FeicuiJadeite Jade Testing & Grading
GUILD's dedicated Feicui service unites rigorous spectroscopic analysis with rare, first-hand mine-site intelligence — defining a new standard for jade authentication.
GUILD leads the emerging field of scientific Feicui identification — setting new standards for collectors, auction houses, and the fine jewellery trade worldwide.
Feicui — known in international trade as Jadeite Jade — is among the most complex gemstones to assess with authority. Its evaluation demands not only advanced instrumental analysis, but focused expertise in jade mineralogy, treatment detection, and origin gemology. GUILD's dedicated Feicui laboratory brings all three — pioneering rigorous, science-based standards for this rapidly evolving specialty.
Why GUILD for Feicui
Field Gemology
Myanmar · Guatemala · Kazakhstan
GUILD's research team has undertaken dedicated field expeditions to primary jadeite sources in Myanmar, Guatemala, and Kazakhstan — collecting specimens with precise geological provenance and first-hand rough-jade intelligence. Together these efforts sustain an exclusive, continually updated reference database that informs every origin-related assessment.
Advanced Analytics
High-Precision Spectroscopic Detection
Our laboratory deploys a full suite of high-precision research-grade instruments to detect the full spectrum of treatments — from traditional A/B/C classification to newly emergent, structurally complex optimisation techniques. No enhancement evades our systematic, multi-instrument protocol.
- FTIR
- Raman Spectroscopy
- UV-Vis
- LA-ICP-MS
- EDXRF
Global Language
Internationally Recognised Terminology
In step with the globalisation of the fine jewellery market, all GUILD Feicui certificates carry dual-standard nomenclature: 'Feicui' and 'Jadeite Jade'. This eliminates language barriers across international auction platforms, trade shows, and jewellery markets — giving every certificate true international utility.
The 4D Grading Matrix
Following the industry-standard four-dimensional evaluation framework, GUILD delivers a rigorous, standardised quality assessment for collector-grade Feicui.
Texture
Texture / Crystal Structure
Measures the interlocking density and grain size of jadeite and associated minerals, scientifically classifying texture from microcrystalline to coarse-crystalline grades.
Transparency
Transparency / Optical Depth
Evaluates the penetration and scattering of light through the jade body relative to sample thickness, providing a standardised quantification of 'water head' (水头) — the trade's primary transparency metric.
Color
Saturation / Hue Purity
Employs spectroscopic analysis and colorimetric coordinates to objectively capture colour purity, scientifically defining trade-grade designations such as Imperial Green (帝王绿), Yang Green (阳绿), and Lavender (紫罗兰).
Craftsmanship
Carving Proportion / Polish Quality
Assesses the finished piece's line fluidity, proportional balance, and symmetry, alongside the optical polishing quality and its contribution to surface phenomena such as Glowing Effect (起荧) and Jelly Effect (起胶).
Feicui Colour Trade Names
GUILD Gem Laboratories has established a comprehensive system of commercial colour designations for Feicui — translating scientific colour assessments into a universal trade language, and giving every rare colour an accurate, elegant name.
Imperial Green
The pinnacle of green — deeply saturated, pure, and vivid, representing the highest tier of green Feicui colour. Extraordinarily rare.
Vibrant Green
Bright and lively as spring grass in sunlight — a vivid, energetic green with exceptional visual impact and strong market appeal.
Lime Green
Fresh and translucent — a crisp, apple-green hue that radiates vitality and clarity, full of natural energy.
Olmec Blue
The finest blue and blue-green Feicui — luminous, gently saturated, of exceptional delicacy and elegance. An exclusive GUILD colour designation.
GUILD ExclusiveLavender Color
A soft, romantic lavender — one of the most universally admired colour families in Feicui, treasured by both Eastern and Western markets.
Exceptional Lavender Color
The pinnacle of lavender — pure, richly saturated, and exceptionally rare. A prized target for the high-end collector market.
Floating Blossom
Delicate green 'blossoms' drifting freely through a near-colourless, glass-type body — ethereal, uniquely refined, and deeply poetic.
Chun Dai Cai
Green and lavender colours flowing through a pale matrix like ribbons of spring — rich in hue and auspicious in meaning.
Fu Lu Shou
Three auspicious hues — red (福/Fu), green (禄/Lu), and lavender (寿/Shou) — coexisting naturally within a single piece. Exceptionally rare.
Huang Jia Yu
Named for royalty — an honour designation reserved for Feicui of the highest overall quality and singular distinction.
Olmec Blue: A Civilisation's Colour Remembered
Within GUILD's colour grading framework, blue and blue-green Feicui of higher luminosity and appropriate saturation may earn the designation 'Olmec Blue' — a gentle, luminous colour representing the finest expression of blue jadeite, perfectly embodying the delicacy and elegance that defines exceptional Feicui.
