Aigrette: A hair ornament consisting of a feather plume, or a spray of glitter, often accentuated by either a jewel or a buckle. Worn in the hair or attached to a head band, aigrettes were popular in the 1920’s through the early 1930’s.
Alloy: Combination of metals fused together. A base metal mixed with a precious ore to make it workable, to harden it, or to change its color.
Amethyst: Ranked among the most precious stones, until the eighteenth century when a large South American deposit was found in 1760. Its purple color is thought to be caused by iron and is still very popular. For more information about the history of amethysts, visit Fabulous Facets Gem History (use your browser's "back" key to return here)
Anneal (verb): The process of hardening glass, pottery, or metal by alternately heating and pounding it
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: Any object that is 100 years or more old.
Antiquing: A process of darkening the recessed areas of gold or silver jewelry to enhance the visibility of the engraving, thus lending the look of age or natural patination. Platinum cannot be antiqued.
Arabesque: Flowing scroll work, epitomized by curlicues in low relief
Articulated: Jewelry constructed with hinges to make it flexible; jewelry with moveable parts
Art Deco: Originally a French movement in the 1920s reacting against the ornate Art Nouveau style which preceded WWI. Popular in the US the style laid emphasis on bold geometric patterns and abstract forms.
Art Nouveau: Art movement widespread throughout Europe from around 1880-1910 particularly in the decorative and applied arts characterized by sinuous, organic forms and elaborately curving lines
Assay: The process of establishing the standards of purity of gold, silver and other alloys. After successful assay the article is hallmarked outside the US. Assaying finished pieces to ensure standards are maintained though is not a legal requirement in the US
Asscher Cut Diamond Shape: The "Asscher cut diamond" was developed in 1902 by the Asscher Brothers of Holland. It is a stepped square cut, often called the "square emerald cut" and like an emerald cut has cropped corners. Until recently very few stores carried Asscher cut diamonds. It gre in poularity after celebs and TV stars started receiving them in engagement rings.
Art Moderne (1935-1945): Also known as Streamline Moderne was a late version of Art Deco design. It emphazised curves, long horizontal lines and sometimes used nautcial elements.
Art Nouveau: Art movement widespread throughout Europe from around 1880-1910 particularly in the decorative and applied arts characterized by sinuous, organic forms and elaborately curving lines
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.
Aurora Borealis: The term "aurora borealis" is Latin and means "Northern Lights". Aurora borealis rhinestones are glass stones that have a special iridescent coating that shines with a rainbow of colors.
Bakelite: A trademarked name for a synthetic resin named after Belgian chemist L.H. Baekeland in 1909. Bakelite is a combination of phenol and formaldehyde, which makes for a very hard plastic.
Baguette: A narrow, rectangular-cut stone.
Bail: The connector at the top of a pendant, enabling the pendant to hang from a chain or cord.
Baroque: Bold, ornate, heavy looking ornamentation. When the term is used to describe a pearl, either real of fake, it means that the shape of the pearl is irregular.
Basse-taille: (pronounced bass-tie) This describes a technique of applying glass enamel to a metal surface that has been engraved deeply enough to hold the enamel when heated, with sides high enough to keep the enamel colors separate.
Bezel: A setting for a stone that has a collar instead of prongs to secure the stone
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
Bog Oak: Wood that was preserved over thousands of years in the bogs of Ireland, which was hard enough to be carved and used as jewelry; popular during Victorian times.
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.
Box Setting: A stone enclosed in a box-shaped setting with metal edges pressed down to hold the stone in place; also referred to as a "gypsy" mounting.
Brass: An alloy made up of roughly half copper and half zinc which has a nice yellow color.
Brilliant Cut: The standard round brilliant cut consists of a total of 58 facets: 1 table, 8 bezel facets, 8 star facets and 16 upper-girdle facets on the crown; 8 pavilion facets, 16 lower-girdle facets, and usually a culet on the pavilion, or base. Although the brilliant style was devised to give maximum brilliance and fire, many stones cut in this fashion do not have ideal proportions or angles for that purpose. Modifications of the round brilliant include such fancy shapes as the marquise, half moon, pear shape and many others. See also "Round Cut".
