A favourite thing: Jade travel tales (Jewellery in general)

Member Name: chinnyli

Product:	Jewellery in general
Date:	29/07/02 (290 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: This isn't meant to be consumery type op

Disadvantages: So ner!

Chinese people, both men and women, seem to be ridiculously fond of jade. I'm no exception to this, though at least I'm not nearly as obsessed as my mum!

My favourite piece, is a small almost heart-shaped pendant. It was given to me soon after my birth by my maternal grandmother, which means I've had it over 24 years. It's perfectly smooth, flat, very shiny, and a subtle yet rich mixture of green and white, edged in pure gold... not the cheap 9, 14 or 18 carat gold that Europeans seem to prefer and overcharge for, but a pure, glowing 24 carat gold. Oh how I love this pendant. Jade is supposed to improve with age the more you wear it, I've certainly worn it loads, and I definitely feel it's become more beautiful with each passing year.

But I'm generally too scared to wear this now in case I lose it. So instead, I wear substitutes... but try to make sure I never leave the house without at least one piece of jade.

Sometimes it'll be a flat round disc with a hole in the middle, with crudely carved etchings, on a piece of black string... it's not very good quality and the colours are a bit dull, but I'm fond of it nevertheless. Other times it might be a bracelet of several small jade discs, bound together intricately with red string - my mum brought this back from Hong Kong a few years ago, but the poor thing is looking a bit tatty now I've worn it so often.

More recently though, on my last trip to Hong Kong in November 2001 and the first time I'd seen my relatives there since I was three, I was given a piece of jade I would never forget to put on or be able to lose.

It's a round, smooth and shiny bangle, just encircling my wrist. Predominantly white with a creamy mixture of subtle speckled greens, and the merest hint of lavender. It would probably not in any way be considered a 'good' piece of jade (especially as it has an artificially dyed section), but I love loo
king at the blend and variation in colours, and trying to see if the colours have improved yet even in the short time I've had it.

But also, this bangle brings back so many smiles to me. When I look at this bangle, I remember how my aunt and I walked up and down a bustling main street terrace on Hong Kong Island after lunch, looking at each jade stall to find the most attractive, undamaged bangle at the right size and price.

Bangles come in all sizes and qualities, and each seller would try to explain or show off their qualities. One of them holds up the bangles to the light, to show how translucent they are, and then hitting them with another piece of jade so you can hear the purity of the 'ching' sound it makes. I was almost tempted by one almost pure white bangle he was selling, until I noticed it had a small crack.

Another, well, I think he bluffed through his explanations of how good his jades were, especially the greener ones which could quite easily have just been dyed pieces. But I totally fell in love with the one bangle I picked out. My aunt then spent the next 20 minutes haggling the price down with the seller in broken Cantonese. We almost walked off without buying it, but then the seller shrugged and offhandedly gave in. Success!

Putting on the bangle was such a painful experience though. The seller had a bucket of water with washing up liquid in it at the back of the stall. To put the bangle on, I had to plunge my right arm into the water to make it as slick and smooth as possible, then squeeze my fingers together in a dart, tight as possible, so the seller could push, with a brief struggle, the bangle past my knuckles. Such suffering for a bit of vanity! I never thought he'd succeed, but he was determined this wouldn't be his first failure. A few seconds later I was proudly showing off the bangle, albeit with a few bruises appearing along my knuckles.

Anyway you can be damned sure I
9;m not likely to take this bangle off again anytime soon! It goes with me everywhere I go... work, shopping, eating, sleeping, in the shower, out clubbing, travelling, or right now while I'm typing.

One of my (Chinese) friends dislikes it though, thinks it's too oldly traditional and inappropriate for us young 'uns. But I don't care, it's my one piece of reassurance, something I know will always be there, and remind me of my relatives somewhere out there in Hong Kong, and the heated debates we used to have late into the night (but that's another story).

Oh and the seller didn't lose out too much on my bangle... my aunt fell in love with a dark green jade cross pendant and bangle, and spent about another £200 to secure them! Goodness aren't we fickle!

"Jill Murphy asked me to write about one of my favourite things to help her celebrate her fourth anniversary of cancer-free living and to remind ourselves of all the nice things in the world. It takes more muscles to make a frown than a smile you know. If you'd like to join in, whether you've only just joined dooyoo, or you've been here ages, you're more than welcome. Just write about one of YOUR favourite things, make your title "A Favourite Thing: [your choice]" and include this paragraph at the foot of your opinion. And post before Friday, 9th August."

Jade is believed to bring their wearers luck and prosperity. May you have many more happy and cancer-free years to come Jill.

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