxides, and white jade cannot be avoided. Weathering in dry environments often leads to a loose surface structure of white jade, forming a slurry, while water rock reactions often result in the deposition of dark minerals such as iron and manganese in the surface and cracks of white jade. Therefore, white or black skin materials can be occasionally seen in Qinghai and Russian white jade. Although some Xinjiang varieties have darker skin colors, black skin is considered one of the distinguishing features between Qinghai and Russian varieties and Hotan varieties. Recently, the author encountered a pair of "black leather" white jade bracelets that can reach the level of "sheep fat jade". Unfortunately, after testing, it was found that the "black leather" was artificially filled and made.
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