As Luo Jiang explained, he constantly changed tools in his hands: a bowl-spinning tool, a grinding wheel for shaping large bowls, and a nail-shaped tool that could be used to pry open surfaces. In Luo Jiang's hands, they moved like butterflies. The speed at which he changed tools dazzled Zhuang Rui, making it impossible for him to distinguish the function of each tool.
These oddly shaped and complex tools seemed to come alive in Luo Jiang's hands, moving back and forth between his palms and the jade material. Zhuang Rui stood by and watched for a while, but couldn't figure out a thing of what they were all about.
The old saying is indeed true: experts see the details, while laymen just watch the show. The role that Boss Zhuang can play now is nothing more than handing out tea and towels.
With advanced equipment and Luo Jiang's exquisite craftsmanship, the first icy red jadeite bracelet appeared in front of Zhuang Rui in about an hour. However, the bracelet is still just a rough blank. Its round surface is covered with irregular and troublesome pieces of jade, which need to be ground off with a grinding wheel and a polishing wheel.
The process was quick; seven or eight minutes later, the bracelet, now very smooth, was in Zhuang Rui's hand. However, the color was slightly dull. According to Luo Jiang's explanation, the bracelet was still a rough piece. It would need to undergo processes such as hooking, removing, tucking, and pressing before it could be considered a finished product after polishing.
If you are carving pendants, the process is even more complicated. In order to make them accurate, regular, neat and smooth, you also need to do things like layering and carving, turning and rolling, making the petals and the edges of the clothes of the figures on some pendants float, drilling, hollowing, and making movable rings.
However, what Luo Jiang needed to do now was to make all the rough bracelet blanks and carry out the subsequent processing and polishing in a unified manner. So after gathering the scattered pieces on the ground, Luo Jiang began the disassembly of the second bracelet.
After seeing the second icy red jadeite bracelet, Zhuang Rui realized he couldn't learn anything useful from it, so he simply turned around, grabbed a book, and went to read in the pavilion in the garden.
In the following days, Zhuang Rui rarely left the house except to contact the outside world by phone. He also ordered takeout for meals every day. Zhuang Min often came to the villa to cook a meal for the first few days, but Zhao Guodong was very busy at this time and she had to run between the two places. After Zhuang Rui persuaded her a few times, she rarely came to the villa anymore.
A week later, Luo Jiang finally finished making the rough drafts of the bracelets. Dozens of bracelets with a slightly dull luster were neatly arranged on a table covered with white velvet in the garage.
Chapter 338 Polishing
Thirty-six icy red jadeite bracelets. Five blood jade bracelets were neatly arranged on the white velvet cloth on the table, their red and white colors resembling blooming roses, a truly beautiful sight.
However, the luster of these bracelets is still somewhat dim, including those blood jade bracelets, which also have a restrained luster. As the saying goes, "Jade that is not carved cannot become a vessel." These bracelets, which have already been carved into their shapes, are still missing the final process: polishing. Only after this process is completed will these bracelets, which are made from the finest jadeite, truly release their brilliance.
Polishing is arguably the most important step in shaping jade artifacts. It mainly refers to grinding the surface of the jade to make it smooth, bright, and more aesthetically pleasing. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful the jade is, it is still a semi-finished product without polishing.
The polishing process consists of three steps. First, the rough surface is removed by polishing tools. The surface is then ground very finely. Next, a polishing powder is applied to make it shiny. Then, the bracelet is cleaned with a professional solution to remove dirt. Finally, the bracelet is oiled and waxed to increase its brightness and smoothness.
For some jade ornaments, design and carving are undoubtedly the most important, while for bracelets with a simple shape, the polishing step is even more important and takes the longest time.
"Master Luo, polishing these bracelets one by one is too much trouble, isn't it?"
Zhuang Rui looked at the bracelets laid out on the table, feeling both happy and a little troubled.
"Didn't you buy a polishing machine? And I think it's the best model. It polishes very quickly, and it can even be used for cleaning jade..."
