Vietnamese have always had a special relationship with jade, and many Vietnamese women are accustomed to wearing a jade bracelet around their wrists.
As a result, many misconceptions are circulating around jade in Vietnam, conveyed by intermediaries who have no knowledge of jade or who knowingly mislead their customers.
Jade (jadeite) is present everywhere in Vietnam: in markets, in tourist shops but also in jewellery stores.
Customers who buy from a market may think that there is a risk of not buying authentic jade but legitimately, he will feel even more protected if he buys from a tourist shop and even more from a jewellery store.
What is really the case?
First of all, we will allow ourselves to repeat tirelessly that there are no commercially exploited deposits of jade (jadeite or nephrite) in Vietnam. All the jadeite (which we are interested in in the case of Vietnam) that is found on the market comes from Myanmar (formerly Burma), and is worked (and in the majority of cases dealt with) in China.
A guide, a seller or a jeweler can tell you otherwise, that's not true.
As jade is very expensive, and as Vietnam is a country with very large economic disparities between the inhabitants, the stone must remain affordable for the Vietnamese on the street. Since jewellery is luxury goods, a bracelet that costs the equivalent of a hundred US dollars in our home is a dear product in Vietnam.
As on a previous visit two years ago, we confirm that Vietnam is one of the countries where we have noticed that 'alleged' jewellery, sometimes with the most cheerful and unlikely colors, with almost all of the C-type jade (blanchi and dyed).
Be aware that addressing a jeweller in this country does not in any way guarantee the quality of the jewelry.
Below are some examples that we hope will encourage you to be very careful when shopping...
These bracelets are sold in a jewellery store at Ho Chi Minh City International Airport. They are sold for 2,000,000 tonnes (EUR 76) and shall include a certificate number attesting that they are in "natural wadeitis".
The bracelets on the following bearer cost 1,000,000 tonnes (EUR 38) and appear to contain no guarantee certificate number.