中国金饰 · Chinese Fine Jewellery

一颗磨砂、一颗亮面的足金貔貅珠，珠身侧面錾着《心经》。同一件东西上一哑一亮对照着看，是中式金工里常见的一手 —— 磨砂那面显工艺，亮面那面显金。

One matte pixiu bead and one polished, with the Heart Sutra chiselled into the sides. Putting a matte surface next to a bright one on the same piece is a common move in Chinese goldwork: the matte side shows the handiwork, the bright side shows the metal.

花瓣从平面上 3D 立起来，表面留着一道道锤痕，花心嵌一颗绿松石。锤揲（把金片反复敲打成形）是中式金工里最省料、也最能出体积的做法 —— 一件看着很「厚」的东西，可能只用了几克金。

Petals raised in relief, hammer marks left showing on the surface, a turquoise set at the centre. Raising a sheet of gold by hammering is the thriftiest way to get volume in Chinese goldwork — a piece that looks substantial may weigh only a few grams.

长命锁（也叫平安锁）是中国小孩出生时亲友送的物件，传统上打成银的居多，讲究的人家打金的。做成细细一条成年人日常戴的项链，是近些年的做法 —— 寓意在这里是「送礼人的心意」，不是物件本身的功效。

The longevity lock is what relatives give a newborn, traditionally in silver and in gold in wealthier families. Wearing it as a slim everyday chain is a recent adaptation. The meaning here lies in what the giver intends, not in anything the object is claimed to do.

葫芦谐音「福禄」，是中国最常见的一种吉祥纹样，金银玉木上都有。这只把藤蔓錾刻在镯身上，表面做成哑光 —— 也就是这几年被叫作「古法金」的那种处理，讲究的是手工感和不反光。

The gourd puns on 福禄 (blessing and emolument) and is one of the most common motifs in China — on gold, silver, jade and wood alike. Here the vine is chiselled into the band and the surface left matte: the finish that has been sold as “ancient-method gold” in recent years, valued for its handmade look and its lack of glare.

750‰ 的 18K 金。双面镶嵌、还要日常开合承力的件，纯金做不了 —— 这就是 K 金存在的理由。白贝母和红玛瑙都是便宜的配石，重点在金托的做工。

750 parts per thousand. A double-sided setting that has to survive daily wear is not something pure gold can hold — which is the whole reason K gold exists. Mother-of-pearl and red agate are inexpensive stones here; the work is in the gold frame.

585‰。紫水晶做主石，托帕石打亮。要说清楚的是：这种多石排镶是欧洲金饰的常规做法，不是中国传统的样式 —— 中国传统里「金 + 宝」走的是花丝镶嵌那条路（下面会说）。

585 parts per thousand, amethyst as the centre stone with topaz for brightness. Worth being clear about: this multi-stone row setting is a European convention, not a Chinese one. The Chinese tradition of pairing gold with stones runs through filigree instead — more on that below.

单颗紫水晶，四爪。日常能戴的价位段，也是 K 金最实用的一类 —— 耳钉天天戴、要过夜、要碰水，纯金反而撑不住。

A single amethyst in four prongs. This is K gold at its most practical: studs get worn daily, slept in and splashed, and pure gold is the weaker choice for that.

真做金镶玉，难点在于玉和金的硬度差了四五倍 —— 金要压住玉，又不能把玉硌裂，全靠金托的形状和退火。玉料是和田碧玉，颜色偏深、油润，是和田系里最常见的一种。

The practical difficulty in gold-inlaid jade is that the two materials differ four or five times over on the hardness scale: the gold has to hold the jade without chipping it, which comes down to the shape of the setting and how it is annealed. This is Hetian nephrite — darker, with the oily sheen the family is known for.

翡翠属于硬玉，比和田玉硬得多也脆得多。观音是玉雕里最常见的题材之一，讲究「开脸」—— 脸开得正不正，是行内定价的第一眼。买翡翠要问清是否 A 货（未经酸洗充胶染色）。

Jadeite is the harder, brittler of the two jades. Guanyin is among the most carved subjects, and the first thing a trade buyer looks at is the face. If you shop for jadeite, ask whether it is Type A — untreated by acid, resin or dye.

描金是在玉面上手绘金线再低温烧固，比镶嵌省料得多，明清两代都有。手镯讲究一整个圆从一块料里掏出来，不能拼 —— 所以镯子永远比同料的牌子贵。

Gold tracing is painted onto the jade surface and fired at low heat — much cheaper in gold than inlay, and a technique with Ming and Qing precedents. A bangle has to be cut as one continuous ring from a single piece of stone, never assembled, which is why bangles always cost more than a plaque from the same material.

一串淡水珍珠配绿松石。绿松石在中国的使用历史很长 —— 从新石器时代就有，西藏和蒙古的银饰上尤其常见 —— 是中国传统里少数几种「有正史位置的彩色石头」。

Freshwater pearls strung with turquoise. Turquoise has one of the longest histories of any coloured stone in China — in use since the Neolithic and especially common on Tibetan and Mongolian silverwork — and is one of the few coloured stones with a real place in Chinese tradition.

「爱迪生珍珠」是 2011 年前后中国育出的一类有核淡水珍珠，颗粒能做到海水珠的大小，颜色也更杂。「爱迪生」是商标，不是产地，也不是一个品种名 —— 这一点商家一般不会主动说。

“Edison pearl” is the trade name for a beaded freshwater pearl developed in China around 2011, able to reach saltwater sizes and coming in a wider range of colours. Edison is a trademark, not an origin and not a species — something sellers rarely volunteer.

珍珠和彩色宝石串在同一根链上，是这两年国内「新中式」珠宝里很常见的一种排法 —— 用珍珠压住彩宝的跳，用彩宝把珍珠从「老气」里拉出来。

Pearls strung with coloured stones on one strand — a common arrangement in the “new Chinese style” jewellery of the last few years, using the pearls to steady the colour and the colour to pull the pearls out of the dowdy register.

PT950 是铂金，和 K 白金（白色 K 金）不是一回事：铂金本身是白色，不镀铑也不会露底色；白色 K 金是金加钯或镍，戴久了可能泛黄。买这类首饰，这两个词一定要问清。

PT950 is platinum — not the same thing as white K gold. Platinum is white all the way through and needs no rhodium plating; white K gold is gold alloyed with palladium or nickel and can yellow over the years. Worth pinning the seller down on which one you are being shown.

带证书的 1 克拉莫桑石，配生肖造型的银托。国内电商常把它写成「莫桑钻」—— 「钻」在这里是习惯用法，不是宝石学分类，买之前想清楚自己要的是哪一种。

A certified one-carat moissanite in a silver setting shaped as a zodiac animal. In Chinese e-commerce it is routinely written 莫桑钻 — the character for diamond used loosely. It is a habit of the trade, not a gemological category; decide which stone you actually want before you buy.

一圈镶满马眼切割的小石，是这类材质里最便宜、出货量最大的一种做法。石头小的时候火彩反而更集中，戴出去看不出来，凑近了才分得出。

A hoop packed with small marquise-cut stones — the cheapest and highest-volume way this material gets used. At small sizes the fire concentrates, so it reads plausibly at a distance and only gives itself away up close.