As Luo Jiang spoke, he moved an unopened cardboard box from the corner of the garage, opened it, and took out a metal object that looked a bit like a trash can.
"This thing is a polishing machine?"
Zhuang Rui felt somewhat embarrassed. He had only glanced at the prices on the list given to him by Grandpa Wu, and he really didn't know what machines he had purchased.
"That's right, this is the latest model. It not only has automatic dust extraction but also a vibration function. It also has an ultrasonic cleaning function, and oiling and waxing can be done in an oven. If the craftsman hadn't said that you have complete equipment and can make so many items in a month, how could I have dared to take this job?"
As Luo Jiang chatted and laughed with Zhuang Rui, he plugged in the polishing machine and opened the lid. This new type of polishing machine is suitable for many types of jade.
Zhuang Rui didn't know that the price of a regular polishing machine is around a thousand yuan, while his machine cost more than fourteen thousand yuan. It was much more powerful. Old Master Wu knew that Zhuang Rui was not short of money, so the jade carving machines on the list were all the best.
Luo Jiang picked up a bracelet from the table and threaded it through a fuzzy, cylindrical protrusion inside the polishing machine. Then he placed the cotton pad that came with the machine on top of it and put it back on the table. He continued threading five bracelets through the machine before stopping. He then evenly sprinkled the included polishing powder inside and closed the lid.
"Is this all you need?"
This is such a simple task, I could do it myself. For the first time in over a week, Zhuang Rui felt a sense of presence.
"Yes, five hours should be enough. The equipment nowadays is really advanced. When I was an apprentice, we did all the polishing manually. We would use a coarse cloth with polishing powder to polish the jade pieces all day long. It was so hard work, but the results from this polishing machine were still better."
Luo Jiang felt a pang of emotion, as if he were thinking of his own past. He gave a wry smile. Modern machinery has caused many artisans to abandon their traditional crafts. Not to mention polishing, cleaning, and waxing, even carving is now done by computer micro-carving in many factories. The living space for traditional artisans is getting smaller and smaller.
However, a good work is the result of the artist's hard work. The objects hand-carved by masters all possess an indescribable spirituality that computer micro-carving cannot match.
In modern society, people's aesthetic standards are constantly improving, and jade carvings made by masters are increasingly sought after by certain customer groups. This has created a polarization, with the prices of works by masters rising higher and higher, while the works of ordinary artists are rarely sought after.
This situation has also made it difficult for the inheritance of jade carving techniques to continue. The Yangzhou craftsmanship in the south is doing well, with hundreds of years of orderly inheritance and a continuous stream of successors. However, the Beijing craftsmanship in the north is almost lost, which is something that makes Mr. Gu very distressed and troubled.
After putting the bracelet into the polishing machine, Luo Jiang pressed the power switch and busied himself carving small items such as pendants and earrings. The materials for these items were leftovers from the bracelet, and there were quite a few of them. Apart from some loose jade shavings that were not suitable for carving, Luo Jiang gathered the rest together.
The carving of pendants is much more complex than that of bracelets, and the skill level of the jade carver is fully demonstrated here.
Luo Jiang was very experienced. After drawing a pattern on a piece of scrap jade, he could immediately start the jade carving machine to carve it. His rough hands were unusually nimble at this time. Zhuang Rui only saw him hold the jade material and fiddle with the miniature diamond drill head of the jade carving machine for a while, and a Maitreya Buddha image with a big belly and a smiling mouth appeared vividly in front of Zhuang Rui.
However, like the bracelets, these were just rough drafts. They still needed to be carefully refined in the details before they could be polished. Even so, Zhuang Rui was already thoroughly enjoying watching them.
Four or five hours passed quickly as Luo Jiang was carving the pendants. With the alarm sounding from the polishing machine, the polishing process for those jade bracelets was considered complete.
Luo Jiang opened the polishing machine lid, took out the top bracelet, examined it for a while with the back of the light, nodded, and casually handed it to Zhuang Rui.
