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The copyright for this glossary is unkown. It was downloaded as a zip file from the internet and altered. Copy at your own risk.
AB: See Aurora Borealis.
Abalone: A mollusk whose shell is pearlescent on the inside. This material can be scraped off, sliced thin, and used as inlay on a variety of jewelry, furniture, etc. These scrapings are called “mother of pearl“.
Acroite: A rare, colorless type of tourmaline.
Acrostic jewelry: A popular kind of jewelry during the Victorian era where the first letter of the name of each stone spells out a word. See Regard.
Adamantine: Having a diamond-like luster or hardness.
Adularia: A common type of moonstone, usually set as a cabochon. It is semi-translucent with a white and blue tint. Adularia was very popular in Art Nouveau jewelry.
Adventurine: A common misspelling of Aventurine.
African Emerald: An African Emerald is not actually an emerald. It is green fluorite mined in South Africa.
African Jade: African jade is not really jade, but a type of garnet strongly resembling jade that is mined in South Africa.
Agate: A variety of chalcedony quartz that is a very common and used often in jewelry. When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called agate; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called onyx. It comes in a wide range of colors including black, gray, brown, red, green, pink, blue, white, and yellow. Agate can be flecked with color, such as Moss Agate and Tree Agate, and is often banded, exhibiting layers of quartz crystals. Agate is often dyed to enhance the color and banding. There are a variety of popular agates including onyx, Eye Agate, Blue Lace Agate, Moss Agate, Tree Agate, and White Agate. (See individual listings)
Agent: A businessman who acts for, or in the place of, another to buy or sell merchandise in exchange for a commission. Also called a”Broker” or a “middleman”.
Aigrette: A feather-shaped piece of jewelry worn in the hair or on a hat. From the French word “egret”, a white heron prized for its plumage.
Alabaster: A form of the mineral gypsum which is usually white or grey in color. It is often used in sculpture, stone paneling, beads, and cabochons.
Alexandrite: A form of the mineral chrysoberyl discovered in 1830 in Russia and named after Czar Alexander II, who was then Crown Prince of Russia. Alexandrite appears to change color under different forms of light. (See Alexandrite Effect.) It looks red when viewed in candle light, green when viewed in fluorescent light, blue-green in sunlight, and reddish-purple in standard electric (tungsten) light.
Alexandrite Effect: A phenomenon in which a stone appears to be different colors depending upon the type of light it is viewed in. Many other stones, including ammolite, garnet and sapphire, exhibit the “Alexandrite Effect.” Also called Dichroism
Allochroite: A dark colored common garnet composed of iron lime.
Alloy: A compound comprised of two or more metals to increase the hardness and/or luster of the resulting product. Many alloys are found in jewelry including Alpaca, Brass, Britannia Or pewter, Britannia silver, Bronze, Coin silver, Colored gold, Electrum, Gold(under 24Kt), Green gold, Nickel silver, Niello, Pewter, Pinchbeck, Pot metal, Rose gold, Stainless steel, Sterling silver, White gold, White metal, and Yellow gold. (See individual listings)
Albite: A common white feldspar composed of a silicate of alumina and soda. It is a common constituent of granite and of various igneous rocks.
Almandine: The most common kind of garnet. It is usually deep red to red-brown and composed of alumina iron.
Alpaca (alpacca): A silver substitute alloy consisting of 55% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc, and 5% tin.
Alumina: (also called aluminum oxide). A compound of two parts aluminum and three parts oxygen which occurs naturally as corundum. Alumina is the base of aluminous salts, a constituent of feldspars, micas, etc., and the characterizing ingredient of common clay, in which it exists as an impure silicate with water, resulting from the erosion of other aluminous minerals. In a hydrated form it is bauxite. Alumina is used in aluminum production and in abrasives, refractories, ceramics, and electrical insulation.
Aluminium: An alternate spelling of Aluminum.
Aluminum: An inexpensive, lightweight, silver-white ore with a bluish tinge. Aluminum is primarily found in bauxite, is remarkable for its resistance to oxidation, and is used in many alloys.
Amazonite: A form of jadeite named for the Amazon river where it was first found in the 19th century. It is opaque and iridescent and ranges in color from green to blue-green. It is usually set as a cabochon since it breaks easily if faceted. It can also be found in Colorado, Virginia, the Ural Mountains of Russia, Australia, and Africa. Some rare crystals are transparent.
Amber: The fossilized resin of conifer trees. The most common colors are honey yellow and various shades of red, but can also be off-white, black, and blue. Amber is easily simulated using plastics, but real amber produces static electricity when rubbed.
American Ruby: See pyrope garnet.
Amethyst: A common form of quartz. Amethyst is usually purple, but can range in color from pale lavender to a very deep, reddish purple and may have milky white or green inclusions. Deeper-colored amethysts are more highly valued. The name comes from the Greek for “not drunken” as wearing amethyst was believed to be a proof against becoming intoxicated. The amethyst is said to bring good luck and to radiate love. Amethyst is the birthstone for February. Some variants are Cape amethyst and Ametrine.
Ametrine: A mixture of amethyst and citrine, it is partially purple and partially orange-yellow.
Ammolite: (also known as Buffalo Stone, calcentine, or korite) is the fossilized shell of the ammonite, an ancient cephalopod. It can be used as a gemstone and is a gray, iridescent stone with flashes of blue, green, purple, red, or yellow. (Blues and purples are rare.) The color changes as the stone is viewed from different angles. It is only found in southern Alberta, Canada.
Amorphous: A gem lacking a distinct crystalline structure such as amber, ivory, and jet.
Amphibole: A common mineral composed of silicate of magnesium and calcium, (with usually aluminum and iron), which occurs in monoclinic crystals and comes in many varieties, each varying in color and in composition. The color varies from white to gray, green, brown, and black. Jade is a form of Amphibole.
Amulet: A pendant or charm carried as a protection from evil or illness or to bring good luck.
Andradite: A garnet used as a gemstone of the grossular family consisting of calcium iron silicate and having any color ranging from yellow and green to brown and black.
Angelite: A pale blue variety of calcium sulfate. (A gypsum that has lost water and transparent to translucent).
Angelskin Coral: A highly valued pale pink coral.
Anklet: A bangle or bracelet worn around the ankle instead of the wrist. Anklets tend to be slightly larger than bracelets.
Anneal: The process of hardening glass, pottery, or metal by alternately heating and pounding it.
Anniversaries: The chart below lists the most recognized traditional gifts and jewelry used to commemorate wedding anniversaries:
| YEAR | TRADITIONAL | JEWELRY | |
| 1 | Paper, clocks | Gold | |
| 2 | Cotton, china | garnet | |
| 3 | Leather, crystal | Pearl | |
| 4 | Linen or silk | Blue Topaz | |
| 5 | Wood, silverware | Sapphire | |
| 6 | iron, wood | Amethyst | |
| 7 | Wool or copper, desk sets | Onyx | |
| 8 | Bronze | Tourmaline | |
| 9 | Pottery or china | Lapis | |
| 10 | Tin or aluminum | diamond | |
| 11 | Steel | Turquoise | |
| 12 | Silk | Pearls, colored gems | |
| 13 | Lace | Citrine | |
| 14 | Ivory | Opal, Gold jewelry | |
| 15 | Crystal | Ruby, watches | |
| 20 | China | emerald, platinum | |
| 25 | Silver | Sterling silver | |
| 30 | Pearl | diamond | |
| 35 | Jade | Jade, Emerald | |
| 40 | Ruby | Ruby | |
| 45 | Sapphire | Sapphire | |
| 50 | Gold | Gold | |
| 55 | Emerald | Emerald | |
| 60 | Diamond | Diamond |
Anodized: An “anode” is the positive end of an electrical circuit. In the anodization process, a metal object is placed in an acid bath and an electrical current is passed through the tank. The process causes oxygen atoms to bond to the surface of the metal giving it a thin protective film and a lustrous sheen. Aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and tantalum are often anodized.
Antique Jewelry: Jewelry made more than 100 years ago.
Antiqued: Jewelry that has been made to look aged, having a darkened or tarnished appearance.
Antiquing: Darkening the recessed areas of gold or silver jewelry to enhance the visibility of engraving.
Anulus pronubus: See Betrothal Ring.
Apache Tears: A glassy type of obsidian found in lava flows in the southwest USA. Apache tears are usually black, but occasionally red, brown, gray, green (rare), dark with “snowflakes,” or even clear.
Apatite: A form of calcium phosphate that is a clear to opaque and comes in many colors including green, yellow, blue, violet, and yellow-green (called asparagus stone). Some apatite stones are chatoyant, like the stone tiger’s eye. It is usually too brittle and soft to be used in jewelry.
Applique: An ornamental object which was produced separately and then applied to a piece of jewelry.
Aqua Aura: Quartz crystals coated with a fine layer of gold, aluminum, or copper, which gives them a beautiful iridescent blue finish.
Aqua Regia: A 3:1 mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid used to test gold and platinum It is one of the few substances that can dissolve gold or platinum.
Aquamarine: A member of the beryl family, like emeralds. Aquamarine is transparent blue or sea-green. The name comes from a Latin phrase meaning “water of the sea.” Aquamarine is found all over the world, including Brazil, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Madagascar. It was thought to bring its wearers knowledge, foresight and inspiration.
Aragonite: Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate, (like coral or marble), named for Aragon, Spain, where it was first found in 1790. It is transparent to translucent and can range in color from honey-colored to pale reds, blues and greens to clear or white. It forms hexagonal crystals, pyramidal crystals, chisel shaped crystals, and other shapes. It is not often used for jewelry.
Arcade Setting: (Also called coronet or châton setting). Refers to when a gemstone is set in a metal ring and secured by many metal claws.
Arctic Opal: Is not an actual opal, but a blue-green stone mined in the Wrangle and Chugach Mountains of Alaska that is a mixture of azurite and malachite.
Arizona Ruby: See pyrope garnet.
Arizona Spinel: A garnet found in Arizona that resembles a spinel.
Arkansas Diamond: Not a real diamond but a form of clear rock crystal.
Arkansas Stone: An abrasive used to smooth metals in jewelry making.
Art Deco: A popular style of jewelry from the mid-1910’s until the mid-1920’s originating in Paris, France. Art Deco pieces are characterized by geometric lines and angular shapes, zigzags, bold colors, molded or faceted Czech glass beads, plastics (like celluloid or Bakelite) and chrome. Colored stones were utilized more, and the opaque stones such as jade, onyx and coral were set in geometric shapes. Sleek animals such as Borzoi and Greyhound dogs were featured in some designs. It started out with relatively delicate designs, and progressed to a more bold and blocky style called Art Moderne.
Art Nouveau: A classification of popular jewelry created from the late “Victorian” period through the “Edwardian” period, about 1880-1910, exemplified by a flowing style of jewelry consisting of fluid lines, sinuous curves, floral and nature themes and natural colors. A common motif features long-haired, sensual women.
Articulated: Jewelry constructed with hinges to make it flexible.
Arts and Crafts: An artistic design movement that began in the late 1800s by jewelry designers who felt that their work should look handmade. Although some pieces were made of gold, silver was more commonly used to emphasize the craftsmanship of the piece rather than the intrinsic value of the components. Pieces purposely look hand-made, incorporating hammer marks and using less expensive stones like moonstone, mother of pearl, agates, or amber in simple cabochon settings. The Arts and Crafts movement also revived the art of enamel work.
Asparagus Stone: A yellow-green form of Apatite.
Assay: A test of the purity of an alloy by scraping a bit of metal from the piece and determining the percentage of gold or silver. A piece that meets the standards of purity is given a hallmark for use outside of the U.S.
Asscher, Joseph: An eminent diamond cutter from Amsterdam who cut the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond. In 1902 the Asscher Diamond Co. developed and patented the Asscher cut.
Asscher Cut: A squarish step cut with an almost octagonal outline which enhances the fire and light of the stone. It features a small table, a high crown, wide step facets, a deep pavilion and square culet. This cut became very popular in Art Deco jewelry and was a forerunner of the emerald cut.
Asterism: A star-like luminous effect caused by reflections of light in some stones, like Star Sapphires and Star Garnets.
ATW: Stands for the Approximate Total Weight, in carats, of a gemstone.
Aurora Borealis: Aurora borealis means “northern lights”. AB rhinestones have a special iridescent finish that shines with many colors. The iridescent surface is a result of a very thin layer of metallic atoms that have been deposited on the lower surface of the stone via a process invented by the Swarovski company together with Christian Dior in 1955.
Australian Ruby: See pyrope garnet.
Austrian crystal: Trade name for lead crystal cut with precise edges and angles at the Swarovski factory, located in Wattens in the Austrian Tyrols, by a glass-cutting machine invented by Daniel Swarovski in 1895. Austrian crystals are known for their quality, brilliance, and clarity. See Crystal.
Aventurine: (sometimes known as goldstone). Often mistaken for jade, aventurine is a granular green or blue semi-translucent to mostly opaque quartz stone with mica flecks that cause a slight metallic iridescence.
Aventurine Feldspar: See Sunstone.
Aventurine Glass: A shimmering glass containing tiny copper flakes invented in Venice, Italy, around 1700.
Aventurine Quartz: A type of quartz found in India, Russia, and Tanzania that contains sparkling flecks of mica or iron.
Awabi Pearl: The Japanese name for Pearls found in abalone mollusks.
Axinite: An unusual, lustrous stone that is bi-colored in brown, yellow, blue, green or gray. Violet axinite, from Tasmania, is rare. It is used only as a mineral specimen and not in jewelry.
Axis Of Symmetry: (also called a rotational axis). An imaginary line around which an object can be rotated a certain number of degrees and still resemble the original shape. When two planes of symmetry intersect, they form a straight line, which is the axis of symmetry. Symmetry is one of the factors jewelers look for when grading cut stones. See Four C’s.
Azurite: A copper-based mineral that is often used in jewelry ranging from very deep blue to pale blue. Azurite is also used as a dye for paints and luxury fabrics.
Azurite Malachite: Malachite is often found in the same mineral deposits as azurite. Azurite Malachite is simply a mineral which contains both forms of stone and has bands of light and dark blue.
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Baddeleyite: A mineral with the same chemical composition as cubic zirconia. It is powdered, melted down, and mixed with oxides to make cubic zirconia.
Baguette: A gemstone cut in a narrow rectangular shape reminiscent of a loaf of French bread, from which it draws its name. Small diamonds cut this way are often used as accents for rings and necklaces.
Bail: A metal loop used for connecting a pendant, watch, stone or other jewelry piece to a chain or cord.
Bakelite: (also called catalin): A moldable plastic invented by Leo Bakeland in 1909, it was used in jewelry extensively during the U.S. Great Depression of the 1930’s. Bakelite can be molded, lathe-carved, and one color can be inlaid into another, as in polka dots. The inlaid and carved pieces are especially popular with collectors today. It has a distinct scent when rubbed similar to formaldehyde.
Bale: See Bail.
Band: A ring, (such as a traditional wedding band), that has the same width all the way around.
Bangle: A rigid bracelet that slips over the hand, or hinged oval worn over the wrist that closes with a clasp.
Bar Brooch: A bar shaped, (long, narrow), brooch which is often set with gemstones or pearls.
Bar closure: A hinged bar which fits into a catch and is secured in the catch with a pin.
Baroque: A pearl with an uneven or craggy shape and/or surface. Also an irregularly shaped stone or glass bead.
Barrel clasp: A method of securing two ends of a chain together by having one half of a fitting screw into the other half. When the two halves are screwed together they resemble a barrel.
Basalt: A dark volcanic rock, often with a glassy appearance, composed chiefly of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine.
Base Metal: The collective term for any and all non-precious metals.
Basket: A fancy setting with a lacy or basket-looking appearance due to numerous holes pierced in the side.
Bauxite: A clay-like mineral, bauxite is the principal ore of aluminum. It is composed of aluminum oxides and aluminum hydroxides. Bauxite is used as an abrasive, a catalyst, and a refractory for the lining of furnaces which are exposed to intense heat.
Bead: A small, usually round, object with a hole pierced through it to be strung as a necklace, bracelet, etc. Beads are commonly made from stone, shell, glass, or plastic.
Belle Epoque: See Edwardian.
Belly Ring: A form of body jewelry worn in or on the belly button.
Beryl: The name of a family of stones, composed of a silicate of aluminum and glucinum (beryllium), that includes aquamarine, emerald, and morganite.
Beryllium: Another name for Glucinum.
Betrothal Ring: A tradition dating back to as early as ancient Rome where it was called an anulus pronubus, a betrothal ring is usually a plain ring without a stone presented by a man to his fiancée indicating their intention to marry.
Beveled: Any surface that is cut at an angle less than 90 degrees.
Bezel: Although it is now often used to refer to the entire ring setting, the bezel is more accurately the term for the metal case which the gem is set into. The ring of metal that surrounds the stone is called the “collet”.
Birthstone: Birthstones have their roots in ancient astrology, and there have been many birthstone lists used over the years. The most common one today is based on a list first publicized by the Jewelers of America in the 1950s:
January – Garnet
February – Amethyst
March – Aquamarine
April – Diamond
May – Emerald
June – Pearl or Moonstone
July – Ruby
August – Peridot
September – Sapphire
October – Opal
November – Citrine
December – Turquoise (or Blue Topaz)
Black Hills Gold: A style of jewelry made in the Black Hills area of South Dakota featuring 10kt yellow gold with accents of 12kt rose and green golds usually featuring a grape and grape-leaf motif.
Black Onyx: Opaque black colored onyx.
Black Prince’s Ruby: Not an actual ruby, but a ruby-red color of spinel.
Blemish: A flaw, such as a nick or scratch, on the surface of a stone.
