The times they are a’changing!

I was down in Sihui in Guangdong province last week. It is the largest jadeite carving centre in China with something like 150,000 people involved in the jade trade. Things have changed dramatically in the last few years. It used to be the morning market started at six and it was packed. It used to get even busier in the daytime, and it was just as packed in the evenings. Now, none of the vendors turn up until about nine a.m and the huge indoor market halls are half empty. It doesn’t mean that business isn’t thriving, it’s just that a lot of it has gone online. Thousands of vendors now livestream every day to people all over China. It means most of the business is done in the evenings when people get home from work and log on.  Deals are being struck with ‘influencers’ who have millions of followers. I know one jade merchant who sold 4,000 jades in one day by going into business with one such influencer and he is not alone in this. (I doubt I will sell that many jades in my lifetime).  Tik Tok and similar apps like WeChat have revolutionised the jade industry. It’s very competitive. Prices have come down. Profit margins are smaller. Click HERE to learn more about the Stone of Heaven.