This is a bangle made from icy jadeite. Although it is not as crystal clear as glassy red jadeite, it is still a remarkable piece. After polishing, the surface of the bangle emits a faint red glow. When viewed against the light, it seems as if a babbling brook is flowing inside the jelly-like bangle, radiating a captivating fluorescent brilliance.
Seeing Zhuang Rui's mesmerized expression, Luo Jiang laughed and said, "The gloss isn't enough yet. It needs to be able to show color in backlit areas before it's truly a success."
"Okay, thank you, Master Luo."
Zhuang Rui was very satisfied with the progress of the jade carving and the items that had been made. He was thinking about whether to increase Luo Jiang's wages. Putting aside everything else, the bracelet he was holding now would cost at least a million if it were sold in a jewelry store.
The red color on jadeite is formed by secondary processes, and it is only the color of the surface of the jadeite. This characteristic determines that jadeite pebbles with red skin that are thick enough to be made into bracelets are very rare.
Therefore, jadeite bracelets that are entirely red or entirely yellow are extremely rare. Common ones are only partially red, but as long as the red is vibrant and the jadeite is relatively translucent, they will be very valuable. Jadeite bracelets that are entirely red are extremely rare on the market.
Common red jadeite is mostly brownish-red or dark red, giving it a "dim" or "gloomy" appearance. It is thick but not translucent, with a coarse texture and many impurities, making it not very valuable.
However, when the quality of red jadeite reaches the level of icy jadeite, it can be considered a minor top-grade piece, and its market price is much higher than that of icy green jadeite with floating flowers. It is also comparable to icy green jadeite.
As for glass-type red jadeite, it is even more legendary, rarer than imperial green jadeite. It is simply not seen on the market and can be described as having a price but no market. It can only occasionally appear in some auctions.
Zhuang Rui originally wanted to see the waxed red jade bracelets as soon as they came out of the oven, but he received a call from Wu Jia saying that the jewelry box he ordered and the gold and silver ornaments for setting earrings and pendants had arrived. Helpless, he had to drive to Shitouzhai.
Upon arriving at Shitouzhai, Wu Jia first handed Zhuang Rui the items he had commissioned, then asked with some curiosity, "Zhuang Rui, what exactly did you have Uncle Luo make? Why do you need so many boxes and gold and silver pieces for inlay?"
"I can't tell you that, but a month from now, I'll give you three more of my store's prized possessions to display and sell in your shop."
Zhuang Rui smiled, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense. In fact, after seeing those icy jadeite bracelets, Zhuang Rui immediately regretted agreeing to give Grandpa Wu a surprise. Not to mention glassy red jadeite, even icy jadeite was something Zhuang Rui was now reluctant to sell.
However, having already made his promise, he still decided to take out three sets of icy jade bracelets and have Wu Jia's Stone Shop sell them on his behalf. But Zhuang Rui would not sell these three bracelets directly to Stone Shop; instead, he would give Stone Shop a certain percentage of the selling price.
Watching Zhuang Rui leave Shitouzhai with the box, Wu Jia stomped her feet in anger, but she was also full of anticipation for the store's prized possession that Zhuang Rui had mentioned. The cabochon that her grandfather had polished was just sold for 3.8 million yuan a few days ago, and the news had already spread throughout the Pengcheng jade circle. If a few more good items could be displayed in the store, it would definitely further enhance Shitouzhai's reputation.
Back at the villa, Zhuang Rui noticed that the five bracelets on the top of the table were easily distinguishable from the bracelets next to them, even from a distance, suggesting that they were already finished.
Chapter 339 Completed
Zhuang Rui threw the box he was carrying on the ground, walked happily to the table, picked up a bracelet and examined it. The bracelet, which originally had no luster, was now radiant and dazzling, and even with its back to the light, its extraordinary quality could be seen.
"Boss Zhuang, those five bracelets are finished. Please check them."
Luo Jiang, who was carving a pendant, looked up at Zhuang Rui, said a few words, and then turned his attention back to the jade material in his hand.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui opened the cardboard box he had brought from Shitouzhai and took out all the jewelry boxes containing bracelets. After opening one box, he placed a finished bracelet into the recessed part of the box, and the size was just right.