Blister Pearl: A pearl that forms attached to the shell.
Bloodstone: A variety of chalcedony that is dark green red spots resembling blood.
Bloomed Gold: The term used for gold jewelry that has been immersed in an acid bath giving it a textured, slightly matte appearance.
Blue Lace Agate: A translucent light blue agate with milky white banding.
Blue Topaz: A topaz that is light brown or colorless when mined but turns a vivid blue when exposed to heat. Blue Topaz is an alternate birthstone for December.
Body Jewelry: Jewelry designed to be worn on or in any part of the body. While all jewelry is technically worn on the body, the term “Body Jewelry” is typically used when referring to belly rings, nose studs, toe rings, tongue bars, and for jewelry designed for pierced lips, eyebrows, nipples, or any skin surface.
Bohemian Garnet: Term for the red pyrope garnet found in much Victorian and turn of the century jewelry.
Bolo: A braided leather loop worn about the neck and adorned with a slide, (an ornament of silver, stone or other material fastened so that it slides up under the chin), leaving the two leather ends hanging.
Bombé: The word itself simply means “curving or bulging outward”. In regards to jewelry it refers to a dome-shaped setting often seen in rings and earrings from the 1940s and 1950s.
Book Chain: A Victorian style of chain made in gold, gold filled , and sterling silver, in which each link is a rectangular, folded piece of metal resembling a book. They were often elaborately engraved and had large lockets attached.
Boron: A soft, brown, nonmetallic element. It is extracted with some difficulty and in its reduced state appears as a substance of a deep olive color, in a semi-metallic form, and in colorless quadratic crystals similar to the diamond in hardness and other properties. Boron is used in flares, propellant mixtures, nuclear reactor control elements, abrasives, and hard metallic alloys.
Bow-Guard: Originally just a wide leather strap worn on the left wrist to protect the arm from bow strings, it is now usually decorated with a wide ornament of silver.
Box Clasp: A method of connecting two ends of a chain. One end has a box with an opening which is notched on the top of the box. The other end has a flat piece of metal which has been folded over to form a spring with a knob at the end. The folded metal spring slips into the hole in the box with the knob sticking out through the notch in the top. The compressed spring holds the two ends in place. It is released by pressing the knob. The connection is usually reinforced by a figure 8 catch.
Box-and-tongue clasp: See Box Clasp.
Box Chain: A chain in which each link is wide and square so that it resembles a box.
Bracelet: A form of jewelry worn around the wrist.
Brass: An alloy made up of roughly half copper and half zinc which has a nice yellow color.
Bridal set: An engagement and wedding ring that come in a set and usually match or compliment each other.
Brilliance: The amount of sparkle a stone gives off through reflection and refraction of light.
Brilliant-cut: A cut gemstone having 56 to 58 facets to maximize the volume of light that is reflected from the inside and thus produce the greatest brilliance. The most common shape of brilliant cut stones are round, which is why this is type of cut is sometimes called a “round-cut”, but oval, marquise, pear shape and heart shapes are not unusual.
Briolette: A gemstone cut with triangular facets into the shape of a teardrop or elongated pendant.
Britannia Or Pewter: An alloy of tin, antimony, and copper with a dull silver-color.
Britannia Silver: A silver alloy composed of 958 parts silver in 1000 hallmarked with the figure of Britannia. Britannia silver was mandatory in England from 1697 to 1720 to prevent the melting down of sterling coins to create silver objects.
Broker: See Agent.
Bronze: A very dense and heavy alloy of 60% copper and 40% tin. It has a dull brown color and is not favored for jewelry because of the weight.
Brooch: An ornamental piece of jewelry with a pin and clasp to be attached to clothing, from the French word “broche”, meaning “to pierce” or an object/weapon made for piercing.
Bruiting: The term for shaping the girdle of a diamond, the first step in the cutting process.
Brushed Finish: (Also known as “satin” finish). A series of tiny parallel lines scratched onto a surface with a wire brush or polishing tool to produce texture
Bud Leaf: The slang term given to the leaf of the cannabis plant, which is the plant used to make hemp products. It is a popular motif in modern jewelry. Also called a “marijuana leaf”.
Buffalo Stone: See Ammolite.
Burnish setting: A setting in which the gem is set flush with the setting‘s surface without using prongs to hold it in place.
Buttercup setting: A deep six prong setting with prongs that flare from the scalloped looking base resembling a buttercup flower.
Butterfly Chain: A chain composed of very tiny butterfly-shaped links with oval-shaped “wings”. The butterflies are linked head to tail at a slight angle very close to one another so that the wings form a long continuous spiral along the length of the chain.
Butterfly clutch: A fitting that slides onto the back of an earring post to secure it in place.
Button: A method of joining two parts of a garment together by means of a toggle fastened to one side of the garment which is then pushed through a slit in the other side of the garment. The toggle, called a “button”, is usually a disk and may be quite ornamental. Some buttons are worn strictly as decoration rather than serving a functional purpose. The term “button” is also applied to round pins that usually bear a slogan of some kind.
Button Earring: An earring with no dangling parts.
Byzantine Chain: An intricately designed chain. Two pairs of oval-shaped links are linked together. Each pair is then parted to allow a large thick oval link to be attached to the other pair.
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“C” catch: The most common means of securing a brooch before 1900 or so when “safety catches” were invented. The pin connected to one side of the brooch is threaded through a layer of the garment and rests in a “C” shaped catch on the other side of the brooch. The “C” had no mechanism to hold the pin in place and so the pins were usually designed to be long enough to extend far enough beyond the end of the brooch to weave back into the garment for security.
C-OX: A green cubic zirconia (CZ) stone.
Cable Chain: A chain made of round linked rings of uniform size. This tends to be what most people think of when they think of the word “chain“. It is the same style of chain as the cable used to anchor large ships to a dock.
Cabochon: From the French “caboche”, meaning “knob/small dome”, a cabochon is a stone cut into the shape of a small dome in a round, oval, rectangle, triangle, or teardrop shape without any facets. This style is commonly used with opaque to translucent stones such as opal, moonstone, jade and turquoise. Some transparent stones such as emeralds, amethyst and garnet, are also sometimes fashioned as cabochons. An almandine (garnet) cabochon is called a “carbuncle”.
Calcentine: See Ammolite.
Calcium: A silvery-white, moderately hard metallic element which is the fifth most abundant element comprising approximately 3% of the earth’s crust, and is a basic component of most animals and plants. It burns with a brilliant light and occurs naturally in limestone, gypsum, and fluorite.
Calibré Cut: Small stones cut in an oblong shape and set close together.
Cameo: A type of jewelry in which the stone around a design is cut away leaving the design in relief, typically against a contrasting background. Cameos are often made of shell and coral, although hard stone cameos such as agate, onyx, and sardonyx are more valuable. Cameos have been carved from the Hellenistic period, and ancient motifs such as the goddess Athena or a Baccante, (follower of Bacchus), were popular cameo subjects in Victorian times through the 1930’s. The opposite of a cameo is called “Intaglio“.
Cameo habille: A cameo in which a miniature diamond pendant, or some other adornment, is attached to the carving.
Cannetille: A wirework decoration which uses coiled and twisted gold wire to achieve a delicate scrolling effect.
Cape Amethyst: A form of Amethyst layered or striped with milky quartz.
Carat: One of the 4 C’s of diamond grading. Abbreviated “ct.” and spelled with a “c” is a measure of weight used for gemstones, (as opposed to karat with a “K”, which is a measure of the purity of a gold alloy). One carat is equal to 1/5 of a gram (200 milligrams). Stones are measured to the nearest hundredth of a carat. A hundredth of a carat is also called a point. Thus a .10 carat stone can be called either 10 points, or 1/10 of a carat. Small stones like .05, and .10ct are most often referred to by point designations. A one carat round diamond of average proportions is approximately 6.5mm in diameter. Note that this relationship of weight and size is different for each family of stones. For example ruby and sapphire are both heavier than diamond (technically, they have a higher specific gravity, so a 1 carat ruby or sapphire is smaller in size than a one carat diamond.)
Carbon: A non-metallic element that occurs in all organic compounds and many inorganic compounds. Carbon is combustible and has the interesting ability to bond with itself, as well as with many other elements.
Carbon Spots: Diamonds are carbon that has been compressed over time. Carbon spots are a kind of flaw, or “inclusion“, found in diamonds showing as black spots inside the clear diamond.
Carbonate: A substance treated with carbon dioxide, such as limestone.
Carbuncle: An almandine (garnet) cabochon.
Carnelian: A translucent red or orange variety of chalcedony, sometimes banded red and orange like an agate. Once believed to benefit the wearer’s health and love life. Most carnelian comes from Brazil, India, Siberia, and Germany.
Casting: A means of reproducing an object by making a mold of it and pouring metal, plaster, or some other material that sets over time into the mold. See Centrifugal casting, Electrotype, Lost wax process, and sand casting.
Catalin: See Bakelite.
Cat’s eye: Any of a variety of gems, such as chrysoberyl and some forms of chalcedony, that are chatoyant when cut in a rounded shape.
CE: Common Era, or in the Christian calendar, AD, anno domini, meaning “in the year of our Lord”.
Cell Enameling: See Cloisonné.
Celluloid: A plastic derived from cellulose, a natural plant fiber, first synthesized around 1870 as a synthetic ivory. It can be cut, rolled, folded, perforated, ironed, turned, or embossed when heated, but cannot be injected. Celluloid is flammable and deteriorates easily if exposed to moisture. jewelry made of celluloid was often set with rhinestones. Hair combs and other dresser articles are still often made of celluloid today. Also called French ivory, Ivoride, Ivorine, Ivorite, and Pyralin
Celtic Revival: Jewelry made during the mid-nineteenth century reflective of the styles of jewelry used in early Ireland based on archaeological artifacts.
Center Stone: Usually a diamond, (or other gemstone), that is the prominent center piece in a ring setting.
Centrifugal Casting: A method of casting jewelry in which molds are attached to the outside edge of hollow tube. Metal is poured into the tube and as the tube is spun at high speed centrifugal force pulls the molten metal into the molds.
Certification: A grading report given to a precious stone by a reputable and recognized laboratory that defines the physical characteristics and quality rating of a gem. See Assay and IGI
Chain: A strand of linked loops, rings, or beads used for bracelets or necklaces. Popular types of chain include: Book chain, Box, Butterfly, Byzantine, Cable, Cuban, Curb, Figaro, Figogucci, Foxtail, Herringbone, Marina, Mariner, Mesh, Omega, Panther link, Rolo, Rope, San Marco, Serpentine, Singapore, and Snake. (See individual listings.)
Chalcedony: A family of colored quartz stones including agate, onyx, carnelian, cat’s eye, and jasper that commonly have a milky or waxlike luster. When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called agate; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called onyx.
Champlevé: A type of enameling in which powdered glass is placed in areas of a piece of jewelry that have been carved away specifically for this purpose before firing. The glass powder melts filling the carved areas with solid glass.
Chandelier Earring: An earring with a drop suspended like a chandelier. Also called a “Drop Earring” or “Dangle Earring”.
Channel Inlay: A design similar to enameling in which stones, rather than melted plastic or glass, are cut to shape and set into the recesses of a piece of jewelry. Commonly seen with jewelry using mother of pearl and turquoise.
Channel Set: A style of setting in which a number of uniformly sized small stones, usually of the round cut, princess cut or baguette shapes, are set side by side in a grooved channel. Unlike most setting methods the stones are not secured individually with prongs and there is no metal visible between the stones.
Chaplet: A garland, wreath, or ornamented band worn around the head. Chaplets are made of metal with repoussé decoration or embellished with gemstones and pearls.
Charm: A pendant or trinket worn on a bracelet, earring or necklace.
Charm Bracelet: A chain link bracelet with charms attached to it. (It’s not a charm bracelet until it has charms attached.)
Charm Ring: A ring with a charm attached to the ring band.
Chasing: A method of decorating the front, (or outside), of metal objects by making indentations using shaped punches and a chasing hammer. The opposite of chasing is repoussé.
Chatelaine: French for “Lady of the House”, a chatelaine is an ornamental chain or pin worn at a woman’s waist from which dangle keys, trinkets, scissors, needle cases, pencils, purse, etc. Chatelaines may be utilitarian or beautifully decorated and made from precious materials like silver.
Chaton: A cone shaped rhinestone or crystal.
Chaton setting: See Arcade setting.
Chatoyant: A stone having a changeable luster due to the way it reflects light, such as the cat’s-eye or tiger’s eye gemstones. From the French “chatoyer”, meaning to shimmer like cats’ eyes, from the French “chat” meaning “cat”.
Chevron setting: A chevron is a design found in heraldry resembling a shallow inverted “V”. In jewelry design, a “chevron setting” is reflective of the heraldic chevron in that it is made up of lines in a shallow inverted “V” pattern.
Chloride: Any compound containing a chlorine atom.
Chlorine: An abundant element which, when isolated, appears as a poisonous, greenish-yellow gas with a disagreeable odor. It occurs naturally only as a salt, as in sea-water. Chlorine is used widely to purify water, as a disinfectant and bleaching agent, and in the manufacture of many important compounds including chloroform and carbon tetrachloride.
Choker: A close fitting necklace worn tight around the neck like a collar.
Chrome: A hard, brittle, grayish white metal, fusible with difficulty and resistant to corrosion. Its chief commercial importance is for its compounds, as potassium chromate, lead chromate, etc., which are brilliantly colored and are used dyeing and calico printing. The common modern usage is for very shiny metal objects like chrome bumpers, etc.
Chromium: A lustrous, hard brittle, steel-blue metallic element, resistant to corrosion and tarnishing. It is used in the hardening of steel alloys and the production of stainless steels, in corrosion-resistant decorative platings, and as a pigment in glass.
Chrysoberyl: (also called “cat’s eye“) A rare, hard, yellow-green mineral consisting of alumina and glucina, (beryllium aluminate), in crystal form. It is popular as a gemstone for its chatoyant qualities.
Chrysolite: (Also called “olivine” and “peridot“) A mineral composed of silica, magnesia, and iron sometimes used as a gem. Chrysolite ranges in color from a light pea green to a deep olive green and an oily shine. It is common in certain volcanic rocks and meteorites. Mystics have claimed that this lustrous green stone drives away evil and has special healing properties. The name chrysolite has been used in the past for yellow varieties of tourmaline and topaz.
Chrysoprase: An apple-green colored variety of chalcedony.
Cigar band: A very wide band-style ring.
Cinnamon stone: A brown or yellowish-brown variety of garnet more properly called “essonite”.
Cire-perdue: see Lost wax.
Citrine: Named after the French word for lemon, “citron”. Citrine is often incorrectly called quartz topaz or citrine topaz. A variety of quartz, citrine is found in light yellow, amber-brown, and a brilliant orange that may be confused with fine imperial topaz. Most citrine comes from South America. In ancient times, citrine was revered as a gift of the sun and believed to be a powerful antidote to a viper’s venom. Citrine is the birthstone for November.
Claddagh Ring: First crafted by Master Goldsmith Richard Joyce in 1689, it is named after Claddagh, the fishing village he lived in at the time, which overlooks Galway Bay. The ring belongs to a class of rings called “Fede” or “Faith rings”, which date from Roman times and were popular in the Middle Ages throughout Europe. Whereas “Fede” rings have only two clasped hands, symbolizing faith, trust, or “plighted troth”, Claddagh rings have two hands clasping a heart, symbolizing love, surmounted by a crown, symbolizing loyalty. The ring worn on the right hand with the heart turned outward indicates that your heart is yet unoccupied. Worn on the right hand with the heart turned inward indicates that love is being considered. Worn on the left hand the with the heart turned inward shows everyone that your heart is truly spoken for.
Clarity: One of the 4 C’s of diamond grading. Gemstones with the highest clarity contain few or no inclusions (imperfections) in the stone’s crystalline structure. Clarity is graded with a 10x magnifier. The clarity rating of a diamond ranges from FL (flawless) to I (inclusions visible to the naked eye).
Clasp: A device used to connect two ends of a necklace, bracelet or watch strap. Popular types of clasps include: Barrel, box, Lobster claw, and Spring ring clasps. (See individual listings).
Class Ring: A ring that commemorates graduating from high school. It is usually engraved with the name of the school, the year of graduation, and a gem featuring one of the school’s colors.
Claw Setting: A way of securing a stone in its mount using small prongs that surround it.
Cleaning Jewelry: The safest and easiest way to clean most jewelry is with a detergent bath. Swish together warm water and any mild liquid detergent. Clean the jewelry with a soft brush while it’s in the suds, then rinse it under warm running water. Pat it dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. Avoid using brushes, which can scratch gold. Never boil gold, and avoid using ammonia, toothpaste, a powder cleanser or scouring pads. Keep gold away from chlorine, lotions, cosmetics and perm solutions, since these products may discolor or dissolve gold alloys. gemstones rarely need cleaning unless they become dirty from hand lotion, hairspray or other products. They can be cleaned using a soft cloth with mild soap and water, but rinse well. If you are using a silver or gold jewelry dip solution, most are safe for gemstones, but read the label to make sure. Do not boil gemstones. Do not wear pearls while applying cosmetics, hair sprays or perfume. It’s best not to wear pearl strands while bathing, because water can weaken the string. Wipe pearl strands with a damp cloth after each use. Do not clean cultured pearls with chemicals, abrasives or jewelry cleaner.
Clear Quartz: (More commonly called “Rock Crystal”). A colorless transparent mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form. See Quartz.
Cleavage: Cleavage is the tendency which a stone has to fracture along its crystal structure.
Clip-on: A piece of jewelry designed to be attached by means of a clip, such as a clip-back earring.
