Ice crackle glaze vases are produced in Longquan, a county-level city in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

Longquan celadon makers have achieved a breakthrough in ice crackle glaze products, earning strong market praise.

The new wares retain traditional aesthetics while achieving standardized quality. This success comes from Longquan's one-stop quality service, which uses precise raw-material composition testing to replace the long-standing reliance on craftsmen's empirical judgment, bringing digital and data-driven control to the ancient craft.

Previously, developing new ice crackle glaze wares took months of trial firings with low success rates due to unstable ingredient ratios.

Now, with accurate data on elements like potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium — which determine crackle formation — and iron and titanium for glaze color, R&D teams precisely adjust glaze formulas and clay mixes.

After repeated optimization with local clays, they produced celadon with regular patterns and consistent quality, and orders doubled year-on-year.

The sword-making industry similarly benefits, as properties like hardness, toughness, and sharpness are now precisely measured — replacing the old hand-feel method. Each batch of steel and finished product comes with a test report, eliminating batch-to-batch fluctuations.

Longquan also collaborates with firms on research that applies traditional forging techniques to daily-use knives and promotes new materials.

Currently, Longquan's testing capacity covers 27 categories and 94 parameters for celadon and swords, meeting most routine inspection and R&D needs.

Over 400 test reports have been issued this year, saving firms nearly 150,000 yuan ($22,318.16) in fees and boosting efficiency.