Helpful Jewelry Terms

 Jewelry Information

Asterism
The star-like reflection of white lines present in some gemstones. Asterism is most prevalent in rubies and sapphires.

Baguette
A gem cut in a narrow rectangle.

Bangle bracelet
A non-flexible type of bracelet that slips easily over the hand or is sometimes hinged to snap over the wrist.

Baroque Pearl
A large, irregularly shaped pearl.

Bezel Setting
Setting in which the rim holds the stone, completely surrounding the gem.

Bib
More than three strands of different lengths, the longest 18”.

Birefringence
Double refraction, meaning the ability of certain crystals to split incidental light into two rays with different refractive indices.

Biwa Pearl
A variety of cultured pearls produced in fresh water, that come from Biwa Lake in Japan.

Brilliance
The light that enters the top of the stone reflects within the stone and returns through the table to the eye.

Brilliant cut
A round gemstone cut, generally used for diamonds.

Cabochon
A gemstone cut that features a smooth, rounded surface. Used for opaque or strongly colored transparent stones.

Carat
A measure of weight used for gemstones, equal to 200 milligrams or 1/5 gram.

Carat weight
The total weight of a gemstone (often referred to as “size”).

Channel setting
Type of setting in which the gemstones are set into a channel, or single row, with no metal (or fine strips) separating them.

Charm bracelet
Type of bracelet on which a variety of decorative charms are hung.

Charm
A small, decorative article worn suspended from a bracelet.

Choker
Uniform beads fitting like a dog collar. Usually 15” long.

Clarity
A term used to define the clearness of a gemstone or the absence of internal flaws.

Coin (Silver)
90% silver and 10% copper.

Color
The color of a gemstone. In diamonds, the color is graded on an alphabetical scale, with D being the exceptional white and as the alphabet progresses to Z the color growing less and less white.

Cuff bracelet
A non-flexible type bracelet, made in the form of a wide cylindrical band, featuring either an open back or a hinge. Cuffs slip over the wrist and are tighter than bangles.

Cultured Pearl
A type of pearl that is created within a mollusk by manually inserting an irritant into the shell. This becomes the nucleus of the pearl and is surrounded by layers of nacre.

Cut
The shape of a stone when changed from a rough stone to agem.

Doublet
A composite stone made up of two layers fused together, appearing as a whole natural stone.

Durability
A gemstone’s ability to withstand wears. Durability is affected by the gemstone’s hardness, toughness, and stability.

Ear clip
A type of earring that is secured to the ear lobe by a hinged support.

Ear cuff
A type of ear jewelry that slides onto the cartilage portion of the ear.

Ear hook
A type of earring in which a slender loop of wire slips through the ear lobe.

Ear stud
A type of earring consisting of a front part that fits through the ear lobe and connects to the back part, called a clutch, behind the lobe. When worn, only the front part is seen.

Emerald cut
A gemstone cut generally used for a diamond or an emerald. The stone is cut into a rectangular shape with step cut sides.

Facet
Any of the small, polished flat surfaces of a gemstone.

Fancies
Diamonds that is naturally colored and extremely rare.

Feather
Residual inclusions along the surface of a crack produced in a crystal during its formation. So called, because they look like feathers (or veins or lace).

Filigree
A style of intertwining strands of gold or silver wire.

Fine gold
99.9% gold or higher; contains no alloy material. Fine gold is 24K gold.

Fine silver
99.9% silver, commercially pure, that contains no alloy material.

Fire
The Visible effect of the dispersion of the ray of light from a gemstone.

Freshwater pearl
A variety of cultured pearls produced in fresh water. They come in a variety of colors and are often bleached to a bright white. They are usually irregular in shape (similar to Rice Krispies).

German silver
An alloy that looks silvery in color, but consists of nickel, copper, and zinc and is often use in costume jewelry.

Gilding
The process of covering silver, base metal, or some other substance with a thin layer of gold; either pure gold or a gold alloy.

Gold electroplate
A term for the process where an item made of a base metal is immersed in an electrolytic solution and tiny particles of gold bond to the surface of the piece. The layer of gold must be 7/1,000,000 of an inch thick.

