Naomi Shen is Editor-in-Chief at Jadeship, running the testing bench and writing most of its identification explainers. Coverage includes jadeite and nephrite identification, treatment disclosures and retail price comparisons, beginning with orders Naomi places personally. Magnified and fibre-optic inspection, refractive index, hydrostatic specific gravity, UV response and colour comparison under fixed north light form the bench record. Each bangle is worn for 30 days before scoring, and asking prices at three retailers are checked again on scoring day, bringing the tests, wear observations and current prices into the same review.
How I test
Naomi places every order personally. On arrival, the full bench sequence covers loupe and fibre-optic inspection at 10x and 30x, refractive index, hydrostatic specific gravity, long-wave and short-wave UV, and side-by-side colour comparison under fixed north light. Each bangle is worn for 30 days before its score is set, with asking prices at three retailers rechecked on scoring day.
Career timeline
| 2009 | Joined an Oakland jewelry appraisal firm as a bench assistant, cataloguing estate jade and gold jewelry. |
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| 2013 | Completed Graduate Gemologist training and began identifying and describing jadeite and nephrite pieces for appraisal reports. |
| 2015 | Promoted to senior appraiser, handling Asian fine jewelry collections and estate dispersals across the Bay Area. |
| 2019 | Founded Jadeship in San Francisco and published the desk's first hands-on bangle review. |
| 2021 | Added the hydrostatic specific-gravity rig and the UV lamp station, and formalized the five-point scoring sheet. |
| 2023 | Wrote the current retest schedule and moved all bench logs to a dated archive that supports corrections and re-tests. |
Credentials
- Graduate Gemologist (G.G.)Gemological Institute of America 2013
- Certified MemberNational Association of Jewelry Appraisers 2016











