Common Jewelry Terms and Definitions




Index

Alloys. Annealing (metal). Annealing (glass). Antiqued. Base metal. Bezel setting. Bi-Cone. Box Clasp. Brilliant Cut. Cabochon Cut. Chain Maille. Carat. Cast. Chandelier. Color Enhanced Gemstones. Composite Stones. Crown. Crown setting. Crystal/Swarovski. Culet. Dicrolic Glass. Druk Beads. Embossed. Emerald Cut. Enameled. Engraved. Etched. Facet. Faux pearls. Filigree. Fine Silver. Fire-polish Beads. Forged. Frame setting. Gauge. Girdle. Gold-filled. Gold Plate. Hammered. Hinge Clasp. Hook and Eye Clasp. Inclusion. Iridescent. Jump ring. Karat. Lampworked. Lariat. Lever Back. Lobster Clasp. Machine Cut. Marquise Cut. Mirror Setting. Mokume Gane. Moh’s Hardness scale. Nugget. Opaque. Oxidation. Pavilion. Pear Cut. Prong setting. Repousse. Riveting. Seed Bead. Screw clasp. Soldered. Split ring. Spring Ring Clasp. Stamping. Sterling Silver. Surgical Steel. Table. Tarnish. Tiger Tail. Toggle Clasp. Transparent. Translucent. Vermeil. Vintage. Wire Sculpted. Wire wrapped.

Bibliography:
"Mastering the basics of Wire Jewelry with Metallique"
"The theory and practice of Goldsmithing" by Prof. Dr. Erhard Brepohl. Enjoy.


Alloys
A metal created by combining two or more other metals to improve the characteristics, such as strength, durability, and Malleability of the resultant material. Most metals, used to make jewelry, are alloys.
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Annealing (glass)
Heating or baking glass work to improve its strength and durability.
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Annealing (metal)
Heating the metal to cherry red color, in order to soften it and make it more malleable – exact opposite goal of annealing the glass. Can be done with a torch or in the special kiln.
Antiqued(also see Oxidation)
A purposeful oxidation of a jewelry piece, to increase contrast between different parts of the piece, and to make a relief work more dramatic.
Done by the use of heat and/or sulfur compounds. Back to Index

Base Metal
Any non-precious metal, copper, nickel, brass wire, etc. Back to Index

Bezel Setting
A basic setting used mainly to set cabochons. The stone is placed onto a base plate, framed by perpendicular wall, which is pressed over a stone to hold it securely in place. As light does not usually enter a bezel set stone form underneath, the setting is usually used for opaque stones. Back to Index

Bi-Cone
Diamond shaped bead, created from many different materials including wire. Back to Index

Brilliant Cut
A modern round faceted cut, usually used for diamonds, but also popular for various colored precious stones. It features 58 facets, and when well proportioned, enables the most light to be reflected through the top, making it the shiniest, brightest looking cut – hence the name “brilliant”. Back to Index

Box Clasp
A very popular for multi-strand bracelets clasp consisting of a box, tongue, snag, and trigger. Although there are several variations to the clasp’s looks, all of them work on the same principal. The hollow box has an opening on one side to accommodate the v shaped folded piece of springy metal (tongue) with a narrower lever attached to the top of the V, that lever being a trigger one has to press to open or close the clasp. The trigger is pressed and the tongue is inserted into the opening, with shorter sides, getting caught on the inside of the opening’s walls (those wall being the snag). There are various ways to alter the opening to allow the tongue to get stuck, the most common one being the rectangular hole as wide as the tongue, topped with a smaller rectangular hole, which is as wide as the trigger. The pressure of a springy V holds the tongue against the snag, thus keeping the box clasp closed. To open it, the trigger has to be held down again and then pulled out. Back to Index

Cabochon Cut
A gemstone cut, that is flat on the bottom and rounded on the top. Can be any shape, from round to free form, as long as the above two rules apply. Back to Index

Carat
Not to be confused with Karat, Carat is a unit of weight, used to measure precious stones. Majority of the world accepts that 200 milligrams are the equivalent of 1 carat. Since stones are measured by weight, not size – denser stones will appear smaller. For example emerald weights less then diamond, so 1 carat diamond will look smaller then 1 carat emerald. Back to Index

Casting
A jewelry component created by melting metal, pouring it into a mold, and then cooling it down before removing it from the mold. There are many ways to create casting: from simple sand casting, where, usually very soft metal, is poured into an indentation in a layer of sand; to lost wax casting, where the complicated process begins with carving the shape of a future component from special wax. Back to Index

Chain Maille
Technique used to create jewelry and accesories by attaching jump rings together using different patterns. Back to Index

Chandelier
A style used in earrings, pendants and more, where several dangles hang from a solid, top component. Back to Index

Chasing
A process of creating a recessed design on sheet metal by striking various steel punches (pencil like tools) with a chasing hammer, making indentations in the metal. Thins metal at the point of impact. Back to Index

Color Enhanced Gemstones
Gemstones, whose color has been altered artificially. There are various ways to artificially improve or change the color of gemstones. Some of those methods also improve gemstone clarity. Heating and Radiation treatments are used to improve or change the color of a gemstone (most citrines are actually heat treated amethysts) and often remove some of the inclusions, to make the stone clearer. Dyeing is also used to change the color of the stones, but its not as long lasting as heat treatment, but can be used with opaque stones and pearls. Oiling is usually used on emeralds, to deepen the color by filling in microscopic cracks in the stone. It’s an accepted procedure among the jewelers and one of the reasons, why emeralds should not be ultrasonically cleaned. Foil-backing, is exactly what it sounds to be, where foil is placed underneath the stone to increase the sparkle and sometimes to add even color to clear stone. Most rhinestone crystals are foil-backed. Back to Index

Composite Stones
Stones consisting of two or more parts, firmly attached to each other. Doublets are stones consisting of two sides, glued together with colored or colorless cement. In case of colorless glue, the color is achieved by using synthetic or cheaper colored stone for bottom part. Triplets are almost the same as doublets, except that instead of just cement there’s a third stone layer. Opals are often triplets, with layer of quartz on the top to strengthen and brighten the stone and a layer of durable base to prevent opal from cracking from beneath. Back to Index

Crown
The top facets on a faceted gemstone between the table and the girdle. Back to Index

Crown Setting
A cross between the prong and bezel setting. Usually starts as a bezel wall, with small pieces cut out later on at equal intervals, to form the prongs that look like the peaks of the crown – hence the name. Back to Index

Crystal(Swarovski)
Swarovski crystals are internationally famous for their high quality. They are made of glass, containing 32% of lead, which not only clarifies it, but also greatly increases the sparkle. Due to high content of lead and their quality faceting, Swarovski crystals produce a diamond like effect. Back to Index

Culet
The culet is the lowest part or point of the faceted stone. Usually present in brilliant cut stones, and sometimes engraved with the appraisal information to protect the stone form being stolen and resold. A missing culet may indicate a damaged stone. Back to Index

Dicrolic Glass
A glass, which contains extremely thin layers of chromium, silicon, titanium, aluminum and zirconium, giving it beautiful multicolored appearance, that changes with different view angles. Back to Index

Druk Beads
Smooth, perfectly round glass beads. Back to Index

Embossed
Metal, shaped by force, using a hammer and chasing tools (metal rods resembling pencils) with rounded bottoms. Back to Index

Emerald Cut
A rectangular cut of the stone, usually with rounded edges. The most secure and popular cut for emeralds – hence the name, but can also be used for cutting other faceted stones and in cabochon cuts. Back to Index

Enameled
Design created by fusing Glass to metal under extreme heat, thus giving it colorful, painted look. Back to Index

Engraved
Design created by literally scraping of the excess metal with a sharp tool, called graver. Often used to add personalized messages and names to rings and bracelets, and more often then not done with an engraving machine, rather then hand tools. Back to Index

Etched
Recessed design created by using acid or sand on metal or glass with the parts, which need to remain untouched, covered with protective paint, or wax etc. Back to Index

Facets
Flat sides of the cut gemstone, that absorb and/or release light, giving gemstone sparkle and life. Back to Index

Faux Pearls
Beads made to look like pearls by applying pearlized finish to manmade base. Higher quality faux pearls have leaded glass base to give them weight and temperature, similar to real pearls, with the lowest end beads being of the plastic type you can find in your local 99 cent store, to Swarovski pearls, made with leaded glass base, to expensive Majorica’s, that look, feel, and require the same care as the real pearls, not to mention the fact, that some times the cost as much as some fresh water cultured pearls. Back to Index

Filigree
Delicate metal work that resembles lace, usually cast, but often hand soldered from smaller parts, hand sawed in sheet metal, and sometimes wire sculpted. Back to Index

Fine Silver
99.9% silver, that looks brighter and doesn’t tarnish as fast as sterling silver. Back to Index

Fire-Polish Beads
Molded glass beads usually found faceted, that are put through extremely high temperatures to increase the shine and soften the facet edges. Back to Index

Forged
Design or shape created by changing the shape and hardness of metal through working it between the hammer and metal anvil, in such way that no metal is removed. Back to Index

Frame Setting
Similar to Bezel Setting, but containing no backing. A lot of wire worked settings are frame settings. Back to Index

Gauge
A unit of measurement, used to determine the width of wire or sheet metal. The larger the number of the gauge – the smaller the width. Back to Index

Girdle
The widest part on the faceted gemstone, it is a border that separates the crown from the pavilion. Back to Index

Gold-Filled
Made of base metal, usually brass, with 1/20 (or more) of the material thickness being kart gold mechanically bonded to the base metal. The gold layer is usually 50 to 100 times as thick as on a plated item. Gold filled looks and usually wears as well as karat gold for fraction of a cost of full gold. Back to Index

Gold Plated
Base metal covered with a very thin layer of gold. Usually done by electroplating, where the piece is immersed in electrolyte solution containing gold particles, and then electric current is sent through the solution. Can also be done by pen plating, where precious metal is literally painted onto base metal, or by boiling items to be plated in Cyanide solution (method used before electroplating was discovered). The layer of gold in plated jewelry is negligible, and rubs off very quickly with wear. Back to Index

Hammered
Textured finish created by repeatedly striking metal with various hammers. Also see Chasing and ForgingBack to Index

Hook and Eye Clasp
A very basic clasp, consisting of bent wire or metal strip forming a hook, on one end and the ring on the other. The hook is put through the ring to close the catch. Needs tension from both ends of the chain it is attached to stay closed. Back to Index

Inclusion
An internal flaw of the precious stone. Usually natural, but synthetic stones are often given manmade flaws to make them appear more like the real thing. There are various types of flaws, and the shape and amount of them often serves to determine the type of the stone, its origin, and its value. Back to Index

Iridescent
A permanent “rainbow” finish, which is applied while the bead is hot. Back to Index

Jump Ring
A metal ring, used to connect jewelry components together or to form chains. The most common shape is round, although other shapes are made as well. Back to Index

Karat
Measure of fineness of gold. 24k is pure gold, while 20k, 18k, 14k etc. are alloys of gold combined with base metal, usually various combination of silver, copper, zinc, tin, cadmium, or nickel. None of the alloys contain all of the above base metals, and 10k yellow and 14k medium yellow may contain nickel. Currently, due to high occurrence of allergies to nickel, it is no longer part of gold alloys used in jewelry and can only be found in older pieces. Back to Index

Lampworked
Handcrafted glass beads or sculptures, made by manipulating slender glass rods in front of a gas burner/torch. Back to Index

Lariat
A shape usually given to the necklace, forming a letter ‘V’ with one of more long dangles attached to the bottom point. Often closes from the front and is adjustable length. Back to Index

Lever Back
Type of earwire, consisting of several movable parts, that firmly close together to secure the earring in the earlobe. Back to Index

Lobster Clasp
Metal clasp, whose shape resembles a lobster claw. Back to Index

Machine Cut
Precision cut and/or faceted by a machine. Facets have highly polished plane surfaces and sharp angles, that are identical in each same-size stone, making them perfect for various settings. Cabochons that are machine cut, also sport identical size and shape, in addition to higher luster of the cabochon top. Back to Index

Marquise Cut
An almond shaped cut of the stone. Can be both faceted and cabochon cut. Back to Index

Mirror Setting
A thick walled bezel/frame setting with the sides of the bezel, polished to mirror finish, so that the stone appears to be surrounded by a mirrored frame. Back to Index

Moh’s Hardness scale
Classification scale, devised in a middle of 19th century by a mineralogist Friedrich Mohs; designed to measure resistance of a stone to being scratched, with 1 being the softest and 10 being the hardest. The example of Moh’s Scale below is taken from Rio Grande’s “Gems and Findings” Catalogue.

1. Can be scratched easily with a fingernail.Sulfur: 1-1.5
Talc: 1
2. Can be scratched with a fingernail Amber: 2-3
Ivory: 2-4
3. Can be scratched with a coinPearl: 3-4
Coral: 3-4
Malachite: 3.5-4
4. Can be scratched easily with the knife; cannot scratch glass Rhodochrosite: 4
5. Can be scratched with a knife; can just scratch glass Lapis Lazuli: 5-6
Turquoise: 5-6
Opal: 5.5-6.5
6. Can be scratched with a steel file; easily scratches window/bottle glass Moonstone: 6-6.5
Tanzanite: 6.5-7
Peridot: 6.5-7
Zircon: 6.5-7.5
7. Easily scratches metal, glass and softer stones Citrine: 7
Amethyst: 7
Tourmaline: 7-7.5
Garnet: 7-7.5
Emerald: 7.5-8
8. Scratches quartz and softer stones Topaz: 8
Alexandrite: 8.5
9. Scratches topaz and softer stones Ruby: 9
Sapphire: 9
10. Scratches RubyDiamond: 10

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Mokume Gane
Japanese metalworking technique that creates a finish resembling the wood grain. Various colored shits of metal are fused together, the internal layers are exposed to a desired pattern by removing some of the metal from the top layers, and then the whole piece is rolled with a rolling mill, making it flat and creating multicolored grain effect. Mokume means “wood grain” in Japanese and Gane means “metal”, so the name of the technique is pretty self-explanatory. Back to Index

Nugget
A naturally occurring piece of gemstone or a mineral, that is attractive without further shaping. No two are exactly alike. Back to Index

Opaque
Solid color, which does not allow light to pass through. Back to Index

Oxidation
(also see Antiqued) Darkening or other color changes of metal, which is accelerated by humidity, especially salty air or the presence of acidic perspiration. Pavilion
The bottom part of the faceted gemstone, everything below the girdle. Back to Index

Pear Cut
Tear shaped cut of a precious stone. Can be both faceted and cabochon cut. Back to Index

Princess Cut
Square with sharp angles cut of a gemstone. Can be both faceted and cabochon cut. Back to Index

Prong Setting
Also called the “claw setting” is the type of setting, that allows the most of the stone to show. If you take a CD and firmly grasp it all around with the tips of your fingers, you’d be creating a prong setting for it, with your fingers being the prongs. Back to Index

Repousse
A technique similar to Chasing / , with indentations made from the bottom, so that the finished design looks raised. Unlike chasing, repousse does not significantly change the thickness of metal, as the metal is being pushed out and pulled, but not compressed. Back to Index

Riveting
Joining to components without the use of heat and solder, or chemicals, like glue. “A rivet is a short length of rod that holds two or more pieces together by trapping them between upset heads, or lumps on each end.” (Brepohl) Chain Mail armor is often riveted, as are common full tang kitchen knifes. Back to Index

Seed Beads
Very small beads, with the highest quality (most uniform in shape) beads being manufactured in Japan. Less uniform in shape, but very widely used are Czech seed beads. Back to Index

Screw Clasp
A clasp consisting of a threaded tube and a screw that goes into it. A very narrow clasp, that is wonderful for necklaces or bracelets with elongated links. Also commonly used for creating an invisible clasp in strings of beads. Especially pearls, where the tube part is hidden within a pearl bead, so that when the screw is in place, it looks like an endless string. Back to Index

Soldered
Metal components that are permanently joined, by applying special metal alloy called solder to the surfaces of the future seam, heating them, so that the solder flows into the molecular structure of the heated pieces of metal and unites them by diffusion. Back to Index

Split Ring
A ring of metal used to join components together, similar to jump ring. Unlike the jump ring, split ring has the metal going around the perimeter twice, making it more secure. The most common example is a key chain ring. Back to Index

Spring Ring Clasp
A cross between the hook and lobster clasps. Unlike in lobster clasps, where the bar moves to the side, the bar in spring ring clasp retracts into the tube forming the rest of the clasp, achieving the hook shape, and then springs back in place to form a secure closure. It is usually round. Back to Index

Stamping
Forming a shape out of metal (or on it), by pinching it between two rigid dies. Coins are stamped (rather then being cast). Back to Index

Sterling Silver
An alloy of 92.5% silver with the balance usually of copper. Back to Index

Surgical Steel
Stainless steel alloy, that is hypoallergenic when not plated. It is darker and grayer then sterling silver. Back to Index

Table
The top flat area of a faceted gemstone. Back to Index

Tarnish
See Oxidation Back to Index

Tiger Tail
Nylon coated steel cable, used for stringing beads. Back to Index

Toggle Clasp
Two-part clasp usually with one circular piece and one bar shaped. Back to Index

Transparent
Allows light to pass through, clear or colors. Back to Index

Translucent
Allows light to partially pass through, clear or colors. Back to Index

Trillion Cut
Triangular cut of a precious stone with slightly rounded sides and sharp corners. Can be both faceted and cabochon cut. Back to Index

Vermeil
18k gold plate over solid sterling silver. Back to Index

Vintage
Items usually over 25 years old is considered vintage. Back to Index

Wire Sculpted
Setting for gemstones, created completely out of wire with free flowing curls and swirls of wire. Back to Index

Wire wrapped
Setting for gemstones, created completely out of wire, having a tailored look. Back to Index