By evening, the five exquisite red jade bracelets had been polished and waxed. Even Luo Jiang, who had made them by hand, was somewhat reluctant to part with them when he handed them to Zhuang Rui. He knew that in the future, let alone polishing bracelets of this quality, he might not even have the chance to see them again.
At this moment, five red jade bracelets were placed on the coffee table in the villa's living room, with a white cloth underneath. Under the incandescent light, the five bracelets emitted a captivating bright red glow, like ancient dancers gracefully twirling.
The bright red color inside the almost transparent bracelet seemed to possess an eerie spirituality, attracting Zhuang Rui's attention for a long time. He couldn't help but want to pick it up, play with it, and put it on his wrist. However, Zhuang Rui suppressed the thought. If he went out wearing a bracelet, he would definitely be laughed at.
These five glass-type jade bangles are all longevity bangles with round bars. The inner rim is round and the bars are also round, so they can also be called round jadeite bangles. They are an ancient and traditional design, which looks dignified and elegant, and has an antique charm. They are generally more suitable for older women to wear, while the thin round longevity bangles are also suitable for younger women.
In the market, longevity bracelets are more expensive than flat-mouthed round fortune bracelets and flat-mouthed oval imperial concubine bracelets because they use the most material and are suitable for all ages. Therefore, Luo Jiang has made them all into longevity bracelets, which can be sold or given as gifts.
Zhuang Rui carefully placed the bracelets into a box and took them to the basement. Although he didn't intend to sell them, the value of these small bracelets already exceeded that of his villa, so Zhuang Rui naturally wanted to keep them safe.
"Is it appropriate for Grandma to wear such a brightly colored bracelet?"
Thinking about giving one away, Zhuang Rui suddenly felt a little reluctant. He wasn't a stingy person, but these bracelets were just too tempting. Even with five pairs, giving away just one would still sting for him. However, it was his grandmother's 70th wedding anniversary, and giving the bracelet as a gift for his mother should please his grandmother.
Zhuang Rui spent his days in the villa, either watching Luo Jiang work on jade or reviewing his lessons. He was having a very comfortable time. Zhao Guodong's auto repair shop had merged with Zhang Yufeng's shop, and business was much better than before. He was extremely busy and overwhelmed.
The site of the former auto repair shop has now been converted into a car interior decoration business, which is managed by Si'er. With more and more private cars, people who can spend tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a car are not afraid to spend a few thousand yuan more to repair the interior. The business is very good, and the profit is almost half of that of the auto repair shop.
Liu Chuan went to Hong Kong recently and didn't bother Zhuang Rui. He's getting married in November, and the wedding date is only five or six days after Ouyang Jun's. Zhuang Rui will have to run between the two places again, since both of them have caught him and made him their best man. But there's also good news: Qin Xuanbing will be Lei Lei's bridesmaid and will definitely be coming back from England.
Although it would be more than two months before he could see Qin Xuanbing, their conversations on the phone were becoming increasingly unrestrained. Perhaps stimulated by the open atmosphere abroad, Qin Xuanbing became more and more attached to Zhuang Rui, and would call him for more than half an hour every day.
However, what gave Zhuang Rui a headache was that Officer Miao had been contacting him more and more frequently lately, constantly urging him to go to Beijing. It seemed that something was wrong, but he refused to say it on the phone. He had even lost his temper several times, leaving Zhuang Rui confused and somewhat amused. He decided to go to Beijing after Luo Jiang finished his work to see what Officer Miao was up to.
Three days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Luo Jiang finally finished carving all the jade materials. It took more than a week longer than expected. The pendants and other items were too time-consuming, and many items needed to be inlaid. Although Zhuang Rui served him good food and drink over the past month, Luo Jiang still lost weight.
"Boss Zhuang, it's finally finished. You're an expert in jade appraisal, so please take a look and tell me how well I did?"
