Nowadays jade flowers are being copied in China like almost everything else of value. Therefore, in case you want to start a collection please beware! It took us 40 years to recognize the real thing. Be especially wary of pure white flowers which are presently available in China in large numbers. Great efforts are made to create almost perfect copies. The polishing is done at a slow speed to create the same oily look of real old flowers. Even the holes in the flowers are made just like in the old days. Drilling took a long time with the primitive methods used so when the tip of the drill did not go through to the other side quickly enough, the driller would not hesitate to knock through the remaining piece with a blow on the drill which left marks of breakage on the bottom of the flower. Modern copies often show the same breakage. The photos show some very well made modern copies Even seasoned collectors are fooled. We bought the last flower from a jeweler in Beijing. She informed us that the flower is a recent copy made of white jade. The inset is made of partly gilt silver and the small stones are supposed to be genuine emeralds and rubies. The blue stone in the center is kyanite. The quality of the workmanship is very good and the stones are mounted like real precious stones.