Four generations,
one bench.
One book, begun in 1947.
If this house has a heart, it is a set of cloth-bound books kept under glass in the workshop. The first was drawn in ink by Master Chen’s great-grandfather — every cut he made recorded by hand: the angle, the weight, the grain of the stone, and where the piece was a commission, the name of the person it was made for.
Four generations have added to them since. They have never stopped being written.
We open them not out of nostalgia, but for technique. A difficult stone on the bench today has, more often than not, been solved once before — decades ago, in a steadier hand than our own.
The first cut.
The Chen family begins working jade. The first pattern book — drawn in ink by Master Chen’s great-grandfather — is bound in cloth and, to this day, kept under glass in the workshop.
The craft passes down.
Each cut continues to be recorded — angle, weight, polishing time — adding volume after volume to the family’s growing archive of technique.
Her judgement, on every stone.
Until 2019, Master Chen’s mother handled all sourcing in the valley. Every rough that entered the studio passed through her judgement first. Her notebooks join the archive — prices, sources, the quiet politics of the jade trade.
The books, still open.
Master Chen carries the house forward — still consulting his grandfather’s drawings, still keeping the books. Some problems we solve today were solved sixty years ago, often better.
How a piece is made.
Selecting the rough
A stone is chosen for its colour, translucency, and grain. Nine in ten are turned away before one is kept.
Reading the stone
Before any cut, the rough is studied — sometimes for weeks — to decide where its best material lies and what it wants to become.
Cutting
The first cut is the one that cannot be undone. It follows the plan set down at the bench, and recorded in the books.
Shaping & carving
The form takes shape by hand — whether the clean curve of a bangle or the detail of a carved pendant.
Grinding
The surface is refined through progressively finer abrasives, bringing the piece close to its final form.
Polishing
Patient hand-polishing draws out the depth and glow that only fine jadeite can hold.
Finishing & waxing
A final wax protects and completes the piece — the only surface treatment a Type A stone ever receives.
Certified & delivered
The finished piece is certified, recorded in the books, and packed by hand — then sent to you, insured, wherever you are.
From the Ateliers
Pieces our collectors return to.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · 56mm inner diameter One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · adjustable band One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · carved relief pendant One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · full bead strand One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · pingankou pendant One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · cabochon pendant One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · 58mm inner diameter One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · statement band One of one, signed and numbered. Photographed before it leaves the studio.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · clasp bangle In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · 58mm inner diameter In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · droplet pendant In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · carved pendant In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · droplet pendant In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · pingankou pendant In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · signet ring In stock · ships in 3 days.
Type A natural jadeite · NGTC certified · band ring In stock · ships in 3 days.