On the large dining table in Zhuang Rui's villa restaurant, many small items were neatly arranged. The top row consisted of pendants, including single-piece perforated pendants that were tied with cords, as well as pendants inlaid with gold and silver. There were also many scattered pieces of icy jade. Luo Jiang had even crafted a set of twelve zodiac animal pendants.
Below the pendants are various styles of earrings and studs, all finished products with inlays. Some are made of glass jade, and some are made of ice jade. Luo Jiang separated these two different materials so that they could be easily distinguished and their quality could be clearly compared.
"That's right, Master Luo, you've really worked hard this time. Here's 250,000 RMB, you must accept it."
Zhuang Rui had already looked at these ornaments countless times during the crafting process. He then took out a leather bag and placed it next to Luo Jiang.
"Boss Zhuang, I already said I won't charge you for this job, but about that matter..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's actions, Luo Jiang couldn't help but feel anxious. Although he wasn't a very wealthy person, a few hundred thousand or even ten thousand yuan was not that important compared to his eagerness to make a name for himself through this batch of jade artifacts.
According to the rules of their trade, after a fine piece is made, the owner and the maker must go to a jade appraisal institution to have it appraised and then issue an appraisal certificate. The maker must also sign and affix his seal to the appraisal certificate. However, Luo Jiang saw that Zhuang Rui did not seem to have any intention of having it appraised.
Zhuang Rui smiled and said, "Master Luo, put this money away first. You've worked hard for a month, this is what you deserve. Take the money and we'll talk about other things later."
“Boss Zhuang, we craftsmen may only come across such exquisite jade a few times in our lifetime, so the opportunity is very rare. Being able to carve these is my good fortune. Forget about the money. I hope you can keep your promise to me.”
Luo Jiang's reputation in the jade carving industry is currently in a limbo, neither rising nor falling. Although he has a good character and his carving skills are exquisite, he has not produced any representative works, so his value is not very high. If a contemporary jade carving master were to carve these items for Zhuang Rui, no one would take the job for less than a few hundred thousand a month. In fact, those master-level figures no longer need to prove their strength with their works.
The fame of these masters can now be successfully converted into RMB. Just like why people in the entertainment industry are always thinking about becoming famous, it all boils down to profit. Fame represents value and appearance fees, and the two complement each other.
Luo Jiang is now just one step away from getting through this hurdle. If he had already overcome it, he would definitely accept Zhuang Rui's money without hesitation.
"Master Luo, let me repeat myself, please accept the money first, and then we can talk about the certificate."
If it were anyone else making such a refusal, Zhuang Rui would have readily accepted the money. However, Luo Jiang had been working very hard for the past month, sleeping only five or six hours a day and spending the rest of his time carving jade. In addition, it was only right and proper for others to ask him to leave his name on the appraisal certificate for the items he had carved. Zhuang Rui was too embarrassed to take back the money he had given away.
Seeing Zhuang Rui's insistence, Luo Jiang didn't say anything. After taking the bag, he saw Zhuang Rui take out a square postal parcel, which puzzled him.
"Master Luo, take a look, is this kind of certificate any good?"
Zhuang Rui took out a folded green piece of cardboard from the already opened cardboard box and handed it to Luo Jiang.
"This...this is an appraisal certificate issued by the National Jade Appraisal Center, of course...wait, why is there a photo too? Mr. Zhuang, how did you do that?"
Luo Jiang took the folded green paper, opened it, and exclaimed in surprise. However, he immediately thought of Zhuang Rui's identity as a director of the Jade Association. Obtaining a few appraisal certificates from the subordinate appraisal institutions was not a difficult task for him.
Actually, Luo Jiang was overestimating Zhuang Rui. Zhuang Rui was completely clueless about the jade appraisal center, and no one would trust him now. Zhuang Rui took pictures of the items with a digital camera after Luo Jiang carved them, and then sent them to Gu Yun online so that he could go to Grandpa Gu to handle the matter.
Old Master Gu naturally trusted Zhuang Rui's character. The authentication statement on the certificate was all printed on, and the photo was also imprinted on it. No one could find fault with such an authentication certificate.