Clip-back Earring: A hinged ring with a pad, called a “comfort back”, at one end to secure the earring to the earlobe without requiring that the ear be pierced.
Cloisonné: Occasionally called “cell enameling“, it is a type of enameling in which compartments made of thin strips of metal soldered onto a metal plate are filled with powdered glass prior to firing. The glass powder melts filling the compartments with solid glass.
Cloud: A form of inclusion, “clouds” are white milky areas that can found in the diamond.
Cluster: Several stones grouped together in a jewelry setting.
Cluster Brooch: A brooch developed in the 14th century in which a large central gemstone is surrounded by a cluster of smaller gemstones and pearls.
Cluster Earring: A decorative earring made up of a cluster of glass and/or metal beads and stones
Cluster Ring: A ring featuring a central gemstone surrounded by a number of smaller stones.
Clutch: A device that is slid along a post to secure a piece of jewelry, such as the earring back of a stud for pierced ears.
Cocktail Ring: A large oversized ring set with precious or semiprecious stones popular during the 1940s and 1950s.
Coiffe: A net made of gold or silver threads, decorated with gems or pearls worn on the head.
Coin Silver: A silver alloy that is 80% silver and 20% copper. Many European silver pieces are coin silver and are marked “800”, indicating that 800 parts out of 1000 are silver.
Coin-style edge: see Milgrain edge.
Collar: A necklace worn close around the neck. See also “choker”.
Collet: The ring of metal that surrounds and secures the stone in a bezel setting.
Color: One of the 4 C s of diamond grading, the term “color” actually refers to the absence of color in a diamond. A diamond acts like a prism letting light pass through, refracting back to the human eye, into a rainbow of color. The color scale breaks up the subtlety and various grades of a diamond’s color from purest white to yellow and brown. The letters D through Z are used to designate a diamonds color with D being colorless and Z-graded stones having a lot of color.
Colored Diamond: Diamondss can be found in a full spectrum of colors. Colored or “Fancy” diamonds are simply referring to diamonds that are not white.
Colored Gold: An alloy of gold and other metals producing rose, yellow, white, and green shades.
Comfort back: A rubber or plastic pad that goes over the clip end of a clip-on earring to cushion the earlobe.
Comfort Fit: A ring that adds to the comfort of the wearer by being curved on the inside of the shank.
Compass Ring: A rotating ring that can be used to determine compass direction by using the position of the sun and the time of day.
Commemorative Wares: Items used to commemorate an important or historical event, such as a battle, coronation, or wedding.
Concave: Concave simply means “curving inward”, like the inside of an egg shell. The opposite of Convex.
Concha: One of the ovals of a segmented silver belt or bridle. Also a reference to the belt itself. Now commonly called a “Concho Belt.” From the Spanish word “concha”, meaning “shell”.
Concho: See Concha.
Condition, Excellent: A piece of jewelry in Excellent Condition will show reasonable evidence of wear, and have a fine patina.
Condition, Fine: A piece of jewelry in Fine Condition may show slight wear, but not enough to have developed a patina.
Condition, Good: A piece of jewelry in Good Condition will show substantial evidence of wear. It will have a noticeable patina which may include numerous very fine pits or lines. It will not have cracks, chips, obviously discolored or poorly replaced stones, evidence of glue or other repairs, or other evidence of hard wear considered to be damage. Damage of any kind is separately detailed in the item description, and generally items with damage appear at very reduced prices in the Bargain section.
Condition, Mint: A piece of jewelry having no signs of wear whatsoever, including no discolored stones. A piece that is in Mint Condition is in virtually the same condition as it was when it left the manufacturer. Considering that vintage jewelry is usually 50 or more years old, and that it likely has been worn, it is obviously quite rare to find a piece that is truly in Mint Condition.
Convex: Simply means “curving outward”, like the surface of a ball. The opposite of Concave.
Copper: A common reddish-brown metallic element, copper is the only metal which occurs abundantly in large masses as opposed to small veins or nuggets that must be mined out of other rocks. It is also found in various ores such as chalcopyrite, chalcocite, cuprite, and malachite. When alloyed with tin it forms bronze, and when alloyed with zinc it forms brass. Copper is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is widely used for electrical wiring, as well as water piping and corrosion-resistant parts. When in moist conditions, a greenish layer forms on the outside. It has been extracted and used for thousands of years. The name is derived from the Greek “kupros” (the island of Cyprus), called “Cyprian brass“, and known by the Romans as ‘cuprum.’
Coral: Coral is a form of calcium carbonate, (like aragonite or marble), secreted in long chains by coral polyps, who live in colonies under the ocean. Coral can be found all over the world, but the bulk of coral used in jewelry making has always come from the waters off Sardinia and the coast of Sicily, in the Mediterranean. Coral comes in colors from vivid orange, red, and white, to salmon and pale pink (called angelskin coral). In jewelry making, coral is either carved into beads, cameos, and other forms, or is left in its natural branch-like form and just polished. During the mid-Victorian era large cameo brooches of coral finely carved in high-relief floral sprays or faces were popular. It used to be thought that coral protected the wearer, so it was a traditional gift to children. Since it is composed of calcium carbonate, real coral will effervesce if touched with acid. Imitation coral is made from glass, porcelain, or plastic and will not effervesce when touched with acid.
Corallium rubrum: A valuable red coral introduced to the Indians by the Spanish.
Cord belt: A thick belt worn on the waist, usually with a caftan.
Coronet: A small or inferior type of crown worn by a person of high rank but lower than a sovereign.
Coronet setting: See Arcade Setting.
Corundum: The name of a family of stones composed of crystallized aluminum and oxygen that includes rubies and sapphires. The color of these stones depends on the oxides present in their composition. Corundum is one of the hardest minerals second only to diamonds rating a 9 on the Mohs scale. See alumina.
Cowrie Shell: The highly polished and brightly marked shells of tropical marine gastropods of the genus Cypraea, some of which are used as currency in the South Pacific and Africa. Small cowrie shells are commonly used as beads in jewelry.
Crimp Bead: Small soft metal beads that are squeezed shut to secure clasps onto the ends of cords or chains.
Crown: The upper part of a cut diamond or stone above the girdle.
Crown Height: A measurement of the distance from the girdle to the table on a diamond or other cut stone.
Crystal: A fine, high-quality glass invented in 17th century England. In order to be considered crystal rather than simple glass, the product must contain at least 10% lead oxide. The lead oxide is attributed to providing the glass with extraordinary qualities of brilliance, sound and a suitable texture for cutting or engraving. Some of the finest crystal ever made is from Baccarat in France (est. 1816) and Waterford in Ireland (est. 1729).
Crystalline: A substance composed of crystals or resembling crystal in transparency, structure and outline.
Crystallize: To cause a material to form crystals or to assume both the internal structure and external form of a crystal.
Cuban Link Chain: A standard cable chain with oval shaped links that are each decorated with a twisting pattern resembling rope.
Cubic Zirconia: (CZ) A clear, hard, mass-produced gemstone cut to resemble a diamond. The mineral baddeleyite has the same chemical composition, but to become a CZ the mineral must be heated to almost 5000 degrees Fahrenheit and have an oxide stabilizer such as yttrium or calcium added to keep it from reverting back to its original form when cooled. Almost all the rough CZ’s in the market are composed of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide, both of which are naturally white but combine to form a brilliant clear crystal. Like diamonds, the best cubic zirconia gems are colorless but colored forms are also manufactured. Vivid green CZ is sometimes referred to as C-OX, and CZ in numerous colors is frequently sold under various tradenames, such as the yellow CZ from Ceylon called “jargon“. Cubic zirconia gemstones are cut in the same fashion as diamonds, and like diamonds the size of the gemstone is usually indicated by its weight in carats. The stone can also be measured in millimeter diameter size. Because the cubic zirconia stone is so dense and solid, it outweighs a diamond of the same millimeter size, weighing 1.7 times more than a diamond of the same millimeter diameter. It is also not as hard as a diamond rating only an 8 on the Mohs scale. Natural skin oils, soap, and dirt cause a film that dulls the beauty and luster of the cubic zirconia, just as it dulls real diamonds. The best cleaning agent for cubic zirconia is liquid dishwashing detergent, but other gem and jewelry cleaners can also be used.
Cuff Bracelet: A wide rigid bangle with a narrow opening on one side to allow the the wrist to pass through.
Cuff link: A decorative fastener worn to close the cuff of a shirt that provides holes on the cuff for the cufflink rather than closing with buttons.
Culet: The tiny flat facet on the tip of the pavilion of a cut gemstone.
Cultured Pearl: A means of duplicating the organic process of natural pearl creation invented by Kokichi Mikimoto circa 1893. A tiny irritant like a bead, grain of sand, or a piece of mother of pearl from another mollusk can be inserted into the opening of an oyster or mollusk. This irritant becomes the nucleus of a pearl once that mollusk secretes a lustrous substance (nacre) to cover the foreign body. An oyster or mollusk can take between five to seven years to secrete enough nacre to produce a jewelry quality pearl.
Curb Link Chain: A chain composed of oval-shaped links that are twisted and often diamond-cut so they lie flat.
Cushion Cut: A stone that is cut to look like a square or rectangle with rounded edges. The cut is usually multi-faceted to give the highest possible light refraction.
Cut: One of the 4 C’s of diamond grading, “cut” refers to the shape and style of a polished gem. How a diamond is cut has a lot to do with the stone’s fire and brilliance. A diamond that is cut either too shallow or too deep will not be as brilliant as a properly cut diamond.
Cut glass: Any glass whose surface has been cut into facets, grooves and depressions by a large, rotating wheel. Wheel cutting glass was developed in the 8th century BC, but the technique of faceting wasn’t perfected until the 18th century in England. Although cutting glass is a costly and difficult process, the brilliant effects are extraordinary!
CZ: See cubic zirconia.
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Damascening: Designs made of gold, silver, or copper decorating a base metal.
Danalite: A reddish mineral composed of iron, zinc manganese, glucinum and sulphur occurring in massive octahedral crystals. Danalite is named after James Dwight Dana.
Dangle Earring: An earring that dangles below the earlobe. Also called a “Drop Earring” or “Chandelier Earring”.
Deco style: A term derived from the style of “Art Deco” for jewelry typified by abstract designs and linear, geometric patterns but not necessarily created during the Art Deco period.
Demantoid: A small, rare, bright and glittering green variety of garnet of the andradite family first mined in the mid-nineteenth century.
Demi-hoop: see Half-hoop design.
Demi-hoop style: see Half-hoop design.
Demi Parure: A set of two or three matching pieces of jewelry, usually consisting of a necklace, pin, bracelet, or earring.
Depose: The rights or patent granted for an exclusive jewelry design in France.
Depth: The measure of a cut gemstone from the tip of the pavilion to the table.
Diadem: A semi circular jeweled ornamental head band or fillet worn by Eastern monarchs as a badge of royalty.
Diamante: A faceted, glittery glass bead like a rhinestone or strass.
Diamond: A clear transparent precious gemstone composed of pure crystallized carbon which has been highly compressed over millions of years. Diamonds are the hardest substance known to mankind, rating a 10 on the Mohs scale. They are valued because it is difficult to produce a faceted diamond and when properly cut they have high refractivity and brilliance. The quality and value of a diamond is rated using the “4 C’s” of color, cut, clarity and carat weight. (See individual listings). The diamond is the birthstone for April.
Diamond accent: Jewelry that has one or more diamonds with a combined carat weight of less than one-fourth of a carat.
Diamond Cut: In the context of gemstones, it means the same as “Brilliant cut“. In the context of diamond cut objects, (usually metal objects), it means that part of the object has been cut into a flat diamond shape.
Diamond-cut rope: A chain in which a portion of the chain link is cut into a flat diamond-shaped face and polished to a high shine.
Diamonique: A registered trade mark belonging to QVC Inc., and the brand name they choose to use for cubic zirconia.
Dichroism: The property possessed by some crystals of exhibiting two different colors when viewed from different angles. See Alexandrite, Ammolite, Iolite, Opal.
Dichroite: See Iolite.
Dinner ring: Another name for a Cocktail ring.
Diopside: A crystallized silicate of lime and magnesia found in igneous rocks which ranges in color from clear, grayish green to almost black.
Dioxide: A compound containing two oxygen atoms per molecule.
Disc Earring: A round flat stud attached to the earlobe with a post and clutch.
Dispersion: (or “fire”). The prism of light refracted from within a finished diamond or stone. The better a diamond or stone is cut or faceted, the more colors are emitted from the stone as it is turned.
Distributor: Somebody, such as a wholesaler, who markets or sells merchandise to a retailer rather than directly to the consumer. See also jobber.
Diva Fashion: The term “diva” was originally applied only to prima donna opera singers, but it has come to be used for any female who takes great pride in being a woman. “Diva fashion” is designed to be worn exclusively by women and is usually quite flashy, extravagant, and effeminate, exemplified by necklaces with lots of beads, pearls, and/or faceted stones.
Dog Collar: A broad choker worn tightly around the neck above the collarbone, just like a dog’s collar, that often incorporated parallel strands of pearls, beads, stones, diamonds, and platinum to great effect. It was made popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods by Queen Alexandra, who had a long graceful neck.
Domed: A piece of jewelry with a convex shape, thicker in the center and tapering at the edges.
Door Knocker Earring: An earring with a hinged bottom that hangs below the earlobe.
Doublet: A method of combining two inexpensive stones and/or glass to imitate more valuable gemstones. For example, a green glass bottom with a garnet top will give the appearance of a fine emerald because the top is a natural gemstone with cut facets, and a few natural imperfections, and the bottom is bright green which reflects throughout the stone.
Dress Clip: A brooch that uses a hinged clip or two-pronged pin to fasten the article to clothing. They were popular during the 1930s and 1940s and often made in pairs.
Dress Set: A set of gentleman’s jewelry composed of, usually matching, cufflinks, shirt studs, and sometimes vest buttons.
Drop: A small, usually teardrop shaped, ornament which dangles from a piece of jewelry.
Drop Earring: Any earring which hangs below the earlobe. Also called a “Chandelier Earring” or “Dangle Earring”.
Dropshipping: A method of selling an item whereby an individual retailer will advertise, sell, and collect the money for it, then contact a larger merchant or warehouse where the item is actually stored and have them ship the item to the consumer for a percentage of the profit. The consumer usually does not know that the larger merchant or warehouse is involved in the process at all. A great way of starting a home-based internet business.
Duette: A combination of two clips on a pin back. Duette was a registered design by Coro, but is now used generically for this design.
dwt: The symbol for “pennyweight”, or 1/20th of a troy ounce, approx 1.555 grams.
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Ear Cuff: A wide decorative ring with a gap designed to be pinched onto the ear without need for piercing. Ear cuffs may be pinched onto any part of the ear, not just the earlobe.
Earring: Jewelry worn on the earlobe.
Earring back: A disk or bead that fits over an earring post and holds the earring securely in place, like a catch.
Earring jacket: A small piece of jewelry with a hole pierced in the center designed to be held onto the ear with a stud earring.
Edwardian: Refers to the period during the reign of Edward VII of England (1901-1910), but the style has it’s beginnings during the final years of Victoria’s reign, and continued until shortly before World War I when the more geometric influences later to be called Art Deco began to make headway. In jewelry, this period was characterized by delicate filigree in white gold and platinum, with diamonds and pearls predominating, and colored stones used less frequently, producing a light, monochromatic look. Delicate bows, swags, and garland effects were used in necklace and brooches. Both dog collars, and long fringed necklaces were also “in”, being popularized by the graceful, long-necked Queen Alexandra.
Egyptian Revival: Jewelry that evokes the feeling of ancient Egypt in its use of styles, symbols, and motifs. It was popular in the 19th century when archaeological finds in Egypt were making headlines and filling museums with artifacts.
Electroplated: Jewelry that has been coated with gold through the process of electroplating. The gold plating eventually wears away.
Electroplating: The process of covering a base metal with a thin film of gold by setting it in a chemical solution through which an electric current flows to coat it with precious metal.
Electrotype: Electroplating applied to a mold. The gold is then peeled away from the mold producing a cast object made of pure gold.
Electrum: An alloy of gold and silver that occurs naturally.
Element: A substance that cannot be broken down into different kinds of matter. For example, water is composed of the elements oxygen and hydrogen.
Emerald: A rich green gemstone of the beryl family. Fine emeralds are among the most valuable gemstones. Emeralds are created when chromium combines with various impurities. Unlike most gemstones, inclusions, (called “jardin,” the French word for garden), are quite common in emeralds, so they lower the value much less than with other precious stones such a diamonds. As a remedy to lessen the appearance of common flaws, emeralds may be oiled or dyed. The most highly prized emeralds are mined in Columbia. A valuable emerald will be a bright, vividly colored green. Those with a slight blue cast to the bright green are actually the most valuable color. Many emeralds seen in jewelry are of relatively low quality. If an emerald appears to be very fine, it may actually be a synthetic. There are several types of synthetic emeralds on the market, and some of them are challenging to identify, even for a trained gemologist. Emeralds have long been regarded as a symbol of fertility, rebirth and springtime. They were believed to protect the wearer from the perils of long journeys. Emerald is the birthstone for May.
Emerald cut: (Also referred to as “table–cut” or “step-cut“). A rectangular or square shaped cut with chamfered corners and stepped facets, typically parallel to the girdle. This cut is also used for precious stones other than emeralds.
En Tremblant: A moveable, trembling effect generally achieved through the use of coiled springs of metal mounted to the brooch fitting, often found in antique brooches or hair ornaments.
Enamel: Colored, opaque glassy material fused onto metal, pottery or glass. In its simplest terms, all enamel is produced by fusing colored powdered glass to metal to produce a vitreous or glass-like, decorative surface. See Enameling.
Enameling: A decorative technique in which a vitreous pigment of metallic oxide is mixed with finely powdered glass is applied to the surface of a metal–normally bronze, copper, silver or gold. This glass composition adheres to the metal through fusion under very high temperatures. The color of the enamel and its degree of transparency depend on the metal oxides that exist in the glass and the temperature at which the glass melts and coheres to the surface. Popular during the mid-Victorian period was a solid black, blue, or white enamel used to fill engraved designs. See Arts and Crafts, champlevé, cloisonné, faberge, filigree enamel, guilloche, and plique-a-jour.
Engagement Ring: A ring set with a gemstone, (usually a diamond), that is traditionally given to a woman by a man to signify their intention to be married.
Engrave: To decorate metal by gouging a design with graver’s tools; embellishing metal or other material with patterns using a stamping tool or drill. This was a popular technique in mid-Victorian jewelry. The resulting depressions were often filled with colored enamel in a technique called champlevé. Also refers to inscribing a dedication or monogram to identify a piece. Stamped pieces can be designed to imitate hand engraving. Under magnification, the design is much more sharp in a hand engraved piece, with subtle irregularities.
Engraving: Any pattern design or mark that is cut into a piece of jewelry with a special engraver’s tool; The process of cutting or carving lines into a surface.
Enhanced: Nearly all gemstones available today have been enhanced to bring out their best color or to strengthen them. For example, an accepted industry practice in the polishing process for sapphires involves heating the stones to bring out their color. This process simply extends what nature began, since it is heat and pressure that give gemstones their color in the first place.
Epidote: A silicate of alumina, lime, and oxide of iron, or manganese. It is commonly of a yellowish green (pistachio) color.
Essex crystal: See Reverse Crystal jewelry.
Essonite: (Also called “Cinnamon stone”) A brown or yellowish-brown variety of garnet.
Estate Jewelry: The term does not necessarily refer to jewelry that has come from an estate, but simply jewelry that has been previously owned.
Etched: Very faintly carved decoration scratched onto the surface of a piece.
Eterna Gold: A trademarked name for a type of 14k gold that is more durable, more luminous and more resistant to tarnishing than other 14k gold products
Eternity Ring: A ring set with a continuous line of gemstones.
Etruscan Revival: Like Egyptian revival, which drew inspiration from the archaeological digs in Egypt, Etruscan revival was a popular style of jewelry in the 19th century that drew its inspiration from the archeological discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii. See Granulation
Etui: French for “case”, an etui is a small, usually ornamental, case for holding articles such as needles, scissors, tweezers, and other articles of toilet or of daily use.
Euclase: A silicate of alumina and glucina occuring as light green, transparent crystals with a brilliant clinodiagonal cleavage. Named after the Greek word “euklas”, in French “euclase”, meaning “to break”, because it is so brittle.
European Cut: A style of diamond cutting popular from approximately 1890 to the 1930s typified by a round girdle, a smaller table in relation to the diameter of the stone, and a large culet. The large culet appears to create a hole at the bottom of the diamond when viewed from the top, since the large culet lets light escape instead of reflecting back to the viewer.
European wire: A means of attaching an earring to a pierced earlobe with a curved wire which passes through the earlobe and clasps shut.
Excellent Condition: A piece of jewelry in Excellent condition will show reasonable evidence of wear, and have developed a fine patina. See condition.
Export: To carry, send, or transport a commodity abroad for trade or sale.
Extender Chain: A chain which may be attached to another chain in order to increase the length.
Eye Agate: An agate that when cut at the right angle reveals a series of concentric rings resembling an eye. Unlike other agates which are categorized by their color, this agate is distinguished by the pattern. Eye agates come in a large variety of colors.
Eyepin: A type of finding, an eyepin is simply a long piece of wire with a loop, or “eye”, at one end, resembling a needle with an extra-large eye. Beads are strung along the wire to settle on the loop so that they don’t fall off the other end. The long end is then crimped or attached to another finding, such as an ear hook.
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Faberge: Legendary Russian goldsmith and jeweler to the Czars of Russia who created ornate gifts, notably a series of jeweled and enameled Easter eggs for European royalty.
Facet: Facets are the small flat surfaces of a polished diamond or gemstone. These polished, flat planes are a major determining factor in enhancing the diamond’s ability to sparkle or reflect light.
Faceted: A gemstone carved with a regular pattern of many planes, or “facets“.
“Facets of Fire”: Keepsake’s patented diamond cut with 74 facets that gives off more light and greater scintillation than a round-cut diamond.
Faith Ring: See Fede Ring.
False Topaz: A name for yellow quartz.
Family Jewelry: Jewelry embellished with the name and birthstone of a member of the family, or sometimes just the birthstone. See also Mother’s Rings.
Fancy Cut: A term used for gems that are cut in a shape other than the standard round-cut, such as single cut, marquise, emerald, pear, heart, oval, square, baguette, triangle, etc. Also called fancy shape.
Fancy Diamond: A diamond found in a color other than white, including yellow, blue, green, red, and purple.
Fancy Jasper: An opaque gemstone, the stone varying in shade from a pastel green to forest green, pink to purple-red and yellow-gold in color, frequently in the same stone.
Fancy shapes: Gemstones cut in any way other than round-cut. Another term for Fancy cut.
Fantasy Cut: Stones cut in fancy shapes. See Fancy cut
Faux: (Pronounced like “foe”) French word meaning false, fake, imitation or artificial. In a manufacturing context, faux is used to indicate something made to resemble something else. Faux marble looks like marble. Faux bois looks like wood. Faux porphyry looks like stone.
Feather: A kind of inclusion in a diamond, usually only a tiny crack. Although they may have no affect on the strength or beauty of the diamond whatsoever, these feathers, or “fissures” as they are sometimes called, can make a stone more fragile and susceptible to cracking depending on the depth or location.
Fede rings: (or “Faith rings“) Are distinguished by having the bezel cut or cast in the form of two clasped hands, symbolizing faith, trust or “plighted troth”. Fede rings date from Roman times and were popular in the Middle Ages throughout Europe.
Feitsui: The Chinese name for a highly prized variety of pale green jade; the royal stone of China.
Feldspar: A family of minerals which are all silicates of alumina with either potash, soda, or lime. They’re usually white or nearly white, flesh-red, bluish, or greenish, and occur in crystals and crystalline masses, vitreous in luster, and breaking rather easily in two directions at right angles to each other. The feldspars are essential constituents of nearly all crystalline rocks, such as Granite, gneiss, mica, slate, most kinds of basalt and trachyte, etc.
Fetish: An amulet, pendant or charm, often representing an animal or person, believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner.
Fetish Necklace: A necklace with shell and/or turquoise beads that has charms in the shape of small animals or birds along it’s length.
Fibula: An ancient and often ornamented clasp or brooch used in ancient Greece and Rome to fasten clothing. It usually consists of piece of bowed metal with a pin connected to one end with a hinge. The pin is pushed through the clothing to hold it together and is secured into the other end of the bow behind a catch plate. A fibula is sometimes referred to as a ‘safety-pin brooch’.
Filigree: A design made with thin wire intricately interlaced or bent into rosettes, spirals, or vines. The wire is typically gold or silver and may be plain, twisted, or plaited. There are two major styles of filigree. The first is to solder the wire to a metal base. This style was used in Byzantine, Carolingian, Ottonian, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and 13th century German and Italian jewelry. The second style is to leave the wire as an openwork design without a metal backing, which is characteristic of European jewelry until the 15th century. Filigree was used on Jewish marriage rings as well as Spanish and Portuguese peasant jewelry. In England it is found on some mourning rings.
Filigree Enamel: A type of decoration similar to cloisonné enameling but having the cloisons made of twisted wire, (rather than flat strips of metal), soldered to the base and filled in with opaque enamel. After the powdered enamel in the spaces is fused and, upon cooling, has contracted, the wire shows above the surface.
Figaro Chain: Similar in style to a curb link chain, but the links alternate between a long one and three round ones instead of uniform links.
Figogucci Chain: A mariner link chain where the links are twisted and diamond-cut so they lie flat like a curb link chain.
Figure 8 safety catch: A type of safety catch in which a hinged wire in the shape of a figure eight snaps over a pin. The wide end of the eight connects at the bottom to the hinge, and the smaller end of the eight slips over the pin to hold the clasp closed.
Fimo: A German-made polymer clay that comes in over 30 colors and can be hardened by baking in a standard oven. Beads made from fimo have become popular in modern jewelry.
Findings: All types of construction components used in jewelry making such as clasps, pins, hooks, tabs, etc.
Fine Condition: A piece in Fine Condition may show extremely slight wear, but not enough to have developed a patina.
Finial: A sculptured ornamental knob, often in the shape of a leaf, flower, or fleur-de-lys, at the terminal end of an object.
Finish: The way the surface of a piece is polished or textured. The finish of a diamond refers to the polish on the external surface of a diamond. When a diamond or stone is well cut and polished, it is said to have a beautiful finish. Finish is also used to describe the polish or texture applied to a metal. Common finishes include high polish, matte or brushed.
Finish, Florentine: A surface in which parallel lines are engraved in one direction, then crossed with lighter perpendicular lines resembling brush marks. Also called brushed finish
Finish Jewelry, High Polished: Jewelry which is shiny, smooth and reflective.
Finish Jewelry, Matte: With jewelry which has a matte finish the designer uses either a chemical process or an abrasive material to scratch the top layers of the piece creating a dull and non-reflective surface.
Fire: See Dispersion.
Fish hook: A fishhook-shaped finding used to make earrings. The hook end hangs from the lobe of a pierced ear.
Fissure: A fracture or crack in the surface of a stone.
Fleur-de-lys: From Old French “flor de lis”: flor (flower) + de (of) + lis (lily). A stylized three-petaled iris flower, used as the armorial emblem of the kings of France. It is commonly found in jewelry items.
Florentine Finish: A surface in which parallel lines are engraved in one direction, then crossed with lighter perpendicular lines resembling brush marks. Also called brushed finish
Fluorescence: A property possessed by diamonds, fluorspar, uranium glass, sulphide of calcium, and many other substances, of glowing without appreciable rise of temperature when exposed to ultra-violet rays, cathode rays, X rays, etc. This fluorescent glow is not always considered when grading a diamond for quality (using the standard Four C’s); it is an inherent characteristic of a diamond.
Fluoride: A binary compound of fluorine with another element or radical.
Fluorine: An element of the halogen class of elements which is only found in nature combined with other substances. It is found combined as calcium fluoride in fluorite, and as a double fluoride of aluminum and sodium in cryolite. Fluorine is very active chemically, (the most electronegative and most reactive of all the elements), and possesses such an avidity for most elements, especially silicon, that it can neither be prepared nor kept in glass vessels. This is why even though it was first identified by Scheele in 1771, it was not isolated until 1886 by Moissan. When isolated, fluorine is a pale-yellow, highly corrosive, flammable, poisonous, gas.
Fluorite: A mineral composed of calcium fluoride which is found in many different colors such as white, yellow, purple, green, red, etc. Often very beautiful, crystallizing commonly in cubes with perfect octahedral cleavage. See African Emerald.
Fluted: A long, usually rounded groove incised as a decorative motif. Commonly seen on Greek and Roman columns.
Fob: A short chain or ribbon attached to a pocket watch, often with an ornament or decorative seal attached to the end.
Foil: A paper thin sheet of metal placed behind a crystal or glass stone to intensify the brilliance of the stone. See Foilback.
Foilback: A method of coating the back of a stone with silver, gold, or colored foil. This enhances the brilliance of the stone, by reflecting back as much light as possible. It is commonly seen in costume jewelry. A foilbacked rhinestone whose foil has been damaged, (often from water creeping in), does not sparkle anymore and is said to be a “dead” stone, lowering the value of the piece. Before, modern, highly reflective cuts were developed, even diamonds were foilbacked.
Foldover Clasp: A clasp used on a necklace or bracelet with a box on one end and a V-shaped tongue on the other. The lid of the box opens to reveal a small hook. The tongue slips over the hook and then the lid of the box is snapped closed to secure the tongue in place.
Fool’s Gold: See pyrite.
Fossilized: A piece of bone, wood, or other organic matter that has become petrified and hard like a stone over time.
Four C’s: The method by which a gemstone is measured for quality. The Four C’s are cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. See individual listings.
Foxtail Chain: An intricately woven chain made up of three rows of links. The top and bottom row are oval-shaped links lying on each other at a 45 degree angle, but not linked together. The center row is a set of flat connecting rings set at an opposing angle and flush with each other which bind the top and bottom row together.
Fracture: A type of inclusion in a diamond or stone. A crack or feather in a different direction than its naturally occurring crystals.
Fracture filling: A type of enhancement where tiny fractures in a gemstone are filled.
French Back: See Screw back.
French Ivory: A plastic produced to simulate ivory. It was first produced by the Xylonite Company in 1866. Other names include Celluloid, Ivoride, Ivorine, Ivorite and Pyralin.
French Jet: Black glass which is made to resemble real jet. Glass is heavier and colder to the touch compared to real jet.
French wire: A curved wire resembling a fish hook which passes through the pierced earlobe and has a catch closure. It is mostly used with dangling earrings due to their extra weight.
Freshwater Pearl: A pearl produced by a mollusk that inhabits fresh water, such as a lake or river, as opposed to sea water. These pearls are usually shaped like an uneven grain of rice and unlike the saltwater oyster, which normally produces only one or two pearls, each mussel can simultaneously produce many. Freshwater pearls are grown in many countries such as the United States, Japan, China and Ireland. Natural freshwater pearls are found in a variety of colors including blue, lavender, violet, rose and gray. They can also be dyed to enhance or change their color. Freshwater pearls are much cheaper than their seawater cousins since they produce several pearls at once and do not require an irritant to be inserted to produce a pearl.
Full Cut: see Brilliant cut.
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Gadroon: A series of small vertical, diagonal or twisted grooves applied as a border decoration on silverware.
Gallery: A type of mounting with a pierced, openwork design resembling the gallery, (rear platform), of an early sailing ship.
Garland Style: A jewelry style popular in the early 20th century made possible by the introduction of the widespread use of platinum and characterized by lightness and delicacy that employed motifs such as garlands, ribbon bows, swags, and tassels.
Garnet: A family of stones having many varieties differing in color and in their constituents, but all are silicates with the same isometric crystallization and conforming to the same general chemical formula. Garnet is a very commonly found in gneiss and mica slate. The name is derived from its resemblance in color and shape to the seeds of the pomegranate. The most common color of garnets range from light red to violet or plum-red, but can also be white, green, yellow, brown, and black varieties. It seems as though every shade and color of garnet is given its own name. Known varieties of garnet include Andradite, Tsavorite, Grossularite, Essonite, Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartite, Melanite, Allochroite, Ouvarovite, Demantoid, and Rhodalite. (See individual listings). Garnets have a hardness that varies between 6-8 on the Mohs scale. It was believed that the wearer of garnets was kept in good health and protected while traveling. Garnets are worn to signify truth and faith. Red garnet is the birthstone for January.
Gem: (Gemstone). A precious or semiprecious stone that may be used as a jewel when cut and polished. Include diamond, beryl, emerald, chalcedony, agate, onyx, tourmaline, chrysolite, sapphire, ruby, spinel, topaz, turquoise, zircon, cubic zirconia, jacinth, hyacinth, carbuncle, amethyst, alexandrite, cat’s eye, bloodstone, hematite, jasper, moonstone, sunstone, and many others. Several organic materials like coral and pearls are also considered gemstones.
Genuine: Unless the word “genuine” is included in the description of a piece of jewelry, it could simply be using the term to describe the color of the piece rather than its actual content. For example, “gold” meaning gold toned, rather than actual gold. (See below) Or “amethyst” meaning amethyst colored, rather than containing an actual amethyst stone.
Genuine Pearl: A smooth, round growth used as a gem, a “genuine” pearl is one that formed naturally within the shell of a mollusk due to an irritant rather than having the irritant placed into the mollusk by hand or being made out of plastic.
Gilding: An object decorated with a thin layer of gold, gold leaf or gold foil.
Gilt: Gold plated.
Girandôle: A style of earring or brooch in which a large stone or decorative element suspends three smaller pear-shaped pendants of similar design.
Girdle: The outermost edge of a cut gem when viewed from the side and top. It is the edge formed by where the top section (crown) and the bottom section (pavilion) of the cut stone meet.
Glucinum: (Also called “Beryllium”) A rare silver-white metallic element resembling magnesium. It is only found in nature combined with other elements, usually silica or alumina, in the minerals phenacite, chrysoberyl, beryl, euclase, and danalite.
Gneiss: A form of granite, but having the component materials, especially the mica, arranged in planes so that it breaks rather easily into coarse slabs or flags.
Gold: A yellow precious metal which is valued for its beauty and purity since it does not oxidize or tarnish like most other metals. It has been used for coins and jewelry for over 6000 years and from this has become regarded as a symbol of wealth. Gold is very ductile and is the most malleable of all metals. It can be cast into huge statues or beaten into wafer thin sheets of gold leaf. This malleability makes it too soft to be used in jewelry without being alloyed with other metals. (See Karat).
Gold electroplating: Process by which sheets of gold of at least 10 karats and no less than seven-millionths of an inch thick are electro-chemically bonded to another metal.
Gold Filled: (Also “Goldfilled”, or “gold-filled”, abbreviated g.f.) A piece of jewelry with a layer of gold mechanically applied to the surface of a base metal, (like brass or copper), can be called Gold Filled if the amount of gold equals one-twentieth of the total weight of the piece. Victorian pieces are likely to be unmarked, but later pieces are marked with the fineness of the gold layer, and the part by weight of the gold. For example a piece marked “1/10 12K G.F.” is composed of at least 1/10 12K gold based on the weight of the finished piece. An older unmarked gold piece may often be identified by wear through to base metal, especially when viewing corners or edges under magnification. Look for a change to a darker, brassy colored material at these spots.
