Refining
Refining an item will increase its base stats. This contrasts with imbuing which adds a specific extra stat.
Refined weapons deal more damage.
Refined armor has higher Defense.
Refined boots have more Health.
Refined helms have extra Spirit.
Refined items also tend to glow in different colors corresponding to different refinery levels.
Be warned however, that an item has a chance to be destroyed on each refinery attempt. The chance to break depends on many factors, most importantly the current refinery level. It is wise to craft a number of extra items of what you are trying to refine, in case one is destroyed in the process.
Luckily, there are auxiliary items that can be found in the Marketplace to assist in the refining process. These include Sigils, which will guarantee the success of certain refining attempts.
TIPS
It is recommended to refine your gear first, and then add imbues. That way, you don't have to worry about losing all the hard work and talismans you spent to get a high imbue level.
To avoid risking losing everything when refining a highly refined item to a higher level it is strongly recommend that you get two or more items to that level. While this may be more expensive in the short run, in the long run it will be very beneficial to not lose any progress when you break one item because you can easily switch to another of the same quality.
more at :http://jd-wiki.perfectworld.com/index.php/Refining