Gold filled (GF)
A layer of gold that is bonded through heat and pressure to a base metal. The weight of the gold must be at least 1/20 or 5% of the total piece. The fineness stamp could be 1/20 10K GF but, is usually just stamped 10K GF.

Gold flashed
A thin gold electroplate.

Gold leaf
A thin layer of gold that is burnished or rubbed into place. It is too thin to be commonly used in jewelry.

Gold overlay
A term sometimes used for gold filled or for rolled gold plate.

Gold tone
A thin gold electroplate.

Gold washed
A thin gold electroplate.

Gold
A heavy precious metal. Gold is the most popular jewelry metal today.

Hardness
A gemstone’s resistance to scratching or abrasions

Heart cut
The most romantic of the gemstone cuts.

Heavy goldElectroplate (HE)
The same methods as gold electroplate but, item has a gold layer of 100/1,000,000 of an inch.

Imitation gemstone
An artificial stone used to imitate the appearance of a natural gemstone. Such copies have totally different physical and chemical characteristics than a natural gemstone.

Inclusion
Any foreign matter that is enclosed within a mineral or crystal.

 K
Stands for Karat.

Karat gold
In the U.S., a gold alloy of not less than 10K fineness. The term is synonymous with “real gold” when referring to fine jewelry.

Karat
A measure of fineness equal to 1/24” part by weight of the metallic element gold in an alloy. Fine or pure gold is 24 karats.

Lace
Liquid inclusions trapped along the surface of a crack produced in a crystal during its formation and partially healed by such fluids. The pattern of the residual liquid is similar in appearance to lace, or the veins on an insect’s wings.

Link bracelet
A type of flexible bracelet made up of a series of links.

Loupe clean
A gemstone with no inclusions visible when using a 10X loupe.

Marquise cut
A type of cut in the shape of a boat or a pointed oval, which features 56 facets. The ideal proportions being achieved when the stone is twice as long as it is wide.

Matinee
Length of necklace. 24”-26” long.

Matrix
The web-like coloring in a gemstone such as a turquoise.

Mexican Silver
Silver used by Mexican craftsmen. It is generally 90% silver, although there is no guarantee of the percentage of silver. Some may be as low as 50% silver.

Mohs scale
A scale for measuring the hardness of a mineral or other hard substance, developed in 1812 by Austrian Friedrich Mohs. Mohs took ten well-known minerals and assigned them numbers according to their hardness (10 is the hardness). The minerals are: 1) talc; 2) gypsum; 3) calcite; 4) fluorite; 5) apatite; 6) orthoclase; 7) quartz; 8) topaz; 9) sapphire; 10) diamond

Nickel silver
An alloy that looks silvery in color, but consists of nickel, copper, and zinc. It contains no silver and is often used in costume jewelry.

 Opaque
Does not permit light to pass through.

Opera
Length of necklace 28”-30” long.

Oval cut
An adaptation of the round brilliant cut that appears larger than a round stone of the same carat weight.

Pave setting
A jewelry setting in which small gems are placed close together.

Pear shaped
A type of gemstone cut, sometimes called “drop shaped.”

Pendant
An ornament suspended from a neck chain or necklace.

Platinum
A steel-gray; easy-to-form precious metal that is very resistant to corrosion. The rarest, strongest, and most costly fine metal; it is the metal of choice for much fine jewelry. Platinum jewelry must be at least 90% platinum.

Pleochroism
A difference in light absorption (and therefore color) in the various directions of the crystals in a gemstone.

Point
A weight measurement used for stones less than one carat (one carat = 100 points).

Precious metals
Gold, silver, and the six metals of platinum gold are also called the noble or precious metals. These metals are valued above others because of chemical and physical properties, such as resistance to corrosion, hardness, strength, and beauty, and also, because they are relatively rare or expensive.

Princess cut
A square cut with 58 facets.

Princess
Length of necklace 20”-22” long.

Prong setting
The most commonly used setting in jewelry. It requires setting a stone in a head or basket setting.

 Radiant cut
A modified square cut with the corner cut of at 45 degrees.

Rhinestone
A colorless, artificial gem often cut as an imitation of a diamond.

Rolled gold plate (RGP)
The same method as gold filled, except it can have a weight ratio less than 1/20.

