Bought a fake jade bracelet in Shanghai and learned my lesson the hard way

I was in Yuyuan Garden market in Shanghai last month and this old lady sold me a 'jade' bracelet for 300 yuan. Looked legit in the light but after a week it started chipping and turning green on my wrist. Took it to a jeweler near the Bund and he laughed, said it was dyed glass worth maybe 10 yuan. Has anyone else gotten scammed at those tourist stalls and found a way to spot the fakes?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellawood2mo ago

300 yuan for a "jade" bracelet that turned my wrist green sounds like I was trying to be a walking St. Patrick's Day decoration, lol. At least you got a good story out of it, I bought a "silk" scarf in Beijing once that was basically a polyester napkin, so we're both in the club of overpaying for shiny trash. The jeweler must have had a real good laugh, probably still telling that story to his buddies over tea.

andrewt412mo ago

Did you try rubbing it with acetone to see if the green dye comes off?

white.alex14d ago

My buddy taught me a trick after I got burned on a "jade" Buddha pendant in Guangzhou. You hold the piece up to a bright light and look for bubbles inside - real jade won't have any, but glass or resin fakes almost always have tiny bubbles trapped in them. I also started carrying a cheap pocket magnifier and checking for that wavy, grainy texture real jade has, especially near the edges. If the color looks too perfect and even across the whole thing, that's another red flag. Now I only buy from established shops near the Bund that give receipts and let you return stuff within a week, not from the street stalls.