The question behind most hesitation to buy Chinese craft online is simple: is this actually what it says it is? This page sets out what we guarantee, what we pass on from the maker, and what we genuinely cannot verify — because a guarantee that covers everything is not a guarantee.
1. What We Guarantee Ourselves
- The piece you receive is the piece described. If the material, origin or method differs materially from the listing, that is our error and we refund or replace at our cost — see our Refund & Exchange Policy.
- Handwork is handwork. Where we say a piece is hand-thrown, hand-forged, hand-embroidered or hand-woven, a person did it. Where a machine was involved in a stage, we say which stage.
- We do not sell treated or composite material as natural without saying so.
2. Jade and Gemstones
Jade is the category where the gap between description and reality is widest, so we are deliberately narrow in what we claim.
- We state whether a piece is natural untreated material, and where it has been treated, dyed, or is a composite or a substitute stone, we say so in the listing.
- Where a piece comes with an independent laboratory certificate, we say which laboratory issued it and what it tested. Where it does not, we do not imply that it does.
- If a listing uses a trade term — “jade”, “Hetian”, “A-grade” — we explain what we mean by it on that page rather than relying on the word to do the work.
3. Silver and Metal
Handmade Chinese silverwork is often fine silver (commonly 999) rather than the 925 sterling used in Western jewellery. Fine silver is softer, tarnishes differently, and bends more easily — that is a property of the material, not a fault. Where a maker has stated a purity and we have no independent assay, we label it as the maker’s statement and not our own measurement.
4. Ceramics, Lacquer and Textiles
- Ceramics: we state the clay body and the firing approach where the maker tells us, and we say whether a piece is food-safe and whether it is dishwasher or microwave safe. If we have not tested it, we say that rather than assuming.
- Lacquerware: we state whether the base is wood, bamboo or fabric, and we do not describe synthetic coating as natural lacquer.
- Textiles: where a fabric is a specific regional weave or dye process — Yunnan tie-dye, gambiered Canton silk — we name it, and where it is a modern reproduction in that style, we say so.
5. What We Cannot Certify
- Age. Unless a piece is genuinely antique and we have a basis for dating it, we describe it as new. We do not sell reproductions as antiques.
- Attribution to a named master, unless we bought it from that maker or their workshop directly.
- Independent laboratory results for pieces that have not been tested. We will never describe an untested piece as certified.
- Health or therapeutic benefits. We sell craft and tea. Whatever traditional associations a material carries, we will not describe it as treating a medical condition.
6. If You Think We Got It Wrong
Email handmyth.com@gmail.com with your order number and photographs. If a piece is not what we said it was, the remedy is a full refund, and where the return costs more than the item is worth, we refund you and let you keep it. We would rather lose the item than keep a customer who feels misled.
7. Certificates and Documentation
If you need documentation for insurance, resale or import, write to us and we will tell you exactly what exists for your piece and what we can put in writing — including, honestly, when the answer is that no certificate exists.
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