Jade Maya

We had such a wonderful private tour with Andrea! Her English was impeccable and she informed us about all the different jades and the history specifically with regards to the Mayan culture. Very impressed! And it’s free!

Best Jade museum - shop in Antigua. Good explanation, nice museum Good quality products Knowledgeable guides Prices are reasonable Be careful there is another “jade maya” around the corner. But wasn’t that good.

It's a very nice store and museum. There are lots of displays of jade artifacts. There is even a factory area where you can see them actually cutting the jade. It's very cool and the prices are good.

Ent yesterday learned the history and had an amazing time selecting pieces I wanted. Better yet resizing rings and bracelets would only take an hour! I love my pieces and will be back again next trip to Antiqua.

I first came to Jade Maya in September and got a very nice bracelet that I truly liked. I came back to Antigua this January for a month. I went back to try to add some green Jade to my black bracelet. I had 10 black Jade remaining from my initial bracelet but also had some beads I brought from home to complete a second bracelet. I talked to them about what I was looking for (2 knot bracelets) and they had no problem with taking my order. The rep said that if there are issues or anything that needs discussed they would WhatsApp me and we could talk. Not once did I receive any communication from them. 10 days later I came back and they told me that the crafter was un able to make the second bracelet as I had requested. Their solution was to put my beads (the remaining 10 black and the 10 I brought) on a cheap elastic band but added 15 more black jade beads. Then they told me that I needed to pay an extra hundred and thirty dollars. I was confused why they wanted to upsell me and add beads to a crappy looking elastic bracelet that I never once asked for or even talked to the sales rep about. They claimed that they were afraid to break the beads I brought. I had initially told the rep that the beads I brought are black agate the hardness is a 7 out of 10 and the sizes are the same both outer and inner diameters as the black jade. After talking and voicing my concerns and a bit of a back and forth I was told that they can make the original bracelet that I had asked for once they realized I was not going to be upsold. The black and green jade bracelet is amazing and made with care. The other one I am very unhappy with. The craftsmanship is not the same and it doesn’t feel correct on my wrist I can’t even straighten it out properly and it’s deformed. From my perspective the knots are to tight and they just didn’t care about me, just the bottom line. Some stones have 3 knots some have 2 between them. There is no reason for that and it looks and feels poorly put together compared to the other. To top it all off they charged me 10$ US for a clasp which was already included in the original quote that I have in writing. I say watch out they are super nice but have a motive to milk every dollar they can from you in whatever way possible. I am very sad that I stood up for what I originally asked for and then proceeded to get a poorly crafted item. Buyer beware they have friendly people but they are not so kind to the pocket or care about the customer in the end.

Ferdinanda was so informative, kind, and helpful! She patiently taught us a ton about jade and about our Nahuatl! They had such a large collection of beautiful jewelry as well. Learning about jade was a highlight of our time in Antigua.

Lots of jade to choose from. Great service. You can visit the factory and there’s a small museum. Almost only options in silver. Almost no options in gold. And only 1-2 under $1k. Most gold choices cost a lot more than compared to market. Prices are in usd. You can pay in cash or with card. There’s an atm inside.

A stop at Jade Maya was part of our tour. Mary Lou gave an informative talk and we learned about the mining of jade, the colors of jade and how it can reflect the minerals around it. White jade is the purest; it looks like ivory. May Lou's passion is to share what she knows with the public, as well as working to restore to Guatemala pieces that were stolen during grave robberies. There is a working jade factory but we didn't spend much time there, as there was a language barrier. The gift shop is extensive and offers anything you would wish to purchase. Sales people speak very cultured English and are delighted to tell you about any piece you may show an interest in. US credit cards are accepted and I bought some earrings.