Gold plated: A piece of jewelry with a wafer thin coating of gold electroplated or mechanically plated onto a base metal.
Gold Tone: Jewelry finished with a gold color with almost no appreciable measurement of weight in actual gold.
Gold Washed: Products that have an extremely thin layer of gold, (less than .175 microns thick), applied by either dipping or burnishing the metal, but not plated.. This will wear away more quickly than pieces that are gold plated, gold-filled, or gold electroplated.
Golden finish: Jewelry finished so that it has the look of gold, but no actual gold content.
Golden Valadium: Stainless steel that has been electro-charged to resemble real yellow gold.
Goldstone: See Aventurine.
Good Condition: A piece of jewelry in Good Condition will show substantial evidence of wear. It will have a noticeable patina which may include numerous very fine pits or lines. It will not have cracks, chips, obviously discolored or poorly replaced stones, evidence of glue or other repairs, or other evidence of hard wear considered to be damage. Damage of any kind is separately detailed in the item description, and generally items with damage appear at very reduced prices in the Bargain section.
Gothic revival: Jewelry that evokes the feeling of medieval Europe in its use of styles, symbols, and motifs. It began in the 18th century as part of the romantic movement.
Gram Weight: The weight, in grams, of a specific metal used in a piece of jewelry.
Granite: A common igneous rock composed of quartz, orthoclase, and hornblende, often accompanied by pyroxene or mica. It is called granite because of the granular surface. Granite is frequently used for buildings and monuments.
Granulation: A technique often used in Etruscan Revival jewelry, granulation is the application of minute granules or grains of metal to the surface of a piece of jewelry to form a decorative pattern.
Greek key: A design motif attributed to the ancient Greeks symbolizing the bonds of love, friendship and devotion. Greek key designs are repeating patterns of interlocking geometric shapes.
Green gold: An alloy made of gold mixed with copper, silver, zinc and often cadmium. The copper is what gives it the greenish tinge. It is commonly used with enameling to strengthen the color of the gold when set beside the bright enamels.
Greenstone: See Nephrite.
Grooved: The channel routed in a line.
Grossular: Resembling a gooseberry, as with a grossular garnet, also called Grossularite.
Grossularite: A translucent garnet of a pale green color like that of the gooseberry, occurring alone or as a constituent of the common garnet. It may also be pink, brown, or black.
Guilloché: A style of enameling in which a continuous decoration is engraved by an engine-turned lathe and then covered with translucent enamel so that the engraving can be seen through the enamel.
Gypsum: A soft, white mineral composed of hydrous sulfate of lime. It is used as plaster of Paris.
Gypsy setting: A setting in which the surface of the mount is virtually flush with the top of the gemstone.
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Hair Jewelry: A style of jewelry popular in the mid-19th century. Lockets of the hair of loved ones were preserved in brooches under glass. The hair was sometimes intricately curled or woven. These pieces were often inscribed on the back to identify the donors. Later in the century, hair was woven into watch chains, bracelets, and earrings and given as tokens of affection. All forms of hair jewelry are very collectible today.
Half-hoop: A bangle, bracelet, or ring in which only half of the circumference of the piece is set with stones.
Half-hoop design: An earring which resembles a ring but does not form a complete circle.
Hallmark: A form of consumer protection against fraud, hallmarks are simply marks stamped onto a precious metal by a legally appointed official after assaying to denote the amount of precious metal contained in a piece. European hallmarks are legally required and date back to the early middle ages. Marks are not officially required in the US but are carried by custom and practice. Marks may indicate the purity of the metal, the maker, the country of manufacture, and/or the date that the piece was assayed or had its design registered.
Hammered: A texture applied to the surface of an object with a hammer to give it a dimpled look.
Hardness: The measure of a stone’s ability to resist scratching, surface inclusions, abrasions or cracking. See Mohs scale.
Hardstone: The term used for any opaque stones used in making cameos, intaglios, or mosaics, such as agate, carnelian, onyx, etc.
Head: The prongs that secure a stone onto a setting.
Heart Cut: A “fancy cut” diamond or stone in the shape of a heart.
Heishi: (hee-shee). The oldest form of jewelry in New Mexico, pre-dating the introduction of metals. The literal meaning of heishi is “shell” and specifically refers to pieces of shell which have been drilled and ground into beads and then strung into necklaces. Centuries ago, the shells used by the Pueblo Indians to make beads were obtained in trade from the Gulf of California. The most commonly used are seashells of all kinds–dark and light olive shells, spiny oysters, mother of pearl, and melon shell. Coral and stones such as lapis, turquoise, jet, pipestone and serpentine are also used to create exquisite contemporary heishi necklaces. A string of good heishi will have a uniform consistency. If you gently pull it through your hand, it should feel like a single serpent-like piece. See Liquid silver and Olivelia Shells.
Heliotrope: See Bloodstone.
Hematite: Iron ore consisting of ferric oxide in crystalline form, hematite is silvery, shiny opaque stone that becomes a red powder when ground down. It manifests in splendent rhombohedral crystals that are very heavy and cold to the touch.
Hemp: Any plant of the Cannabis family. The fibrous skin is used for making cloth and rope. Hemp rope has become popular for necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. It is usually strung with brightly colored beads.
Herringbone Chain: A chain made up of short, flat, slanted parallel links with the direction of the slant alternating row by row resembling the spine of the herring.
Hessonite: A variety of garnet which is yellow in color. Also called “Cinnamon Stone“.
Hidden box clasp: A box clasp hidden under the last link of chain so that when the chain is closed it looks uniform, except for the release lever.
High polish: A piece of jewelry that has been polished to a mirror-like finish.
Hoop Earring: An earring made from metal wire or tubing that has been shaped like a hoop. Charms and other ornaments are sometimes hung from the hoop.
Hopi Overlay: Jewelry made by Hopi Indians that employs a method of creating jewelry called the Overlay technique. See Overlay technique.
Hue: The specific color classification given to an object based on the seven colors found in the spectrum; red, orange yellow, green, blue, indigo, or violet. For example, garnets are found in a variety of shades of red from pink to plum, but all of these shades fall under the “hue” of “red”. The more internally consistent a stone’s hue is, the more valuable the stone is considered to be.
Hyacinth: A variety of Zircon used as a gem which can be brown, red, orange, or an amber-like combination of yellow/orange/brown.
Hydrous: Simply means “combined with water”; especially water of crystallization.
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I.D. bracelet: I.D. is short for “Identification”, so an I.D. bracelet is simply a curved plate engraved with the name or initials of the person wearing it.
IGI: Stands for the “International Gemological Institute”. It is the largest independent gem certification and appraisal service in the United States.
Igneous: A substance produced under conditions involving intense heat, such as that which is found in volcanoes. Igneous rock is rock formed by solidification from molten magma.
Import: The act of bringing or carrying in goods from an outside source for trade or sale, especially in regards to goods from a foreign country.
Inclusion: A naturally occurring flaw, (feather, fracture, fissure, carbon spot, or cloud), within a diamond or other stone. The test for clarity looks for these flaws.
Indicolite: Blue Tourmaline.
Ingot: Metal cast into a bar or other shape.
Inlaid: Past tense of inlay.
Inlay: A decorative technique in which part of the surface of a piece of jewelry, furniture, or ceramic is cut away and stone, mother of pearl, or some other substance is imbedded into the hollowed-out area so that it is level with the surface of the piece. See also channel inlay.
Intaglio: Italian for “carving”, an Intaglio is a carved gem wherein the design is engraved or carved into the object so that it sits below the surface plane of the material, as opposed to a cameo in which the design is raised from it’s background, in relief. This technique was often used for seals, which made a raised impression in wax used to seal a letter or authenticate a document. It was commonly attached to watch fobs, since the watch fob is a good manner of carrying a seal. Once seals fell out of common use, the intaglio tended to face out to the viewer rather than down as on a seal. Some of the most commonly found Victorian intaglios were carved in carnelian, an orange-brown variety of chalcedony.
Invisible Set: A method of setting square gemstones side by side in two or more rows within a metal border or frame so that they are flush against one another with no metal separating them.
Iolite: (also called dichroite or water sapphire). A silicate of alumina, iron, and magnesia which is usually violet-blue, but can be deep blue, light blue-gray, and yellow-white. Makes a beautiful transparent gemstone which is remarkable for its dichroism.
Iridescent: A display of lustrous rainbow-like colors. The colors seen in an oil slick or mother of pearl are good examples of iridescence. Synonymous with “Pearlescent”.
Iridium: A metal of the platinum family often alloyed with platinum to improve workability. Pieces marked “80% Plat. 20% Irid” would indicate that the alloy is 80 % platinum and 20% iridium.
Iron: The most common metallic element which usually appears dark brown, from oxidation or impurity, but when pure is silvery-white. Iron is found abundantly in nature, usually in combined forms such as hematite, limonite, magnetite, and taconite. It is frequently alloyed in a wide range of important structural materials like cast iron, steel, and wrought iron. It is easily oxidized (rusted) by moisture, and is attacked by many corrosive agents.
Iron Pyrite: See Pyrite.
Irradiation: The process of bombarding a gemstone with X-rays, gamma rays or streams of subatomic particles in order to change the stone’s color.
Ivoride: See French Ivory.
Ivorine: See French Ivory.
Ivorite: See French Ivory.
Ivory: A hard, smooth yellowish-white substance made from the tusks of elephants and walruses.
Ivory, French: See French Ivory.
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J hoop: A hoop earring in which the hoop is elongated into a shape resembling the letter J rather than being circular.
Jabot Pin: A “jabot”, (pronounced zhah-Bow), is a kind of ruffle worn on the bosom of a man’s shirt or woman’s blouse. The “jabot pin” was designed to hold the jabot onto the shirt. It is basically a pin with a brooch at either end. One brooch is removable so that the pin can be stuck through the garment and then secured by reattaching the removable brooch. It is a form of Art Deco mourning jewelry.
Jade: An opaque semiprecious gemstone which is usually found in shades of green, but can be also be found in lavender and rose shades.
Jadeite: A hard, translucent variety of jade which is rarer than the other varieties of nephrite and comes in a variety of colors such as orange, pink, yellow, brown, blue, violet, and black.
Jargon: Registered trade name for a colorless, pale-yellow or smoky-brown variety of cubic zirconia from Ceylon.
Jasper: From the Hebrew word “yashpheh”, meaning “glittering”. Jasper is an opaque, impure, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz that may be red, yellow, or brown. It breaks with a smooth surface and can be highly polished like marble. Varieties of jasper include Fancy Jasper, Picture Jasper, Poppy Jasper, Red Jasper, and Striped (or Banded) Jasper. Jasper was once believed to have curative powers.
Jet: (Also called “black amber”.) A dense black variety of lignite, (fossilized coal), that can be highly polished and is often made into mourning jewelry, Zuni inlay, toys, buttons, etc.
Jewelry: Ornamental adornments worn on the body composed of precious metals set with real or imitation gemstones.
Job Lot: A collection of merchandise sold in one group for use in a specific display or fixture.
Jobber: An individual who buys job lots from manufacturers or wholesalers to sell for a specific display or fixture.
Jocla: A small string of beads at the bottom end of a necklace. The beads in the center of the jocla usually contrast with the beads surrounding it and may be larger than the beads surrounding it.
Jump Ring: A small oval or round wire ring used to link charms or pendants onto a chain. It is not usually soldered shut.
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K: See Karat.
Karat: A variation of the word “carat“, (used to describe the weight of a gemstone), “karat”, with a “k” is used to describe the purity of gold. Gold is often alloyed with silver, copper, and/or other metals to improve its strength and durability. Products made from gold are marked to show how much actual gold is contained in the product. Items marked 24K are 100% pure gold. Items marked 18K or 750 have 750 parts gold out of 1000, or 75% pure gold. Items marked 14K or 585 have 585 parts out of 1000, or 58.5% pure gold. Much of the jewelry manufactured before the 20th century do not have these marks and must be tested to determine purity.
Ketoh: See Bow Guard.
Knife Wire: An extremely thin wire holding a gemstone making it appear to float.
Korite: See Ammolite.
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LMW: Stands for “Limited Manufacturer’s Warranty”.
Lab-created: See Synthetic.
Labradorite: A grayish almost opaque form of feldspar with flashes of blue, green, and/or yellow visible at certain angles.
Laminated: An object coated with a thin layer of plastic is said to be laminated.
Lanyard: A cord worn around the neck for carrying something, such as a knife or whistle
Lapidary: The art of cutting, shaping, polishing and creating jewelry from stones.
Lapis: Shortened form of Lapis Lazuli.
Lapis Lazuli: A royal blue opaque semiprecious stone with white veins or patches of calcite and a few gold-looking metallic flecks of pyrite. Lapis can be dyed to enhance the color.
Lariat: A cord worn as a necklace with the ends of the cord dangling like a necktie. It can be tied into a knot or secured by a sliding brooch. See Bolo.
Laser drilling: A way of enhancing a gem by drilling a tiny hole with a laser to remove an impurity.
Lavalier: (Negligee Pendant): A necklace with two pendants of unequal length suspended from it.
Layered: One sheet of material on top of another with indistinct boundaries between them.
Lead: A soft, dense, metallic element. Lead is bluish in color, but tarnishes readily to a dull gray. It is both malleable and ductile and easily fuses with other metals to form alloys. Lead is used in containers, sheets, tubes, pipes, solder, type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints, and antiknock compounds.
Lead crystal: See Crystal.
Length: The linear measurement of a bracelet or necklace.
Lever back: A means of attaching an earring to a pierced ear with a hook that goes through the ear and is then secured by a hinged lever attached to the back of the piece.
Light Transparent: Plastic that appears to only be translucent, but is actually transparent when held up to the light.
Lime: The gray or white mineral form of calcium oxide, used as a cementing compound.
Limestone: A common sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate that was deposited by the remains of marine animals. It is used as a building stone and in the manufacture of lime, carbon dioxide, and cement. Crystalline limestone is called marble.
Linde Star Sapphire: A synthetic star sapphire developed in 1967. Many star sapphires found today are these synthetics.
Link: A loop, or other object, which is linked together in a series to make a chain.
Liquid silver: The term given to strands of small silver beads which were made by carefully slicing tubes of sterling silver into 1/8″ pieces and stringing them together. A form of Heishi.
Living Jewelry: Term for jewelry made from materials that were once part of a living creature, such as Ivory, Pearls, Mother of Pearl, Seashell, and Coral.
Lobster claw clasp: A means of connecting the ends of a necklace together. One end has a wide flat hook, resembling the claw of a lobster, with a hinged “thumb” on a spring. The other end has a ring which the claw hooks onto. It is then secured by closing the thumb of the claw.
Locket: A hinged case, usually in the shape of an oval or heart, which can be opened or closed and usually contains a photograph or memento.
Lost Wax Casting: An object is made of wax and coated in clay. When the clay is fired, the wax melts and is drained away or evaporates leaving an exact impression of the object in the hardened clay, which is then filled with molten metal.
Lucite: A clear, strong plastic that can be molded and carved, popular in the 1940’s for ladies purses and jewelry.
Luster: A reference to the brightness of an object that shines with reflected light rather than producing its own.
Lustrous: A reference to the brightness of an object that shines with reflected light rather than producing its own.
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Mabe’ (Or Mobe’): A Japanese term for cultured pearls which are cultured against the shell so that only half a pearl is formed resembling a half-sphere.
Magnesia: Also called periclase, magnesia is a light, solid, white earthy mineral composed of magnesium oxide. It is a source of magnesium and is used as a laxative. It takes its name from Magnesia, an ancient city of Asia Minor, and is a mineral ingredient of the philosophers’ stone.
Magnesium: A light, silvery-white, moderately hard, malleable, ductile, metallic element which only occurs in nature as a compound with other elements, as found in magnesite, spinel and olivine. In ribbon or powder form magnesium burns with a brilliant white flame, (the so-called magnesium light), which is used in signaling, pyrotechnics, incendiary bombs, or in photography where a strong actinic illuminant is required.
Malachite: A hydrous carbonate of copper, malachite is an opaque green stone characterized by bands of light and dark green which have very pronounced contrast and are often concentric. A source of copper.
Maltese Cross: Named for the Knights of Malta, a group of knights who bore this symbol on their tabards during the Crusades. A Maltese cross has four broad arms of equal length with a V shaped notch cut out of the ends.
Manganese: A gray-white or silvery brittle, metallic, element which resembles iron but is not magnetic. It is found abundantly in the ores pyrolusite, manganite, and rhodochrosite and in nodules on the ocean floor. Manganese is alloyed with iron to form ferromanganese, which is used to increase strength, hardness, and wear resistance of steel.
Manganite: Steel-gray or iron-black crystals composed of manganese oxide. Used as a source of manganese.
Marble: A metamorphic rock composed of calcium carbonate, (like aragonite or coral), or carbonate of lime, (limestone or dolomite, a variety of calcite), which is swirled or clouded with color. It is most often used for architectural and ornamental purposes. The most common variety is white, but it can also be yellow, red, or green.
Marbled: A stone, or other object, with two or more colors swirled together.
Marcasite: A mineral with the same composition as pyrite, (fool’s gold), and often called “white iron pyrite“, but differing in crystal structure. It can be faceted like a gemstone and is often used in sterling silver jewelry.
Marina chain: A chain composed of small, round, diamond cut links that are designed to lie flat like a curb link chain, but are set very close together.