The Olmec civilisation (c. 1500–400 BCE) was among the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica. Long before the Maya, the Olmec revered jade as the most sacred of all materials — a symbol of life, kingship, and spiritual power. The Motagua Valley of present-day Guatemala was the primary source of the vivid blue-green jadeite they fashioned into ceremonial objects, masks, and offerings — artefacts that speak to an ancient people's deep veneration of the natural world.
GUILD Gem Laboratories' field gemologist undertook a dedicated research expedition to Guatemala's Motagua Valley, conducting systematic geological survey and specimen collection. On this ancient land carrying the memory of human civilisation, the team documented and collected specimens of the luminous blue and blue-green jadeite found there. In recognition of this expedition's significance — and as a tribute to the ancient civilisation that first elevated this colour to the sacred — GUILD formally established 'Olmec Blue' as a commercial colour grade: a designation carrying both scientific rigour and the weight of human history.
Olmec Blue — gentle yet luminous: the most refined and elegant expression of blue Feicui, a perfect balance of high luminosity and measured saturation.
Professional Designations of Texture & Transparency
GUILD's Special Designations articulate the distinctive optical qualities arising from the interplay of texture, transparency, and structural refinement in high-quality Feicui — offering a complementary dimension alongside conventional grading.
Glassy Texture
Exceptional grain refinement and near-total transparency. Light transmits with virtually no scattering, producing a clarity rivalling fine optical glass — the highest expression of texture and transparency in Feicui.
Icy Texture
High transparency with a soft, diffused glow — as pure and cool as winter ice. Often complemented by delicate floating colour, producing a refined, luminous quality prized by connoisseurs worldwide.
Glowing Effect
A soft, fluid luminescence that plays across the surface under light — produced by the interplay of ultra-fine crystalline structure and exceptional polish. A defining hallmark of the finest Glassy Texture Feicui.
Jelly Effect
A quality in which the jade appears to hold light within itself like a suspended gel — a sense of yielding depth and inner tension that defies easy description, yet remains immediately recognisable to the trained eye.
Certificate Options
Three tiers of certification — each designed to match the complexity and value of your Feicui, from authentication to collector-level documentation.
Standard Report
Authentication & Basic IdentificationDefinitively establishes the natural status of your Feicui (A-Type) and provides comprehensive baseline physical and optical parameter analysis.
Prestige Report
In-depth Quality Grading for High-End FeicuiThe benchmark report for connoisseur-grade and investment-quality Feicui. Combines full authentication with our exclusive 4D matrix evaluation — assigned by a senior gemologist panel.
GUILD Folio
Collector & Auction-Grade DocumentationAn heirloom-quality report for extraordinary Feicui. Presented as a bespoke publication with dedicated academic research, macro photography, and in-depth gemological and geological narrative.
Scientific Determination of Feicui Origin
The complex geological formation conditions of jadeite deposits make origin determination a multidisciplinary task. GUILD's protocol combines large-instrument analytical data — including absorption spectroscopy and trace element assemblages — with microscopic mineralogical features of each specimen, enabling a rigorous, evidence-based determination. GUILD is currently able to issue origin opinions for Feicui from Myanmar, Guatemala, and Kazakhstan.
Common Questions
Clear answers to the most common questions about Feicui testing, certification, and grading.
Through quantitative trace element analysis (Fe, Ti, Cr, Mg, etc.) cross-referenced with Raman spectral signatures against GUILD's proprietary origin reference database — yielding an objective, evidence-based determination.
'Feicui' is now widely recognised in international trade. Dual nomenclature ensures maximum convenience for transactions and re-examination across global auction houses and jewellery markets.
Yes. Our scope covers the full colour spectrum — colourless glass-type, lavender, red, yellow, and black jade — with precise mineral phase identification for complex omphacitic varieties.
GUILD's highest commercial colour grade for blue and blue-green Feicui of higher luminosity and measured saturation. Named after GUILD's field research in Guatemala's Motagua Valley — a tribute to the Olmec civilisation (c. 1500–400 BCE).
Glassy and Icy describe texture and transparency: near-optical clarity versus ice-like translucency. Glowing and Jelly describe optical phenomena under light — a soft surface luminescence, or an inner gel-like depth and tension.
Want to learn Feicui identification yourself?
GUILD Institute offers a six-day Feicui Identification & Grading Course — the educational counterpart to our laboratory standards.
Explore the CourseReady to Authenticate Your Feicui?
Submit your jade for GUILD's rigorous, independent analysis — and receive a certificate that speaks to the entire international market.