In this article, I will use the term jade and jadeite interchangeably.
Blue Water Jadeite Jade is what the rave is in the jade community these days. The distinctive blue that has a slight deep water in colour has become a crowd favourite. Many believed that the blue water jadeite jade is valuable and it is not wrong to say the least. Indeed, the highly sought after blue water jade is highly priced and is very valuable in the industry. And because of how popular this blue water jadeite jade is, the demand for this type of jade could not met the expectations of the crowd. Firstly, price point could not served the crowd well. Secondly, the scarcity of the the true blue water jadeite is also a problem to meet the demand. Luckily, there exists a fantastic replacement to fool the crowd and the answer is Guatemalan Jade.
I did a little research on how popular this so called "blue water" jade and I am truly dumbfounded at how misleading this term has become. This is a screenshot that I took when googling images with the term blue water jade.
Very easily the top 4 images of "blue water jade" are indeed Guatemalan Jade. More importantly, recent articles appearing in Chinese and English have claimed that these jades are Guatemalan Blue Water Jade to convince people in believing into them. However, the fact is that there is no such thing as Guatemalan Blue Water as Guatemalan jade itself is already blue in colour. (No shades to Guatemalan Jade).
Guatemalan Jade has always exists since the Mayan Times, and the Mayan took pride in this form of jade. While the Guatemalan jade itself is somewhat prized and valuable to some extent. There is still a difference between Guatemalan jade vs Burmese Jade.
1) The Shades of Blue
Guatemalan Jade will always come in the form of dull blue to dull green and this will never appear in the form of Burmese Grade A. Colours in Burmese Grade A jade will always be bright and never comes in a dull shade.
A true blue water Burmese Grade A Jade
2) Hardness
Although both forms of jade are quite hard but Burmese Grade A jade is harder than Guatemalan Jade. For crafters, it is fairly easy to distinguish between the two for them especially when they work around both of the material.
3) Value
Jadeite is still far more valuable than Guatemalan Jade that being said, it could be because of the scarcity of the Burmese Grade A Jadeite, people still value Burmese Grade A far more than Guatemalan Jade. As a result, true water blue Burmese jade is a lot more higher in terms of price is comparison to "water blue" Guatemalan jade.
In short, the term blue water jade has been misused to the likes of Guatemalan jade so that it can be sold at a higher price due to its popularity. Knowing better or just simply find an expert before purchasing your blue water jade!
