Friday, July 17, 2015

Classic Round Jade Bangle Bracelets

Women in China and Asia used to wear the classic round jade bangle bracelets until after the Qing Dynasty.  Women who could afford to wear jade bangles were usually royalty, or wealthy and weren't very active.  The round jade bangle bracelet stimulates the acupuncture points around the wrist.  Although they have more jade in the thickness than the modern flat inside jade bangle, they have a higher risk of breaking because they stick out from the wrist more and when you are doing everyday tasks, like cooking, cleaning, playing sports, it's easy to strike the bangle on a hard surface.


Classic round small "moss in snow" jadeite bangle bracelet

Classic round translucent green jadeite bangle bracelet

And even though jade is strong, if you strike it just right (actually, just wrong), it will crack or break.  And round jade bangle bracelets are at higher risk.

Men also wore jade bangle bracelets in the Dynasty eras.  However, men's jade bangles were usually flat inside because men were more active.  And the  men's jade bangles were also thicker, giving more durability for their lifestyle.  So if you find an older jade bangle bracelet that's larger than the standard Chinese size, 52-57mm, and it's flat inside, it was probably carved for a man.

After the Qing Dynasty, and communism wiped out the "elegance" of the Dynasty eras,
it became less common to wear jade bangle bracelets.  The wealthy people were sent out to work in the countryside during the Mao era, so if a woman had a jade bangle, she didn't wear it.  Jade carving in China slowed, although Hong Kong had a thriving jade business.

When women were able to start wearing jade bangles again, they weren't royalty anymore, and were more active.  They worked, or were busy mothers, and if they could afford a jade bangle, they would prefer a less expensive and flat inside jade bangle that would be more comfortable to wear. And when women who were wealthy because they were in the Chinese communist party wore jade, they didn't want to wear classic round jade bangles because the government might suspect their family of being corrupt. 

When jade carving became big business again, many jade bangle bracelets were made for export to "Western" countries.  The jade carvers had to make them larger for non-Chinese or non-Asian wrists, which required more jade stone.  Flat inside jade bangles use less jade stone. 

I personally love a slender elegant classic round jade bangle bracelet.  But I have to be careful when I wear it because I am very active and there's the risk of breaking it.  And I like to wear a jade bangle all the time, so the qi energy of the jade and my qi energy blend and work well together, because the jade looks more pretty as you wear it.  So I have changed to wearing a flat inside jade bangle.  It's more comfortable.

And "modern" Chinese women often don't want to wear a jade bangle like "grandma" wore, so they prefer the modern flat inside style.

If you are a jade bangle lover,  a classic round jade bangle that's good quality is not only pretty to wear, but it's also an investment.  And most jade bangle lovers have quite a collection of jade bangle bracelets, and enjoy wearing them all.


1 comment: