Within the jadeite industry, “water treatment” and “water digging” are two practices often conflated, yet fundamentally distinct.
Let’s start with a clear conclusion before elaborating:
Water treatment is a legitimate visual enhancement, while water digging constitutes structural fraud.
I. What is “Water Treatment”?
The essence of water enhancement lies in utilizing optical principles to make jadeite “appear more translucent” without compromising its natural structure.
Common practices fall into two categories, both within industry-accepted norms:
1. Polishing enhancement. By employing polishing techniques with varying grain sizes, surface reflection and refraction are controlled, causing light to linger longer within the jade’s body. Skilled polishing can elevate the water quality of the same piece by half to one grade.
Second is form-based water enhancement. For instance, elevating the dome height or increasing curvature allows light entering the top to refract repeatedly, creating a more lustrous, “watery” appearance.
The key point is:
Water enhancement only alters “how light travels,” not “what the jade itself is.”
If the material is inherently bean-like in texture, it cannot be transformed into ice-like clarity; insufficient fineness will only yield a false brilliance no matter how polished.
Thus, enhancing translucency is akin to dressing well—it adds value, not fakes it.
II. What is “Hollowing for Water”
Hollowing for water is an entirely different matter.
This technique artificially creates the illusion of increased translucency by reducing the actual thickness of the jade body.
The most common methods include:
– Hollowed backs (especially in Guanyin, Buddha, or landscape plaques)
– Excessively thin sections (edges or belly noticeably thinner than perceived)
– Polishing the bottom of cabochons or ring settings into a “pot-bottom” shape
Optically, this does create an illusion of “water,” but this is because:
Light essentially “passes through” rather than being carried by the jade itself.
The core issue with hollowing isn’t aesthetics, but two critical risks:
First, structural instability makes it prone to cracking, chipping, or breaking.
Second, the water effect rapidly deteriorates with wear and environmental changes, especially under natural light where it immediately reveals its flaws.
From an assessment perspective:
Water-hollowing consumes the material itself for visual effect and is irreversible.
III. How to Quickly Distinguish Between Water-Tuning and Water-Hollowing (Practical Judgment)
Here are two most reliable practical judgment approaches:
First: Check the side thickness versus water effect consistency
If the water head appears excellent but the side profile looks absurdly thin, it’s likely hollowed-out.
Genuinely water-adjusted pieces maintain a “plausible” balance between watery feel and thickness.
Second: Inspect shadowed areas under strong light
Shine a bright light from the front:
– Water-adjusted jade retains internal layering with natural shadow gradients
– Hollowed-out jade shows abrupt brightness and darkness, appearing hollowed out
Summary:
Water adjustment makes good material appear even better;
Water removal makes ordinary material temporarily pass as good material.
The former is craftsmanship; the latter is deception.
#JadeiteScience #JadeiteKnowledgeShare #JadeiteSelectionTips #JadeiteBeginnerGuide