Mariner link: A chain link resembling a flat oval with a flat bar in the middle of the ring. A figogucci chain is a variant form.
Marquise: (Mar-KEYS, also called a navette). An oval shape gemstone which tapers to a point at both ends, named for the Marquise de Pompadour, Mistress of King Louis XV.
Matinee Length: A necklace which is 30 to 35 inches long.
Matte: With jewelry which has a matte finish the designer uses either a chemical process or an abrasive material to scratch the top layers of the piece creating a dull and non-reflective surface. Also referred to as having a “brushed finish.”.
Melanite: A common black variety of garnet composed of iron lime.
Mesh: A sheet of fabric-like woven fine wire, similar to the kind used for screen doors.
Metal: A solid mineral element that is able to conduct heat and electricity and is pliable under heat or pressure. Common metals include bronze, copper and iron. Metals used for making jewelry, such as platinum, gold, and silver are called “precious metals”.
Metallic: There are two basic definitions. A material composed of metal is “metallic”, but the term is also used for a material displaying a reflective, shiny, lustrous appearance, like a metal would.
Mica: A group of minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium which are common in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Mica vary in color from pale brown or yellow to green or black and characteristically split into very thin leaves. Sheets of mica used in insulation and electrical equipment because of their resistance to electricity. The transparent forms are used in lanterns, the doors of stoves, etc.
Micromosaic. Ancient Roman mosaic created by using minute pieces of colored glass or stone called tesserae, up to 1400 per square inch. Micromosaics were used for brooches and pins.
Middleman: See Agent.
Milgrain: A raised, beaded edge on a ring done with a special engraver’s tool; resembling the edge of a coin.
Milgrain Setting: A milgrain design engraved into the edge of the metal securing a stone in place.
Millefiori: Glass or clay beads with imbedded floral designs. Millefiori means “a thousand flowers” in Italian.
Mine Cut: Differs from the modern Brilliant cut only in its girdle shape, which is square instead of round, a higher crown, smaller table, deeper pavilion, and larger culet, but the number and arrangement of the facets are the same. It is lumpier than the form accepted today. This form of cut surfaced in the early 1800’s and began to disappear around the turn of the 20th century.
Mineral: Any inorganic substance; i.e. anything that is not a plant or an animal.
Mineral crystal: see Quartz.
Mint Condition: A piece of jewelry having no signs of wear whatsoever, including no discolored stones. A piece that is in Mint Condition is in virtually the same condition as it was when it left the manufacturer. Considering that vintage jewelry is usually 50 or more years old, and that it likely has been worn, it is obviously quite rare to find a piece that is truly in Mint Condition.
Mohs Scale: A measure of a mineral’s hardness and its resistance to scratching invented by Austrian mineralogist, Friedrich Moh. The scale goes from talc (number 1) being the softest, to diamonds as number 10, being the hardest substance known by man. Most gemstones fall in the 6-8 range
Mollusk: An invertebrate animal usually enclosed in a shell, such as an oyster, mussel or clam.
Monoclinic: A system of crystallization wherein two crystal axes intersect obliquely and are perpendicular to the third. See Amphibole.
Moonstone: A transparent, slightly iridescent, milky white variety of feldspar with white or light blue opalescent spots. Moonstone is considered a good luck stone, especially for lovers.
Morganite: A pink variety of beryl found in California, Brazil, and Madagascar named after J.P. Morgan.
Morse: A clasp used by the clergy for fastening garments, such as a cape, in front. It is usually very large, from 12.5 to 17.5 cm in diameter, of various materials and shapes, and decorated in religious themes.
Mosaic: A design created by pressing pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic tile, (called tesserae), in mortar. See also: micromosaics.
Moss Agate: A type of agate displaying a variety of green splotches with a little white or clear. Not much different than Tree agate.
Mother-of-pearl: The pearlescent material on the inside of mollusk shells like abalone, oysters, and mussels. This material can be scraped off, sliced thin, and used as inlay on a variety of jewelry, furniture, etc.
Mothers’ rings: A kind of “family jewelry“, Mother’s rings are rings personalized with their children’s birthstones or with birthstones and names.
Mount: To place or fix a stone in the setting. See Mounting.
Mounting: A piece of metal that holds a gem in place.
Mourning Jewelry: Jewelry worn to commemorate the death of a loved one, usually in the form of a ring, brooch, or necklace; widely worn during the Victorian era when the death of Prince Albert plunged Queen Victoria into a lifetime of mourning. See Filigree, Jet, and Jabot Pin.
Muff Chain: A long chain with a clasp used to suspend a lady’s fur muff.
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Nacre: The shiny iridescent substance secreted by a mollusk as a response to an irritant, like a piece of sand. Over time layers of nacre build up to become a pearl.
Naja: (or “Najah”) From the Navajo word “Najahe”, meaning “crescent”. A crescent-shaped silver ornament believed to go back to Moorish designs that was originally a forehead pendant on horse bridles. It is now commonly found pendant from the bottom of a squash blossom necklace.
Navette: See marquise.
Necklace: A form of jewelry worn around the neck. See Bolo, Chain, Choker, Collar, Diva Fashion, Fetish Necklace, Heishi, Hemp, Jocla, Lariat, Lavalier, Length, Matinee Length, Mourning Jewelry, Opera Length, Rivière, Sautoir, Squash Blossom Necklace, Y Necklace.
Needle Point: Stones shaped to a fine point at both ends.
Negligee pendant: See Lavalier.
Neoclassical: New designs inspired by artistic elements from classical antiquity, such as urns, garlands, greek key, palmette.
Nephrite: A compact variety of tremolite and a form of jade. Often called “greenstone” though it can also be found in shades of grey, brown, and black.
Nickel: A hard, bright, silver-white metallic element of the iron group that is malleable, ductile, and resistant to corrosion.
Nickel Silver: An alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc, which is a white metal but contains no actual silver.
Niello: A black metallic alloy of sulfur, copper, silver, or lead, used as inlay for an incised design on the surface of another metal. Niello refers to both the substance and the process.
Nonmetallic: A material which is not composed of metal.
Non-precious: Any metal that is not considered to be a precious metal or any gemstone that is not considered to be a precious gemstone.
Nose Stud: A simple style of jewelry for pierced nostrils that has a single stone, pearl, or metal ball on a straight post.
Nugget: The term used for a lump, or irregularly shaped mass, of precious metal.
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ahedral: A geometric object with eight plane surfaces.
Oiling: The process of applying mineral oil to a stone, such as an emerald, to mask inclusions and enhance the color.
Old European Cut: A round Brilliant cut with 58 facets, similar to the old mine cut, first appearing in around the 1880’s. It is characterized by a deep pavilion, high crown, and an open culet.
Old mine cut: See Mine Cut.
Oligoclase: (Also called Plagioclase) A triclinic feldspar made of soda–lime.
Olivelia Shells: A kind of seashell used for Heishi necklaces.
Olivine: See Chrysolite and Peridot.
Omega chain: Unlike most chains which are a series of linked rings, an Omega chain is made up of rectangular smooth rounded metal plates set side by side and crimped along the ends onto a strip of metal mesh. The end result is a fairly stiff, yet flexible, circle which needs to be worn high around the neck since it is not nearly as attractive when viewed from the edges.
Omega back: These work a bit like lever back earrings, in that they have a hinged lever on the back of the earring near the bottom, but in this case the lever ends in an O shape that closes over a post in place of a clutch to secure the earring to a pierced ear.
Onyx: A semiprecious variety of chalcedony quartz that is a used often in jewelry. When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called agate; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called onyx. White Onyx, a semi-translucent white to slightly yellowish-white stone, was often used as a background in Victorian jewelry, especially for cameos. Black Onyx can appear opaque or translucent. Although it occurs naturally in black, it is generally dyed black to improve its color. It has a hardness of between 6.5- 7 on the Mohs scale. In India, onyx necklaces are thought to cool feelings of love.
Opal: An amorphous non-crystalline variety of silica which is softer and less dense than quartz. Opals are known for their distinctive iridescent luminous qualities which are actually inclusions that can refract light in a rainbow of colors, called “fire“, that change with the angle of observation (Dichroism). Opals contain a large amount of water and susceptible to cracking. Opal is the birthstone for October.
Opaque: A substance which is not transparent or translucent. i.e. a substance that does not allow light to pass through it.
Open-work: A setting that has open areas similar to filigree cut which may allow for viewing of the bottom of a stone. See Basket.
Opera Length: A necklace which is 48 to 90 inches long.
Optical Properties: A gemstone’s inherent ability to interact with light. Color, dispersion and fluorescense are all optical properties.
Orb: A part of coronation regalia placed in the left hand of the Sovereign during the coronation as a symbol of Kingly power. It is a globe of gold encircled by a band edged with pearls and set with rubies, emeralds and sapphires, joined by a perpendicular band and surmounted by large amethyst above which is a jeweled cross.
Ore: A metal bearing mineral from which metal can be profitably mined or extracted.
Oriental Pearl: A pearl that has formed naturally with no human intervention.
Ormolu: A term referring to gilded bronze or brass mounts. From the French for “ground gold”
Orthoclase: A variety of feldspar, composed of potassium aluminum silicate, characterized by a monoclinic crystalline structure and found in igneous or granitic rock. Also called potash feldspar.
Ouvarovite: See uvarovite.
Oval Cut: A “fancy cut” diamond or stone in an elliptical shape like an oval.
Overlay: The upper layer of an overlay technique. The layer with the design.
Overlay Technique: A decorative technique involve two flat pieces of silver, or other metal. The top piece has a design cut out of it and is highly polished. The bottom layer is darkened with oxidation to provide good contrast to the design on the top piece when the two pieces are soldered together.
Oxidation: A chemical process in which a metal, such as silver, is blackened as a reaction to oxygen.
Oxide: A compound containing one oxygen atom per molecule. See also dioxide.
Oxidize: The act of combining with oxygen to make an oxide.Oxidized metal is rusted.
Oxygen: A nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that constitutes 28 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen combines with many other elements easily. These compounds are called oxides and make up about half the solid matter on Earth, making oxygen the most abundant element present in the Earth’s crust.
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Palette: A palette is a board which artists apply paint to when they are preparing to make a painting. In regards to any medium outside of painting, the palette simply refers to the group of colors chosen by a particular factory or decorator.
Palladium: A charcoal gray form of platinum found in Russia, South Africa and North America. Palladium has many of the same properties as platinum such as its resistance to corrosion and versatile applications in jewelry designs. Pieces made with Palladium bear the hallmarks of Pd950 or Pd500.
Palmette: A stylized palm leaf which is a common motif in Greek and Persian art.
Panther link: A flat chain in which each link resembles three bricks stacked on top of each other with the center brick offset one half-step to the side. The offset brick is then connected to the space left by the offset brick of the next link in the chain by means of a pin. These bricks are commonly rectangular, but may also be shaped like the diamond in a deck of cards.
Parure: Term for a set of jewelry popular through the 19th century which consisted of several pieces of matching jewelry. In times, a complete parure consisted of two matching bracelets, necklace, earrings and a brooch. See also demi-parure.
Paste: In the context of jewelry, “paste” is a glass-based substance used to simulate gemstones. It has become a slang term for all fake gemstones.
Pastille burners: A form of incense burners popular from 1820-1850 in the form of cottages, churches, or summer houses, with detachable lids.
Patina: The change in an object’s surface resulting from natural aging due to wear and oxidation. Antique jewelry is expected to have this patina and the value of the piece may decrease if it is cleaned off.
Pave’: (pah-VAY) A kind of setting in which small gemstones are set very close together resembling the paving done with bricks.
Pavilion: The pointed section of a cut gemstone just below the girdle ending in the culet.
Pavilion Height: The distance from the girdle to the culet of a cut gemstone.
Pear Cut: A fancy shape of gem cutting which somewhat resembles a teardrop; rounded on one end and pointed on the other. See Fancy Cut.
Pearl: An organic gem grown within oysters and other mollusks when they produce nacre as a reaction to an irritant. A good sized pearl can take between five to eight years to form, which is usually the entire life of the oyster or mollusk. Pearls are most valuable when they are perfectly round. Fine natural pearls are much more expensive and rare to find than cultured pearls. Never dip jewelry with pearls into a jewelry cleaning solution unless it specifically says that it is safe for pearls. If the solution is not intended for pearls, it will dull the luster on the pearl and cause them to look cloudy. Pearl is the birthstone for June. See also awabi pearl, cultured pearl, oriental pearl, freshwater pearl, blister pearl, mabe’, nacre, and baroque.
Pearlescent: A term used to describe a surface with lustrous cloudy rainbow-like colors like one might see in an oil slick or mother of pearl. Synonymous with Iridescent.
Penannular brooch: “Penannular” means “almost circular”. A penannular brooch is a circle of metal with a small gap in it. A pin attached to a tube can slide along the circle of metal. The pin is threaded through material and the gap in the circle. The circle is then twisted so that the pin rests on the circle, thus securing the material. It is most commonly used as a cloak clasp.
Pendant: An ornament or charm that hangs from a cord or chain worn around the neck.
Pennyweight: see dwt.
Peridot: Another name for chrysolite and olivine. Peridot is the birthstone for August.
Perfumed Beads: Beads that release a scent when warmed by the body.
Periclase: See Magnesia.
Petit Point: A stone shaped to a fine point which is usually somewhat larger than needle point and is characterized by being round, oval, or having one rounded end.
Pewter: An alloy of 90% tin mixed with lead, antimony, and a bit of silver or copper.
Phenacite: A glassy, colorless mineral occuring in rhombohedral crystals composed of beryllium silicate. From the Greek for imposter, deceiver, phenacite is a silicate of glucina, and receives its name from its deceptive similarity to quartz. It is sometimes used as a gemstone.
Phosphate: A salt composed of the most highly oxidized acid of phosphorus, and forms an important and extensive series of compounds.
Phosphorus: A highly reactive, poisonous, nonmetallic element occurring naturally in phosphates, especially apatite, which is found as a white, or yellowish, translucent waxy substance, having a characteristic disagreeable smell and a faint glow.
Picture Jasper: An opaque tan colored variety of jasper with medium and dark brown patches that make the “pictures.”
Pierced: A hole punched completely through an object.
Pierced earrings: Earrings that are attached to an ear by means of a wire or post that is inserted through a hole pierced in the ear.
Pierced-Work: See Open Work.
Pietra Dura: An inlaying technique usually associated with workshops in Florence, Italy, used to describe sculptural or decorative use of hard stones to decorate furniture, cameos, vases, and panels with various stones such as malachite, lapis lazuli, and jasper.
Pigeon’s-Blood: A deep red-violet shade of ruby which is the most desirable color of ruby.
Pins: Jewelry attached to clothing by means of a small metal rod with a sharp point.
Pinchbeck: A type of imitation gold composed of an alloy of copper and zinc invented by Christopher Pinchbeck in the 18th century.
Piqué: (pee-kay). A decorative style popular in the 18th and 19th centuries of inlaying tortoise shell with a pattern of gold and silver. Tortoise shell melts like plastic when exposed to heat. Piqué is produced by pressing a heated rod of precious metal into the shell, melting it slightly. When the shell cools it hardens around the precious metal.
Plain: An object with one plain uniform color and no decorations of any kind.
Plagioclase: Another name for Oligoclase.
Platinum: One of the three “precious metals” along with gold and silver, platinum is the rarest of them all. It is harder than the other precious metals and has a higher melting point, making it difficult to alloy and work with. Platinum is silvery-white in color, almost never causes allergic reactions and is resistant to tarnish. The standard of platinum in the US and most western countries is 95% pure and is usually marked PLAT. That name comes from “platina”, a Spanish word meaning “little silver”, which is what the Spaniards called it when they first encountered it in South America in the 18th century. See also Iridium, Palladium, and Rhodium.
Plique-A-Jour: A form of enameling popular in Art Nouveau jewelry similar to cloisonné, but where the transparent enamels are held in place by wires on the edges rather than on a metal plate.
Poesy: A ring or other piece of jewelry with a short love poem inscribed on it. Popular in the medieval period.
Point: The smallest unit of weight used for gemstones, equal to 1/100th of a carat. Another term for a 1/4 carat diamond is a 25 point diamond.
Poison Ring: A small hinged box secured to a ring which is made to resemble a normal setting, but can be opened to reveal a small space which could conceivably be used to hold poison. See also Prayer ring.
Poison Pendant: A small box worn as a pendant that could conceivably be used to hold poison. See also Prayer pendant.
Polish: The process of rubbing an object to make it smooth and shiny and reduce the appearance of flaws.
Polychrome: Literally meaning “many colored”, in the context of jewelry it simply refers to a decoration that uses three or more colors.
Polypropylene: A hard, tough polymer of propylene used as a thermoplastic molding material.
Polyurethane: A polymer containing urethane used as plastic, adhesive, paint, rubber, or to form a tough, resistant coating.
Poppy Jasper: An opaque variety of jasper with colors such as brick red, white, brown, and blacks.
Porosity: Areas of the mold that absorbed some of the casting material leaving the cast object with a rough, granular surface.
Post: The pin that sticks out the back of a stud earring. The post goes through the pierced ear and is secured in place with a catch that slides onto it behind the earlobe.
Posy: An alternate spelling of poesy
Pot Metal: Any alloys which do not have gold, silver, or platinum as a component. Also called White Metal
Potash: Any compound containing potassium.
Potassium: A common soft, silver-white, alkali metal element that is only found in nature as a compound with other elements. It is obtained by electrolysis of its common hydroxide, oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts violently with water, and is used in glass making, soap making, in fertilizers, and in many drugs and chemicals.
Prase: A translucent leek-green variety of chalcedony varying in color from light green or light grayish-green.