Rope
Length of necklace. 34”-42” long.

Round brilliant
The most popular of all polished diamond shapes accounting for 56% of all cut diamonds. It has 58 facets if there is a culet or 57 without a culet.

Seed pearl
A very small round pearl, often irregular, that weighs less than one-quarter of a grain.

Silk
Term used to describe a close network of ling needle-like inclusions, usually of futile, in corundum. These inclusions give the gem a silky luster.

Silver filled
The silver version of gold filled. Silver must be at least 1/20” of the weight of the piece.

Silver plate
The silver version of gold electroplate. The coating of silver must be at least 7/1,000,000 of an inch.

Sparkle
The flashing effect seen when a diamond moves in the light.

Stability A gemstone’s resistance to attack by temperature,
radiation (such as the sun), and chemicals.

Sterling Silver
92.5% silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper.

Tiffany setting
A type of setting in which the stone is secured by six prongs.

Titanium
A strong, lightweight metal that can be colored by heating. It is hypoallergenic.

 Toughness
A gemstone’s resistance to breaking, chipping, or cracking.

Translucent
Letting light pass through, but in a diffused manner so that objects behind cannot be seen distinctly.

Transparent
Permitting light rays without diffusion so that objects behind can be seen distinctly.

Triplet
A composite stone made of three layers – two layers of stone and a middle layer of colored cement – which enhances the color of the whole stone.

Vermeil
Gold electroplating over a sterling silver base.

White Gold
An alloy (combination) of gold, zinc, nickel, palladium and copper that produces a white (silver) metal used in making jewelry.

 

Helpful Watch Terms

Analog                                  
A watch has hands that move continuously around the face.

Balance Wheel                   
Device that, by oscillating, regularizes the movement of the train of a watch or clock.

Ball-Bearing Watch            
Watch in which all or some of the moving parts have pivots that turn on a ball bearing, in order to replace sliding friction by rolling friction, which is weaker.

Bezel                                       
The decorative ring that is sometimes used around the face of a watch.

Buckle-clasp                          
Round or rectangular device for joining the two ends of a wristet or strap.

Case                                      
Container that protects the watch-movement from dust, damp and shocks. It also gives the watch as attractive appearance as possible, subject to fashion and the taste of the public. The following are the main parts of a watchcase. The middle part, into which the movement is fixed, is the case band. On the bridge side, the middle of the case is closed by the case back. On the dial side, the lunette or bezel, carrying the glass closes it.

Cabochon                            
Precious stone polished by uncut. In French, the word is also used for an embossed ornament on a dial, and of a fancy gilt nail or stud as used by upholsterers. Also, a cabochon stone may be used or a crown.

Calendar                                
A complication that shows the day, date, and month, correcting for months of different lengths and leap years.

Chronograph                       
A watch which not only indicates the time of the day in hours, minutes and seconds, but is also equipped with an additional mechanism – operated manually by push button – which makes possible to measure continuous or discontinuous intervals of time, from a fraction of a second to 12 hours.

Chronometer 
A precision watch finely set in various positions and temperatures, for which an official certificate has been issued.

Complication                          
A multi-part mechanism providing additional horoligical function. Among complicated include minute repeater, troubillion, perpetual calendar, split second chronograph.

Complete (Full) Calendar      
Complete calendar showing date, days of the week and months.

Crown                                      
Device with which to wind the watch.

Crystal      
The clear covering over the face of a watch which may be made of plastic, glass, mineral glass, or synthetic crystal.

Cyclops Eye                            
A raised place on the crystal that magnifies.

Detent                                      
A hooked piece of metal that holds the stem on a watch.

Dial                                        
Indicating “face” or plate of metal or other material, bearing various markings to show, in ordinary watches and clocks, the hours, minutes and seconds. Dials vary much in shape, decoration, material, etc. The indications are given by means of numerals, divisions or symbols of various types.

Digital                                    
A watch in which the time is displayed via numeric digits. (Note: we do not loan on digital watches).

Diver’s Watch                         
A watch that is water-resistant to a depth specified by the manufacturer, generally 330 feet or more. To protect the movement, the diver’s watch has a “screw-down” crown, operating similar to that of a hatch on a submarine.

