JADE (Jewellery)

Price range... $10 to $400. The jade factory and the jade dealers in Antigua...the best of which are centered around 4 Calle Oriente... as you face the Catedral, it's the street parralelling to your left. They sell real jade. It comes in several colors. From black, through all the shades of green into lavander(my favorite). Within real jade there are grades, based mainly on flaws and how well it takes a polish. These stores use the cheaper pieces in things like replica masks. The best usually goes into gold settings, although comparable can be found in silver. Those stores use mainly 18 and 14KT gold. Silver is almost all .925. The few exceptions might be very delicate chains. Those might be plated. From my experience these folks are honest. Reputation is important. I've never priced jade jewelry in the US. It's not in my product line...though if I add it it will be Guatemalan jade. Prices are more often set by the weight of gold or silver..especially gold in the piece. The degree of workmanship..both metal and stone is important too...but labor is cheap. A couple of the places will make custom pieces for you in just a few days. Cost for custom is only slightly higher than a comparable stock piece.

Now for the market stalls. There are the stalls over by the bus station. You can find similar in Pana at street tables. Chichi has some... I've just talked about shopping Chichi in a post a few hours ago. First thing you have to understand...there is jade and there is sorta jade. You can find real jade at the stalls. But, almost always it will be of the lowest grade...often bought as waste from the jade factory. Cheap jade is harder to work due to flaws. It's color tends to be a greyish green. Often won't polish as well. Sorta jade...my term.. referrs to minerals that are chemically similar to jade and can be worked in the same way. There is also costume jewelry with synthetic jade..ie. plastic or glass or ?? This is the stuff often sold by kids in restaurants in Pana. It's cheap as long as the buyer isnt' a total dufus and gets tricked. Hell, I sell costume jewelry ...mainly high quality. But I sell a ton of bracelets that are jade look alikes. They are cheap and fun. The costume jewelry market in Guat. lets you buy a bag full for a few dollars. So...the market stalls have a variety of cheap stuff. Bargain. You get discounts for quantity. Above 10 pieces you should hit the first level of wholesale pricing. As to the silver part. If it's real look for the .925 stamp. Won't see it on the tiniest parts. Also... Alpaca...name for a silver colored metal that is almost white. Not silver. Very cheap. Usually used to make fillagree work.

Bargaining...stalls will bargain. Check several for prices. The big stores...not much. Discount for cash or multiple items. Wholesale..sorry..that is for my group.

What to buy? Depends on your use and how you feel about jewelry. I took a friend who wanted to buy some really nice jade earrings for his girl friend. We went to the best jade factory. Looked at a ton of stuff. At the Men's counter he saw a massive green jade and gold men's ring. He got it for $350. I asked him what about his girl friend? He went over to the handicraft market and bought her a $10 pair. Said he was going to give her them and then hand her the receipt for his ring..telling her it was her earrings and the receipt was in case she ever needed it for insurance.

Oh...forgot to add...don't buy anything turquoise unless it is dirt cheap.

Thanks soo much Goodtime Bob! You obviously know your jewellery! I didn't even realize that turquoise is available in Guate. What's the deal with it? Is it real or a knockoff? So only buy it if it's cheap....what's your version of cheap for turquoise? Thanks again..Jill

It's complex. Presume that any street turquoise is 90% odds of being resin. Even the stuff that looks like fossilized turquoise. Couple of shops in Antigua might have some turquoise pieces that are legit. But it's just not worth the hassle. Another cheap mineral is hematite. Almost always black and glassy. It's an iron mineral from volcanoes. The crystal wavers and related whack jobs think it's magnetic properties are curative. Tends to be carved in simple shapes only... dolphins, elephants, turtles. hearts. Buy in Pana. Cheapest glitter jewelry is the beadwork from the lake. Wait and buy in a Pana bead store. It's the cheapest of all. I usually buy 1000 at a time but even 10 will get a discount. What's cheap jewelry over all? $5 or less. Beads start at a dollar something.

Gtb: Tnx for the wealth of information. I was going to make a stop in one of the jade stores in Antigua during my next trip down. Been putting it off for years, but I'm now ready to take the plunge. Going to bring a local friend with me, and your info is also a big help.

Jade Factory is definitely worth checking out. Sometimes they really have the best deals if you look at their specials. But we have found some really nice stuff in the Jade stores on 5 calle pointe---and they don't add an additional 6% if you use a credit card like the Jade Factory does.

Shop around before you buy and ask about the Jade/silver stores on a few side streets. Small places but my daughter seems to always find something special in one of them.

Also The Amber store near Rick's Bar had prices comparative to San Christobal--thought that it had closed but heard it moved to a new location.

Those $1 beaded bracelets in Pana are $4 in San Cristobal; $8 in Cancun; $15 in the states. My daughter always buys 20 or 30 for presents.