Nowadays we often see ornaments such as rings, earrings, necklace and bracelets made out of jade inserted in gold. However, in Qing Dynasty, the common jade ornaments were court beads, quills, thumb rings, dragon hooks, pins, bracelets, rings, eardrops, pocket watch holders and snuff boxes.

Glass green jade Buddha Market Price: 100,000 – 120,000 RMB

Court beads are the ornaments a minister wears when he is going to meet the emperor in Qing Dynasty. It is the noblest of all the ornaments. They can be made from pearls, corals, or amber among other precious materials including jade. The jade court beads are made of 108 jade beads. The high quality jade beads often go with a double-peach flower jade seal, which is very beautiful. The high quality jade court beads are very rare now. They can only be seen in the Forbidden City Museum and have never appeared in the local or international markets.

Green jade court beads

The thumb ring started as a kind of practical tool used to protect fingers in archery. In Qing Dynasty, it became just an ornament, both the emperor and the ministers liked to wear it to show that they didn’t forget their Kong fu. Jade thumb rings were the most precious ones. The high quality jade needn’t be sculpted, and they won people’s heart purely by their natural color, quality and patterns.