Prayer Ring: A small hinged box secured to a ring which is made to resemble a normal setting, but can be opened to reveal a small space which could be used to hold a small piece of paper with a prayer written on it. See also Poison ring.
Prayer Pendant: A small box worn as a pendant that could be used to hold a small piece of paper with a prayer written on it. See also Poison pendant.
Precious Gemstone: Gemstones that are highly valuable for their hardness and rarity. There are only four precious gemstones: diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies.
Precious metal: Metals valued for their color, malleability, and rarity. There are only three precious metals: gold, silver and platinum.
Precious stone: See Precious Gemstone.
Princess cut: A relatively new fancy cut for gemstones based on the multi-faceted square cut. It is square when viewed from the top
Prong setting: A gemstone held in place by small finger-like wires attached to the bezel and bend over the edges of the stone.
Prystal: Trade name for a glass substitute invented in Italy made of plastic.
Punches: Pointed tools used for stamping a design on a surface.
Pyralin: See French Ivory.
Pyrite: A common mineral composed of iron disulphide with a pale brass-yellow color used as an iron ore and in the production of sulfur dioxide for sulfuric acid. Also called Fool’s gold and Iron pyrite.
Pyrolusite: The most common ore of manganese composed of manganese dioxide. It is a soft, iron-black to dark-steel-gray colored mineral and is used extensively in creating brown and green tints of glass.
Pyrope Garnet: A poppy or blood-red colored garnet composed of alumina magnesia. It is used as a gem. Sometimes called an “American Ruby”, “Australian Ruby”, “Arizona Ruby”, or “Bohemian garnet”. See also Rhodolite.
Pyroxene: Any of a group of crystalline minerals common in igneous rocks containing two metallic oxides . Pyroxene is a silicate of lime and magnesia with sometimes alumina and iron. Though it was named after the Greek words for “fire” and “stranger” because it was supposed to be a rare occurence in igneous rocks, it is actually quite common. It varies in color from white to dark green and black.
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Quartz: The family name for crystals composed of silica or silicon dioxide occurring in hexagonal crystals. The most common variety is colorless and transparent. This is often referred to as Clear Quartz, Rock Crystal or simply Quartz. The crystalline varieties include: amethyst, ametrine, citrine, rose quartz, and smoky quartz. There are a variety of crypto-crystalline varieties including agate (chalcedony), onyx, sardonyx, carnelian, sard, chrysoprase, bloodstone, jasper, and prase. (see individual listings). Quartz is an essential constituent of granite, forms the rocks quartzite and , and makes most of the sand of the seashore.
Quartzite: A hard rock made of interlocking quartz crystals formed when sandstone has been subjected to intense heat and pressure.
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Radiant cut: A rectangular gemstone with a total of 70 facets combining the shape of an emerald cut and the sparkle of a Brilliant cut.
Ratchet bezel: A bezel that can turn clockwise or counterclockwise and clicks with a ratchet action as it rotates.
Red Gold: See Rose Gold.
Red Jasper: An opaque, rust-red color of jasper.
Refraction: The action of changing the direction of a light wave, so the light enters the object in one direction, and leaves it in another.
Refractory: A material with a high melting point, which makes it useful as a barrier between the heat source and a material that you don’t want to melt, like the sides of an oven, etc..
Regard: A kind of Acrostic jewelry, meaning jewelry where the first letter of each type of stone spells out a word. In this case, a ring or brooch set with a Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, and a Diamond so that the first letter of each gemstone spelled out “Regard”.
Relief: A kind of decoration that protrudes from the surface, like a cameo.
Renaissance: The period in western Europe from the mid fifteenth century to the industrial age. The word means “rebirth” and was characterized by a radical development in the arts, medicine, politics and sciences.
Repoussé: A method of embossing a metal sheet by punching and hammering a design from the back, then polishing it up in front with a chasing hammer, producing a three-dimensional bas-relief surface.
Reverse Crystal Jewelry: (also called Essex crystal) A clear crystal is cut as a cabochon. A carving is made on the flat side, like an intaglio, and painted with a thin layer of mother of pearl to produce a three-dimensional effect.
Rhinestone: A faceted stone made of glass.
Rhodium: A metal that is part of the platinum family but is liquid in its raw natural state not not solid like platinum. Rhodium can be applied to base metals, gold, sterling silver, or some other alloy, to give it a shiny white surface like platinum. This process was popular in the 30’s and 40’s, is very durable, and very expensive.
Rhodochrosite: A medium to light pink opaque stone with cream or creamy-pink banding resembling a pink version of malachite.
Rhodolite: A rose-red to pale violet variety of pyrope garnet.
Rhodonite: a glassy, opaque, pink to rose-red mineral, often with black inclusions, composed of crystalline manganese silicate. Named after the Greek word “rhodon” meaning “rose”. It is found in the former Soviet Union, the U.S., India, and Australia and is usually used as an ornamental stone.
Rhombohedral: Resembling a prism with six four-sided facets.
Ribbed: An undulating ridged texture, like a person’s rib cage showing through the skin.
Ring: A piece of jewelry worn on a finger. See Band, Betrothal Ring, Bridal Set, Charm Ring, Cigar Band, Claddagh Ring, Class Ring, Cluster Ring, Cocktail Ring, Comfort Fit, Compass Ring, Dinner Ring, Engagement Ring, Eternity Ring, Faith Ring, Fede Ring, Poesy, Poison Ring, Prayer Ring, Ring Guard, Ring Size, Shank, Shoulder, Signet, Stack Rings, Three Stone Diamond Ring.
Ring brooch: A type of brooch similar to a penannular brooch, but with a complete ring to which is usually hinged a horizontal pin slightly longer than the diameter of the brooch. The point of the pin rests on the ring opposite the hinge, and the brooch is worn by pulling the fabric up inside the ring, passing the pin through it twice and then pulling the fabric tight so that it holds the pin in place.
Ring guard: A ring worn above another ring to keep it from slipping off the finger.
Ring Size: A measurement of how large the ring needs to be to fit on a person’s finger. The average ring size for women is 6. The average ring size for men is 10.
Riveting: A method of joining two flat objects together by making a hole in each piece, then passing a pin with a large flat head, (composed of the same metal as the piece), through the holes. The pin is then pounded flat to secure it in place. This process was used in jewelry instead of soldering when it was not advisable to use heat or when one part was intended to swivel.
Rivière: A necklace composed of a single strand of gemstones of the same size and cut, usually Diamonds.
Rock Crystal: see Quartz.
Rolo link chain: A chain composed of individually linked round or oval rings resembling a standard cable chain, but with thicker rings.
Rondella: A round metal disk, sometimes studded with stones, that is strung on a necklace as a spacer between beads.
Rope chain: A series of small oval-shaped links that are arranged in such a way that they make a spiral design resembling woven rope.
Rose Cut: A style of diamond cutting that produces a gem with a flat base and triangular facets that rise to form a dome. This style of cut has been in use since the 16th century.
Rose finish: Jewelry finished so that it has the look of Rose Gold, but no actual gold content.
Rose gold: An alloy of gold mixed with copper, which gives it a red tint.
Rose Quartz: A translucent milky pink variety of Quartz.
Rotating bezel: A bezel that can be turned to perform different timekeeping and mathematical functions.
Rotational Axis: See Axis of Symmetry.
Round Brilliant Cut: See Brilliant cut.
Rubellite: Red Tourmaline.
Ruby: One of the four precious gemstones along with Diamonds, Emeralds and Sapphires. Ruby is a member of the corundum family whose color comes from chromium oxide in the stone. Although corundum can come in many colors, rubies are, by definition, red. Rubies have been synthesized since at least 1890 and can only be distinguished from natural rubies by trained gemologists. Rubies are extremely hard, a 9 on the Mohs scale, second only to diamonds. Fine rubies of good color can be more valuable than diamonds, For centuries, rubies have symbolized beauty, charity, love, passion, power, and royalty. In some countries, engagement rings are set with rubies instead of diamonds. The ruby is the birthstone for July.
Rutilated quartz: Quartz crystals with inclusions made up of rutile crystals, (which resemble fine reddish-brown, red, and sometimes yellowish hairs), imbedded in the quartz.
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fety Catch: One of several means of securing a brooch to a garment. Before the invention of safety catches, the most common means of securing a brooch was a simple “C” catch with no locking mechanism. A safety catch is simply a way to secure the pin to the “C” catch so that it doesn’t come undone and does not need to extend beyond the edge of the brooch.
Salt: A colorless or white crystalline solid, composed of sodium chloride. It is found native in the earth, and is also produced by the evaporation and crystallization of sea water and other water impregnated with saline particles. Salt is used extensively in ground or granulated form as a food seasoning and preservative.
San Marco chain: A unique kind of chain wherein each link is long and rounded, resembling a puffed grain of rice with a flat bottom. The links are arranged next to each other at a 45 degree angle and attached to each other on the bottom by sturdy flat pins set at an opposite angle.
Sand Casting: For hundreds of years sand casting was the most popular of all casting methods. It still plays an important role in the production of large metal forms, (typically Iron, but also Bronze, Brass, Aluminum). Tempered sand is packed onto wood or metal pattern halves, removed from the pattern, and metal is poured into resultant cavities. Molds are broken to remove castings.
Sandstone: Just as the name implies, sandstone is a sedimentary stone made of sand that has been fused with some cementing element like clay or quartz.
Sapphire: One of the four precious gemstones. The other three are diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. Sapphire is a member of the corundum family which come in a variety of colors from white to orange to green to pink. If a corundum gemstone is red, it is a ruby, but any other color are properly referred to as sapphires. Sapphires have been synthesized since the 1920’s. Ancient Persians believed the blueness of the sky was caused by the reflection from an enormous blue sapphire that the Earth rested on. Blue sapphire is the birthstone for September.
Sard: A deep orange-red to brownish-red variety of chalcedony.
Sardonyx: A variety of onyx consisting of alternating layers of sard and white chalcedony.
Satin finish: A series of tiny parallel lines scratched onto a surface with a wire brush or polishing tool to produce texture
Saturation: A measure of the intensity of color inherent in a gemstone. Stones that are well saturated with color are more valuable.
Sautoir: (Soh-TWAH) A long rope style necklace popularized in the Edwardian era because Queen Alexandra often wore them. They were usually decorated with seed pearls and had a tassel as a pendant.
Scalenohedral: A fancy shape gemstone made up of 12 facets, each shaped like a scalene triangle. Crystal points with triangular facets are said to be scalenohedral.
Scalloped: An ornamental border consisting of a series of curved projections.
Scarab: An ancient Egyptian fertility symbol based on a common dung beetle found in Egypt. It was often carried as an amulet cast from gold or carved from semiprecious stones. The flat underside could have a design carved into it that could be used as a signet.
Scatter Pin: A small pin, usually featuring flowers, birds and insects, that is intended to be worn in a group with many other scatter pins.
Scepter: A symbol of spiritual and worldly power used as a part of royal insignia. A scepter is really nothing more than a simple staff, but the ones used in ceremony are usually highly decorated with precious metals and gemstones. The topping of a scepter varied in different countries and in different periods. In the Middle Ages two forms were distinguished: a long staff (baculum), otherwise called rod, and a short one (sceptrum), although their meaning was identical. The long staff, topped with a globe, is a typical attribute of God in Carolingian painting. A scepter could be crowned with three leaves or a lily, a globe, a bird, etc.
Schorl: Black Tourmaline.
Scintillation: See Sparkle.
Screw back: A type of earring attachment for non-pierced ears where the earring is tightened against the earlobe by means of a screw with a flat padded end.
Scrimshaw: A type of folk art dating from at least the 17th century in which whale teeth, whale bones and walrus tusks are engraved or lightly carved with a picture or design. It was a way for sailors on long whaling voyages to pass time but has become very collectible.
Seashell: Any of a number of shells of marine creatures such as mollusks or gastropods which can be used as jewelry. See cowrie shell, olivelia shell, abalone, ammolite, etc.
Sedimentary: Rock formed by layers of material that has accumulated and hardened over time.
Seed bead: (also seed-bead, seedbead). Mass produced tiny glass or plastic beads made by slicing tubes into tiny evenly spaced pieces. This makes them oblong in shape, rather than round, and flat on the ends. Seed beads can be strung together to make a necklace or bracelet, but are commonly used as spacers for larger beads. They can also be strung on a loom to make beaded bands and belts.
Seed Pearl: A very small pearl or imitation pearl popular during the Victorian period as accents set into gold jewelry or woven into long fringed necklaces called sautoirs.
Semi-Mount/Semi-Mounting: A finished piece of jewelry already embellished with gemstones and/or engraving that is simply waiting for the center stone. Pieces are sold this way to allow the buyer to add a center stone of their own choosing.
Semiprecious: Any gemstones valued for their beauty but which are not one of the four “precious stones”, (emerald, diamond, ruby or sapphire). Some examples of semiprecious stones are amethyst, aventurine, carnelian, garnet, opal, peridot, rose quartz, etc.
Serpentine chain: A series of small, flat, s-shaped links set very closely together and held in place by a second set of small, flat, s-shaped links set very closely together underneath them.
Setting: The part of the jewelry into which stones are set. Also refers to the mechanism used to hold the stones in place, such as the bezel, pave’, channel, and prong settings.
Shank: The part of a ring that encircles the finger, does not include the setting.
Shoulder: The part of a ring between the shank and the center of the setting.
Shekel: A Hebrew unit equal to about a half ounce. A common estimate makes the shekel equal in weight to about 130 grains for gold, 224 grains for silver, and 450 grains for copper. A shekel is also a gold or silver coin equal in weight to one of these units, especially the chief silver coin of the ancient Hebrews. The approximate values of the coins are (gold) $5.00, (silver) 60 cents, and (copper half shekel), one and one half cents.
Signet: A carved design, like an intaglio, which was usually worn on a ring. It was pressed into soft wax to authenticate a document. The design was usually a coat of arms, family crest, or some other type of insignia or monogram unique to the person using it.
Silicate: Any of a large group of minerals, forming over 90 percent of the earth’s crust, that consist of silicon, oxygen, and one or more metals, (and sometimes hydrogen).
Silicon: A nonmetallic element which is only found as a compound with other elements in nature. When artificially extracted, silicon appears as a dark brown amorphous powder, or as a dark crystalline substance with a metallic luster. This substance is used in combination with other materials in glass, semiconducting devices, concrete, brick, refractories, pottery, and silicones. Its oxide is silica, or common quartz, and in this form, or as silicates, it is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, next to oxygen, making up 25.7% of it by weight.
Singapore chain: A style of chain wherein each link is composed of a series of flat, diamond-cut, interwoven concentric loops.
Single-cut Diamonds: Genuine diamonds, commonly used in watchcases, that contain only 18 facets.
Silver: One of the three “precious metals” along with gold and platinum which has been used to make jewelry for thousands of years. Silver has a lustrous white color but needs polishing occasionally because silver reacts with sulfur in the air to cause tarnishing. It is harder than gold and much more plentiful, but still too soft in its natural state to be of much use as jewelry without being alloyed with a harder metal. (see Sterling Silver). Silver has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals and is widely used in coinage, photography, dental and soldering alloys, electrical contacts, and printed circuits.
Silver tone: Jewelry finished with a silver color with very little appreciable measurement of weight in silver.
Silvery finish: Jewelry that has the look of silver but no actual silver content.
Simulated stones: Any natural or synthetic substance which is meant to resemble a gemstone. cubic zirconia, for example, is a simulated diamond.
Simulated tortoise: A synthetic material resembling the mottled brown and yellow color found on tortoise shells.
Slate: A smooth, solid gray fine-grained rock that can be split into thin layers.
Sliced: A bracelet that is the same thickness all the way around and does not taper at the edges; as though it were simply sliced off the end of a cylinder.
Slide: An ornament with a tube on the back. A cord or necklace can then be threaded through the tube allowing the ornament to slide along the length of the cord or necklace. See Bolo.
Smoky quartz: A variety of quartz that ranges in color from cloudy brown to a dark root beer shade with a smoky appearance.
Smoky topaz: see Smoky Quartz.
Snap bar closure: The hinged bar on the back of a lever back or omega back earring.
Snake chain: Unlike most chains which are a series of linked rings, a snake chain is made up of round wavy metal rings joined side by side forming a flexible tube with a smooth scaly texture like snake skin.
Snow Quartz: see White Quartz.
Soda: Any of various forms of sodium carbonate used in making soap, powders, glass, and paper.
Sodalite: An opaque blue-white silicate of alumina and soda with some chlorine, (sodium aluminum silicate and sodium chloride). It looks similar to Lapis, and is a component of Lapis, occurring in massive dodecahedrons and found in igneous rocks. It has varying degrees of white veins of calcite and an occasional speck of pyrite.
Sodium: A common soft, waxy, light, extremely malleable silver-white unstable metallic element of the alkali group. It is always found as a compound with other elements in nature, such as common salt, albite, etc. Sodium burns with a yellow flame, and is so readily oxidized that it combines violently with water and to be preserved must be kept under petroleum or some similar liquid.
Soldering: A technique used in making and repairing jewelry whereby two pieces of metal are joined by applying a molten metal which has a lower melting point than the two metals being joined.
Solitaire: A single, (solitary), gemstone mounted in a simple setting, often found in a ring or pendant.
Sparkle: A measure of the light reflected out by a diamond or stone as it is viewed from different angles.
Spessartite: A red to brownish-red garnet composed of alumina manganese.
Spinel: Probably named from the Latin word “spina”, (meaning “thorn”), for its pointed crystals, spinel is a hard mineral with octahedral crystals occurring in igneous and carbonate rocks. It consists essentially of alumina and magnesia, but commonly contains iron and sometimes also chromium. It is found in a variety of colors including blue, green, brown, black, and the valuable red variety which resembles a ruby. It was popular in medieval jewelry.