Briolette: A pear-shaped stone that is faceted and drilled to hang like a bead.
Brooch: A large pin; an ornamental piece of jewelry with a pin and clasp to be attached to clothing. It's from the French word "broche" which means "to pierce," or an object/weapon made for piercing.
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 its weight.
Brushed Finish: Brushed finish, also known as “satin” finish, is a texturing technique that can be used on metals where a series of tiny parallel lines are scratched onto the surface with a wire brush or polishing tool. The finish is semi-matte and may or may not show brushstrokes.
"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.
Cabochon (pronounced cab-oh-shawn): A dome-shaped stone without facets
Casting: Method of shaping metal by melting and then pouring into hollow mold. The casted piece is slightly more porous, with a rough surface that requires additional polishing and finishing.
Channel Setting: Stone setting method that fits stones of uniform size into a channel to form a continuous strip.
Chaton Cut: Round crystal jewelry stone shape with 12 facets on the pointed back.
Choker: A short necklace, generally less than 14" long.
Crystal: There are two basic kinds of crystal - rock crystal and man-made. Rock crystal is the common name for the silicate mineral, quartz, which is a semi- precious stone that occurs in nature. Man-made crystal is produced from a mixture of quartz and, soda, potash, and lead oxide. Swarovski is a man-made crystal. Oddly enough, rock crystal has nowhere near the color or brilliance of manufactured crystal.
Calibré Cut: Small stones that are often step-cut and rectangular. They are made to set into a certain size and shape setting or are set against another stone.
Cameo: A layered stone (frequently banded agate) or sea shell that has been carved with either a woman's profile (most common), a man's profile, a natural scene or themes involving the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. As the carver removed material from the surface the different layers beneath were revealed, most often showing different colors or shades which created a great, 3-dimensional quality to the scene or image.
Cameo Habillé (pronounced Cameo Hab-ee-yay): Most often, this is a depiction of a female who is carved wearing a diamond pendant, earrings or crown. The carver adds a small stone to the piece by drilling a small hole in the cameo, then setting the tiny stone which is wired to the back of the cameo.
Cannetille: A wirework decoration which uses coiled and twisted gold wire to achieve a delicate scrolling effect. It has a similar look to filigree.
Carnelian: Sometimes called cornelian. A translucent red or orange variety of chalcedony, sometimes banded red and orange like an agate. It is a grounding stone that boost personal prosperity and energy. Most carnelian comes from Brazil, India, Siberia, and Germany
Carat: A unit of mass used to measure diamonds, pearls and other gems. One carat equals 200 milligrams.. There are 100 points in a carat.that are 2 milligrams each.
Cartouche: An oblong design that holds an inscription. In Ancient Egypt they had a flat line at the bottom which meant a royal person or deitys name was written on it.
Casting: The technique of forming a substance, like glass or plastic or any substance that can be melted, into a specific shape with the use of a mold (see also "lost wax process")
Catalin: A brand name for bakelite. It is a thermoset polymer that can be cast and worked with files and saws eventually being polished.
Celluloid: A very thin, highly flammable plastic containing camphor. Celluloid is an early plastic that was invented in 1868 and used in jewelry to simulated tortoise shell, coral and alabaster. It was quickly abandoned for heavier, more stable plastics invented in the later part of the 19th century.
Celluloid brand: A trademark of Hyatt Brothers, Newark, NJ (1868), made of soluble guncotton and camphor, resembling ivory in texture and color. Celluloid can also be dyed to resemble coral, tortoise shell, amber, malachite and other natural stones. Should not be confused with the harder plastics such as Bakelite or Catalin. Because Celluloid is highly flammable, it enjoyed a brief popularity before it was replaced by more stable products which came into existence in the `1930’s, the phenolic resins.
Celtic: Designs that are derived from the ancient Irish, Gaelic, British, Scottish & Welsh symbols
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.
Chaton: A faceted stone that is round.
Champlevé: An enameling technique in which areas of metal are cut, etched or routed and then filled with enamel (molten glass). Most commonly applied to copper or bronze.
