At the beginning, Uncle Qi's shop in Jiujiang was just a location in the inner street, close to the meat market, so it was not a particularly good location. Because people who buy food always come and go in a hurry, it is difficult for them to go to the store to enjoy it carefully. Even so, in view of the early 1990 s, it can be said that jade is popular. According to my uncle, because the jade in Myanmar was easy to enter the mainland at that time, the supply was sufficient and the price was relatively popular, so even if it was not a very favorable position, there was no need to worry about the bleak business. Now that I think about it, it is no wonder that my uncle was so generous at that time. Every New Year, he takes a batch of thousands of jades home to his neighbors (to send relatives).
Every holiday or other reasons, my uncle welcomes our young people to practice and do business in the past. I am a lazy person, because I study, I seldom go to play. Although I haven't really come into contact with the work of making jade, I heard from my brother and cousin that this is a matter that requires patience, concentration and aura. From a jade bracelet, jade pendant, small jade beads, all kinds of flowers, lifelike little beetles, etc. , all permeated with the jade worker's patience, creativity and dexterity. Therefore, in the process of vacation or senior job hunting, Uncle Qi's jade shop in Jiujiang, Foshan naturally becomes a good place for people to exercise their minds and cultivate their interest in the jade industry. Unfortunately, until now, no one has been able to inherit his craft. But judging from his evaluation, my brother is one of the older generation with higher understanding. One summer vacation, he went to Jiujiang for almost a month and brought back a round jade that he polished but didn't finish. Of course, I was surprised that he could do this job, and he also told his learning process very interestingly.
Here is a brief introduction to the production skills:
The production of jadeite jade goes through several important stages: discussion, painting, cutting and polishing.
Discussion: that is, we should carefully look at the skin, color, jade and germplasm, and judge what shape, vessel or jewelry to carve according to the distribution shape, size and distribution of emerald in the original stone. In addition, it depends on where there are impurities and cracks in the jade material, so as to remove, avoid or cover it as much as possible during production. The so-called "material selection by quantity" makes the best use of the materials and performing arts, so that the whole piece of jade can achieve the best effect.
Painting: After drawing the shape to be carved, draw the details on the outline.
The process is the most complicated. First, you have to peel and cut materials. The tools used are thallium and wire drawing bow saw. In addition, there are many steps, such as drilling, digging, surface (cutting), scratching, stamping, chiseling, rolling and embossing. If you want to cut out good jade, you must slowly produce fine jade.
Light: namely polishing, which is also commonly known as "water". Polishing is the process of processing jade. In the process of processing, various tools should be used to drive diamond sand and polish jade. After the water comes out, it should be sanded first and then polished. The last step is to oil and wax the jade to make it more shiny.