THERE is a practical reason why elderly Chinese women like to wear a thick jade bangle; they believe that if they trip over, the jewellery will break their fall and protect them.
Gemmologist C. M. Au Yeung has seen it work, but that is not the only reason why she is a firm believer in buying jade. For her, it is also one of the most precious and important stones a person can own.
At a recent Sotheby's auction, a buyer paid $6 million for a brilliant jade ring, and similar high prices have been laid down at auction tables around the world.
But while someone does not have to pay astronomical figures to own a good piece of jade jewellery, like anything else of any value, they get what they pay for.
Ms Au Yeung said the most important factor in deciding whether a particular piece of jade was worth buying was if it had been treated or not; natural jade was anything that had not been bleached or treated with resin to enhance its brightness.
In industry jargon, jade that is not natural is described as B grade, while the natural variety is A grade.