Channel Setting: A setting, usually narrow (hence "channel"), into which stones of the same size and cut have been tightly set, without prongs; the tension between the stones held in the channel is what holds them in, thus omitting the need for prongs. Created by Cartier in the 1920's.
Chatelaine (pronounced "Chat-ah-lain"): In Victorian days, woman did not have pockets. A chatelaine was pinned at a woman's waist, with several chains suspended from it, most commonly holding scissors, keys, thimble, comb and other household necessities. Today, a chatelaine pin most commonly refers to 2 pins that are joined together by small chain(s).
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 on cars.
Cire-perdue: The French word for lost-wax casting. see "Casting"
Clip: A dress clip is like a brooch, except instead of having a pin stem on the back it has a folding clip that enables it to be worn or used in a variety of ways. A fur clip also has a folding mechanism on the back, but the mechanism is made of 2 sharp prongs and was originally used to hold fur wraps around a woman's neck. They were popular in the 1920's through the 1940's. Today they are very collectible, and can be used in many ways.
Cloisonné (pronounced "cloi-zon-ay"): Another technique of enameling whereby the enamel (colored glass powder) is placed into pockets or cells of metal, then baked and cooled to solidify. The metal portions have high "walls" to keep the colors from running into each other during firing.
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.
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 (like lemon juice). Imitation coral is made from glass, porcelain, or plastic and will not effervesce when touched with acid.
Cubic Zirconia: Cubic Zirconia are man made gems which appear very much like diamond yet do not have the same intrinsic properties such as hardness. “CZ’s” as they are often called, are mass produced and much less expensive than natural diamonds but it is nearly impossible to tell the diference between the two stones with the naked eye.
Culet: The flat face on the bottom of a faceted gemstone.
Cultured pearl: When an oyster or mollusk is artificially "seeded" with a tiny grain of sand. The mollusk then excretes a coating to protect itself from the irritant. Several layers are accreted creating a real, freshwater pearl. See freshwater pearl
Cushion Cut: A square or rectangular stone that has rounded corners, also called "antique cut". The older form of the brilliant cut having a girdle outline approaching a square with rounded corners. Essentially an "old-mine cut". (See also "Mine Cut")
Cut Steel: Steel studs that have been machine stamped, cut with facets and highly polished. In the days before electricity the faceted steel would be quite brilliant, giving the impression of gemstones in candlelight. Most frequently used from 1750-1870; highly susceptible to rust and corrosion. Finding it in good condition today is not common.
Damascene: Refers to a type of jewelry that today most often comes from Spain; the jewelry is inlaid or engraved with gold or silver metals and black enamel; originated in the 14th century in Damascus, hence the name.
Demi-Parure: A partial set of jewelry. A full set usually includes a necklace, earrings, bracelet and brooch, all matching. A demi ("demi" is the French word for half) can refer to any combination such a necklace and brooch, or bracelet and earrings, but is lacking the other pieces of a full set
Deposé: The rights or patent granted for an exclusive jewelry design in France. If the reverse of a piece of jewelry is stamped "deposé" it was made in France. The literal translation is "hand made".
Diamond: A mineral composed essentially of carbon that crystallizes in the cubic, or isometric, crystal system and is therefore singly refractive. It is by far the hardest of all known natural substances (10 on Mohs’ scale); only manmade Borazon and synthetic diamond are as hard. In its transparent form it is the most cherished and among the most highly valued gemstones. It occurs in colors ranging from colorless to yellow, brown, orange, green, blue, and violet. Reddish stones are known, but those of an intense red color approaching that of ruby are excessively rare. Its hardness and high refractive index (2.417) permits it to be fashioned as the most brilliant of all gems, and its dispersion (.044) produces a high degree of fire. The specific gravity is 3.52. Sources include various sections of south, west, southwest and middle Africa; Russia; central, east and northeast South America; India; Borneo; and Australia. It is also found in the United States, but not in commercial quantity.
Diamond Cut: A name sometimes used in the colored-stone trade for brilliant cut.
Dog Collar: Popular during the Victorian era, this was a snug necklace made either of rows of pearls or beads and usually worn high up on the neck. Ribbons were also used with a jewel or pendant hanging at the front. It was made popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods by Queen Alexandra who had a long, graceful neck.