Split Ring: Most commonly used for key-rings, a split ring is simply a metal ring with a “split” around its circumference. The split has an opening to the side of the ring at each end to allow a key or other small ring to slide into the slit and be pulled around the circumference of the ring until it reaches opening at the other end of the split.
Spray Brooch: A type of brooch, usually worn at the shoulder, which is characterized by floral themes featuring long stemmed jeweled flowers and long leaves.
Spring ring clasp: A very common kind of clasp used for joining two ends of a necklace. The clasp itself consists of a hollow metal tube in a circle shape with a gap in the side. The hollow tube contains a small wire held in place by a spring inside the tube behind the wire. The wire can be pulled back by means of a small knob which slides along the outer edge of the circular tube. Releasing the knob allows the spring to push the wire forward closing the gap. The other end of the necklace terminates in a small ring. By using the knob on the spring ring to open the gap in the hollow circular tube, one can then place the small ring through the gap and close the wire through the ring securing it in place and closing the necklace.
Square cut: A style of gem cutting resembling the emerald cut.
Square setting: A square shaped setting with a prong at each corner.
Squash Blossom Necklace: A traditional piece of Navajo jewelry based on an old and favored Spanish-Mexican ornament which was actually not a squash, but a stylized version of the pomegranate. A shape that the Spanish Conquistadores used as buttons on their trousers. The squash blossom necklace is composed of beads resembling squash blossoms placed at regular intervals with a naja, (crescent shaped pendant), at the center.
Stabilized Turquoise: Turquoise is very porous by nature which allows it to absorb any pollutants that it comes in contact with, including oils from the skin. Stabilized turquoise has been treated by various methods to reduce the porosity, thus making less changeable over time.
Stack rings: Two or more rings that are designed to be stacked on the same finger at the same time.
Stainless steel: An extremely durable alloy of steel and chromium which can be polished to resemble a precious metal and is virtually immune to rust, discoloration and corrosion.
Stamping: Using a punch or die to cut or emboss a sheet of metal with a mark.
Star garnets: Almandines that exhibit an asterism.
Star Sapphires: Natural sapphires that exhibit an asterism. These can be quite valuable if the star is centered and well-defined.
Stater: A silver coin from ancient Greece.
Step cut: See Emerald Cut.
Sterling Silver: Like gold, silver can be alloyed with other metals to improve its durability. Sterling silver is the industry standard containing 925 parts silver and 75 parts of another metal, usually copper. Pieces made from sterling silver are marked 925 to assure silver content. Sterling silver can be used to plate other metals.
Stick Pin: A pin with an ornament on the top worn vertically on a scarf, tie, or lapel. Also called a “tie pin” or “lapel pin”
Stippled finish: A texture formed by a series of pricks made with a steel punch.
Strass: A brilliant glass with high light refraction and exceptional iridescence, (essentially consisting of a complex borosilicate of lead and potassium), used to manufacture artificial gemstones. Named after its inventor, a German jeweler, F. Stras. See also Rhinestone.
Stud: A simple style of earring for pierced ears that has a single stone (such as a pearl) or metal ball on a straight post with no dangling parts. (See also Button earring).
Sulfate: A salt containing sulfur dioxide.
Sulfur: An abundant, pale yellow, nonmetallic element used in black gunpowder, rubber vulcanization, the manufacture of insecticides and pharmaceuticals, and in the preparation of sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfuric acid.
Sulphur: A variant spelling of sulfur.
Sunstone: A variety of oligoclase which can be transparent or translucent and varies in color from golden to orange to red-brown. Sunstone glitters due to hematite or goethite crystals suspended in the stone. It can be found in Canada, Oregon, India, Norway, and Russia. Sunstone is brittle and has a hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale.
Symmetry: How similar one side of an object is to the other side. The lengths and angles on each side of a faceted gemstone are closely compared. The more uniform the cut, the higher the value of the stone.
Synthetic: Gemstones produced in a laboratory rather than found in nature. Synthetic gemstones are not “fake”, since they have exactly the same chemical characteristics as the natural stone, but they are usually flawless and much cheaper than the real thing. The most common synthetic gems are emeralds, rubies, sapphires and opals.
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Table: The large, flat, top facet of a cut gemstone located in the center of the crown.
Table-cut: See Emerald Cut.
Table Percentage: The size of the table of a cut gemstone in proportion to the girdle obtained by dividing the table width by the girdle width.
Tantalum: A rare, very hard, heavy, gray metallic element that is exceptionally resistant to corrosion and chemical attack below 150°C. It is used to make light-bulb filaments, electrolytic capacitors, lightning arresters, nuclear reactor parts, and some surgical instruments.
Tanzanite: A variety of zoisite named after its country of origin, Tanzania, where it was first discovered in 1967 and is still the only place where it can be found. Tanzanite is popular for its brilliance and is known for its varying shades of violet; from deep rich purple to lilac. The gem can be heated to achieve the most sought after shade, a vibrant blue violet. Good quality tanzanite is usually faceted, but the rare pieces that have flaws are simply made into cabochons.
Tapered baguette: A small gemstone cut in a trapezoid shape with one end narrower than the opposite end.
Tarnish: A dulled luster or finish caused by a thin deposit of a dirt which discolors the surface of metal and is easily removed. Also a reaction between metals and other chemicals which discolors the surface, particularly silver which reacts with sulfur. The silver sulfide can be removed with a proprietary cleaning product and gentle abrasion.
Tassel: A bundle of threads bound at one end and loosely hung as an ornament.
Taxco: (TAHKS’ coh) The center of silversmithing in Mexico. Silver produced there up until about 1970 is considered collectible. In 1979 the government began to require silversmiths to stamp a registration mark consisting of two letters and several numbers.
Tea caddy: A decorative box created for storing tea leaves. Many have two compartments; one for black tea and the other for green tea. Some of the finest tea caddies were created in England and crafted of exotic woods adorned with tortoise shell, ivory and mother of pearl.
Template: A cut out pattern used to trace a design; like a stencil.
Tennis bracelet: A bracelet made up of individually set gemstones of uniform size and color linked together like a chain so it is somewhat flexible.
Tennis-style: A style similar to a tennis bracelet with individually set stones linked together in a chain, but not necessarily of uniform size or color.
Tessarae: Pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic tile that are mounted in mortar to make a mosaic. See also: Micromosaics.
Three-stone diamond ring: A ring bearing three diamonds of the same shape representing the past, present and future of a relationship. The center stone is usually slightly larger than the other two.
Tiara: A lady’s hair ornament resembling a crown that does not form a complete circle.
Tie tac: A short pin with an ornamental top or face that pins a tie to the shirt.
Tiffany Setting: A generally round, high, six-prong setting with long, slender prongs that flare out from the base introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1886. It is most commonly used today for large stones such as a diamond solitaire.
Tiger Iron: A banded, opaque stone, with metallic grey, some red, and sometimes a little brown Tiger’s eye.
Tiger’s Eye: A semiprecious variety of quartz found in South Africa. It may be yellowish-brown, bluish, or red in color with bands of darker and lighter shades across its surface. It has a silky luster, and catches the light causing the chatoyant quality.
Tin: A malleable, silvery metallic element which is not easily oxidized in the air, and so is used chiefly to coat iron to protect it from rusting. It is primarily extracted from the ore cassiterite where it is found as an oxide. Tin is malleable at ordinary temperatures, but brittle when heated and is a part of numerous alloys such as soft solder, pewter, type metal, and bronze. It is most commonly used in the form of tin foil with mercury to form the reflective surface of mirrors.
Titanium: A metallic element used in some jewelry because of the range of colors it produces when heated.
Toe Ring: A type of body jewelry worn around one or more toes. Toe rings come in styles similar to rings worn on the fingers, but toe rings have a small gap on the bottom of the ring to allow them to slip over the tips of the toe more easily.
Toggle clasp: A means of fastening two ends of a chain together consisting of a ring on one end and a short bar on the other. The bar is slid through the ring and sits across it so it does not slide or pull.
Tone: How light or dark a stone appears.
Tongue Bar: A bar shaped stud worn through a hole pierced in the tongue.
Topaz: A fluosilicate of aluminum that occurs in rhombohedral crystals and is used as a gemstone. Although it is a hard stone, topaz can be susceptible to breaking. According to some, the name is from Topazos, a small island in the Red Sea, where the Romans obtained a stone which they called by this name, but which is now called chrysolite. Topaz is sought after because it is lustrous, has double refraction and a strong hue. It may be found in many colors, such as blue, brown, clear, green, orange, pink, red, yellow, white. The most valuable topaz is “Imperial” topaz with a golden yellow to orange color. The most popular color is an enhanced blue treated with heat to develop it into a rich “Tiffany” blue color which resembles aquamarine, but is more affordable. Yellow quartz is sometimes called topaz, but is considered “false topaz”. True topaz is said to be the symbol of love and affection to act as a protector by making the wearer invisible in emergencies. Topaz is the birthstone for November.
Tortoise Shell: A mottled, nutty brown shell material with a spotted, striped, or sometimes even speckled pattern. Popular for 19th century jewelry and hair combs, tortoise shell was banned and is no longer used for these items. There are very close plastic imitations of tortoiseshell. One technique to differentiate tortoise from its imitators is to touch the surface with a hot pinpoint. Tortoise will give off a smell like burning hair, while plastic will emit an acrid chemical odor.
Total Depth Percentage: A measure of the depth of a diamond from the table to the culet divided by the average diameter, (width), of the girdle. The depth percentage of most diamonds is between 53 and 63 percent.
Tourmaline: A complex crystalline silicate occurring usually in three-sided or six-sided prisms terminated by rhombohedral or scalenohedral planes containing aluminum, boron, and other elements. Black tourmaline (schorl) is the most common variety, but there are also other varieties, as the blue (indicolite), red (rubellite), also green, brown, and white. The red and green varieties when transparent are valued as gems. Tourmaline can be found in more colors than any other stone and heat can also be applied to tourmalines to lighten, or enhance, the existing hue of the gem.
Trachyte: A light gray igneous rock with a rough surface consisting of orthoclase feldspar.
Translucent: Allowing light to pass through, but not transparent.
Transparent: A substance that allows light to pass through it easily and objects placed on the back can be fully seen through the substance.
Transvaal jade: See African Jade.
Treated Turquoise: A process by which the pores of the turquoise stone are filled with a transparent substance such as mineral oil, paraffin wax, or plastic to improve the color and make it more desirable.
Tree Agate: A variety of chalcedony quartz that is a very common and used often in jewelry. Tree agate is simply agate with mottled green and/or brown patterns that resemble tree foliage.
Tremolite: A white or pale green mineral of the amphibole group composed of calcium magnesium silicate and used as a form of asbestos. The compact variety of tremolite, called nephrite, is a form of jade.
Triangle cut: See Trillion-cut.
Triclinic: Having three unequal crystal axes intersecting at oblique angles
Trilliant: See Trillion-cut.
Trillion-cut: A brilliant-cut gemstone that is triangular in shape rather than round with 44 facets.
Troy Weight: gold and silver are measured in “Troy weight”, from Troyes in France, a system that includes pennyweights, ounces and pounds. The ounces and pounds do not equal the Avoirdupois or customary U.S. system that other common goods are measured in. gold is also commonly measured in metric grams. A pennyweight (abbreviated dwt.) is equal to 1.5552 grams.
24 grains = 1 pennyweight = 1.5552 grams
20 pennyweight = 1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grams
12 ounces = 1 pound troy = 373.24 grams.
Tsavorite: A transparent green garnet of the grossular family of garnets found at Tsavo, Kenya. Tsavorite is not the only green garnet, see also Uvarovite.
Turquoise: A hydrous aluminum phosphate colored by copper salts found in desert regions throughout the world and used in jewelry by the natives who live there including Mongolian, Chinese, Native Australian, Persian, and Southwestern Native American. Different colors of turquoise, varying from sky blue to nearly green occur in untreated turquoise. Brown or grey streaks in turquoise are caused by the “matrix”, or “mother stone”, from which the turquoise is mined. Interesting matrix patterns are considered to add beauty to the stone. Only Persian turquoise is usually without apparent matrix. Modern turquoise stones that appear very shiny and absolutely flawless are actually manufactured. Pulverized turquoise is reconstituted with a plastic binding medium then cut and shaped as though it were natural stone. This material is generally avoided by collectors. Touching the stone leaves oils on it which alters the color of the turquoise over many years. Collectors tend to value these color nuances as “the patina of time”. This unique stone is usually cut into cabochons, or domes, to enhance the natural beauty of the gem. Turquoise is considered a source of good fortune and beauty.
Turquoise, Treated: A process by which the pores of the turquoise stone are filled with a transparent substance such as mineral oil, paraffin wax, or plastic to improve the color and make it more desirable.
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Ultrasonic cleaner: A machine that cleans jewelry by using a fluid that is vibrated at 20,000 cycles per second. When the vibration speed rises above the ultrasonic frequency level, bubbles explode and generate strong power, cleaning the surfaces and cavities of hard-to-clean objects. Ultrasonic cleaning does not scratch the surface or harm objects like many chemical or abrasive cleansers.
Unakite: An opaque stone composed of pink feldspar, green epidote, and quartz. Metaphysical Properties: Emotional balance, spirituality. Facilitates re-birthing process. Good for healthy reproductive system and pregnancy. Resonates with the heart chakra and the astrological sign Scorpio.
Uvarovite: An emerald green garnet composed of chromium lime. Named from the Russian Count Uvaroff. Uvarovite is almost never used as a gemstone. Distinguishing Uvarovite and Tsavorite is difficult, but an experienced gemologist can do it.
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Valadium: A fine stainless steel that resembles white gold.
Vermeil: (Vehr-MAY) A substantial amount of real gold which has been chemically bonded to sterling silver. The finish looks so much like solid gold that, except for the price, it is difficult to tell the difference.
Victorian: The designation given to the period from approximately 1837 when Victoria became Queen of England until 1901 when she died. This long period is divided into early (approx. 1840-1860), mid (approx. 1860 – 1880) and late (approx. 1880-1900) since it covers a wide span of time, and a number of distinctive design trends. This period was preceded by the Georgian period, and succeeded by the Edwardian period after Victoria died in 1901, and her son Edward became king.
Vulcanite: A hard, moldable dark brown or black plastic used for memorial pieces in the mid-Victorian period.
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Water sapphire: See Iolite.
Wedding Cup: The tradition of the Jungfrauenbecher, meaning “maiden’s cup” originated in Germany during the 16th century. The legend goes that a goldsmith was challenged by the father of the girl he loved to build a cup that two people could drink from at the same time in order to marry his daughter. He came up with a chalice with a split in the handle which suspended a cup on a swivel. The contraption is now often referred to as the wedding cup for the role it plays in nuptial feasts. The bridegroom drinks a toast out of the larger cup and then rights the figure, without spilling the wine in the smaller pivoted bowl, which is then to be drunk by the bride. The Jungfrauenbecher has also been known as the “wager cup” – the challenge is having the couple drink from both cups at the same time without spilling the contents of either.
White Agate: See White Onyx.
White gold: An alloy made of gold mixed with nickel, sometimes also containing palladium or zinc.
White Marble: White colored crystalline limestone used primarily in sculpture and architecture, especially by the ancient Greeks and Romans. See also Marble
White Metal: Any combination of alloys of nonprecious metals such as lead and tin. Also called “Pot Metal”.
White Onyx: A form of agate from the chalcedony family which is semi-translucent with white to yellowish-white banding.
White Quartz: A translucent white mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form. White Quartz is basically clear quartz with a high degree of cloudiness. It is usually uniform in terms of the color, but has areas of more or less opacity.
Wholesale: Of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods in large bulk or quantity for resale by a retailer or jobber rather than directly to consumers.
Width: The horizontal measurement across the widest area of an item of jewelry.
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Y necklace: Usually 16 to 18 inches in length, this style of necklace gets its name from its shape which features a dangle forming a Y-shape around the neck.
Yttrium: A silvery metallic element of the boron–aluminum group, found in gadolinite and other rare minerals, and extracted as a dark gray powder. Not a rare earth but occurring in nearly all rare-earth minerals, used in various metallurgical applications, notably to increase the strength of magnesium and aluminum alloys.
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Zinc: An abundant, lustrous, bluish-white, metallic element of the magnesium–cadmium group. Zinc is brittle at room temperature but malleable when heated. It is used to form a wide variety of alloys including Brass, Britannia, Bronze, various solders, and Nickel Silver. Because zinc is not easily oxidized in moist air it is used for sheeting, coating galvanized iron (and other metals), for electric fuses, anodes, meter cases, in roofing, gutters, and is also largely consumed in electric batteries.
Zircon: A common mineral occurring in small crystals which is heated, cut, and polished to form a brilliant blue-white gem used as a refractory when opaque and as a gemstone when transparent.. They are not man made stones like cubic zirconia are. Although they are frequently color-treated, zircons occur naturally in clear, yellow, orange, brown and red. They are a chief source of zirconium. See Hyacinth.
Zoisite: Named after the man who discovered it, Von Zois, an Austrian mineralogist, Zoisite is opaque grayish or whitish mineral with green or black streaks occurring in rhombohedral crystals or columnar masses. It is a silicate of alumina and lime, similar to epidote, and is often found included with opaque ruby (corundum). Zoisite is found in Kenya, Norway, Austria, Western Australia, Italy, and North Carolina. There is a purple-blue variant of it discovered in Tanzania in 1967 called Tanzanite. Zoisite has a hardness of 6.5 on the Mohs scale.
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