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
Edwardian Era: Refers to the years that King Edward of England held the British throne from 1901-1911. Edward was Queen Victoria's son and inherited the British Crown when she died in 1901. His wife, Danish Princess Alexandra, and him set the trends for dress. The jewelry is characterized by white metal set with pearls and diamonds and accented with colored stones.Earrings, rings, bracelets and necklaces had light, airy, lace-like designs.
Electro-plating: the process of applying a metal (most often gold) to adhere to the surface of another metal using electrical current.
Emerald Cut: A form of “step cutting.” It usually is rectangular, but sometimes is square, in which case it is known as a square emerald cut. It has rows (steps) of elongated facets on the crown and pavilion, parallel to the girdle, with sets on each of four sides and at the corners. The number of rows, or steps, may vary, although the usual number is three on the crown and three on the pavilion. The emerald cut is seldom used for diamonds in the intermediate color grades since it tends to emphasize color. It is excellent, however, for colorless stones and when it is desirable to emphasize the color of fancy colors.
Empire Earrings: The distinctive hoop shape of Roman earrings of around 1st century BC with freshwater pearls or amethysts in sterling or gold.
Enamel: A glass powder or paste that is applied to metal, then fired in an annealing oven to bake the glass onto the metal.
Engraving: The process of decorating metal by etching a design or letters into its surface
En Tremblant: A moveable, trembling effect generally achieved through the use of coiled springs of metal mounted underneath the portion of the brooch that is intended to move; often found in antique brooches or hair ornaments.
European Cut: Now mostly obsolete; a style of diamond cutting popular from1890 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
Facet: A small plane surface on a cut stone that is polished.
Fancy Cut: Any style of diamond cutting other than the round brilliant or single cut. Fancy cuts include the marquise, emerald cut, heart shape, pear shape, keystone, half moon, kite, triangle, and many others. Also called the “fancy-shaped” diamond or “modern cut.”
Faux (pronounced "foe"): French word meaning false, fake, imitation or artificial. In a manufacturing context, faux is used to indicate something made to resemble something else. A common example is that cubic zirconia stones are faux diamonds.
Filigree: Thin strands of wire are intricately interlaced or bent into rosettes, spirals, scrolls and 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 when wire is soldered 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.
Findings: All types of construction components used in jewelry making such as clasps, headpins, jumprings, etc.
Finish: Finish is used to describe the polish or texture applied to a metal. Common finishes include high polish, matte, scratched or brushed.
Fire: Flashes of different spectrum colors seen in diamonds and other gemstones as the result of dispersion.
Fleur-de-lis: 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.
Florentine Finish: A Florentine finish is a cross-hatched pattern, tooled into the surface of a metal. The lines are often coarse and more deep than that of a "brushed finish".
Fob: A short chain or ribbon attached to a pocket watch, often with an ornament or decorative seal attached to the end.
Foil: The reflective coating on the back of a gemstone or rhinestones to increase brilliance and depth of color. It was often used on gemstones in the 18th & 19th centuries. Today, foiling is mostly used on rhinestones.
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 that is neither "French" nor "jet". Originally meant to simulate real jet which is black ignite (fossilized coal). Victorian jet was made into jewelry for use during mourning and was made popular by Queen Victoria . As a result, sources of natural jet were quickly depleted.
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 Pearls: Pearls produced by fresh water mussels.Humans place an irritant inside the mussels covers it with nacre which eventually produces a pearl. Multiple pearls are created at one time by one mussel. They are then harvested after a set amount of time. Freshwater pearls are much more expensive than saltwater pearls but have similar look.
Full-Cut Brilliant: A brilliant-cut diamond or colored stone with the usual total of 58 facets, consisting of 32 facets and a table above the girdle, and 24 facets and culet below.
Full Lead Crystal: Full lead crystal is the finest man-made crystal because its high lead oxide content serves to enhance its natural color spectrum. The production of full lead crystal begins by combining proportionate amounts of quartz and soda, potash and lead oxide which are then subjected to extremely high heat until molten. Crystal is not considered full lead until the lead oxide content goes above 30%. Swarovski full lead crystal has a lead content of 30% plus.