Enamel                                    
Verifiable substance composed of siliceous sand to which oxides are added to give a very wide range of colors suitable for the decoration of metallic surfaces, especially gold, silver, or copper. When fired, enamel adheres to the metal and acquires the consistency of glass.

Fly-Back Hand                       
In split-seconds chronographs, a second centre seconds-hands that can move while remaining superposed on the first hand, but can be stopped and brought back to zero together with the first hand as it moves; it can also be stopped and brought back to zero together with the first hand.

Gold                                       
The most expensive and durable, after platinum material for making a watch. A gold watch will have markings on the case indicating whether it is 18K or 14K gold signifying the purity of the gold.

Gold-Plating                           
Used on better watches to varying degrees of micron thickness applied to base metal, nickel silver, or stainless steel, ranging from light to thicker layers.

Gold Tone                           
A term used primarily to describe the color of a gold-plated watch.

Grained                                
Having a fine granulated surface, which give a matte appearance.

Greenwich Mean Time       
The mean solar time for the meridian atGreenwich,England, used as a basis for calculating time throughout the world.

Hand                                       
Indicator, usually made of a thin, light piece of metal, very variable in form, which moves over a graduated dial or scale. Watches usually have three hands showing the hours, minutes and seconds. The earliest watches had only an hour hand. The minute hand was introduced in about 1691, although it was not generally used until the early 18^th century. The earliest hands were strong and heavy, since there was no glass to protect the dial. In the late 18^th century, hands became more slender and elegant. The finest quality watch hands made after about 1830 were stamped; instead of being hand made, and was often adorned with precious stones. Today high-grade watch hands are made of tempered steel and have a polished pipe or head. To avoid rust, brass is also used for making hands.

Horology                               
The science, craft, industry, and trade concerned with instruments for measuring time.

Jewels                                    
Ruby, diamond or sapphire used as a bushing to support the posts that the gears of a watch turn on. 99% of jewels in watches are ruby.

Jumping Hour                       
Hour numerals that appear through an aperture in a dial.

Kart (kt)                                
The Gold content of a watch or piece of jewelry.

Knurling                               
The small grooves cut into the crown of a watch to make the crown easier to turn.

Lacquer                                 
The resin of certain trees found inChina andJapan, which gives a fine black or red color. Lacquer is sometimes used to coat the dial, hands, or back of a watch.

Lunette                                 
A glass bezel or decorative ring.

Lug                                          
The curved attachment for holding or fastening the band to a watch.  May also be called a Spring Bar.

Manual Winding                   
A watch wound daily by winding the crown to tighten the spring.

Mechanical Watches         
Watches driven by a spring with a vibrating system, which runs purely mechanically, such as a balance or a pendulum.

Micron                                  
Unit of measuring the thickness of applied gold.

Mineral Glass                      
A type ofCrystal that is far more scratch-resistant than synthetic glass. It has a hardness of 5.

Minute Repeater                  
A timepiece that can be made to strike the time in hours, quarters and minutes, by means of a push piece or slide.

Moon Phases                     
A complication that represents the waxing and waning of the moon as it circles the earth.

Movement                           
The mechanical part of a watch that causes it to keep time. They can be classified as follows:

• Automatic – Self-winding
• Bumper Automatic
• Kinetic
• Quartz
• Winding

Polished                                
Made smooth and brilliant by very fine-grained abrasives or by rubbing with a burnisher.

Parts                                     
All of the finished springs, winding shafts, pinions, wheels, etc. used as components during the production or repair of a watch.

Pendant Watch                  
A watch worn on a chain that hangs from the neck. It hangs with the numbers upside down so it is easier for the wearer to tell the time.

Plate                                      
A metal plate that supports the bridges and various parts of the movement.

Pocket Watch                     
A watch that does not have a band that is carried in the pocket. It may have a chain attached.

Power Reserve                  
Running time in excess of the normal time (24 hours for ordinary watches, 7 days for the clocks wound each week) between two consecutive windings. In an ordinary watch, the power-reserve usually provides for 10-16 hours running.

Pulsometric Scale                
Measures pulse, usually found in chronograph watches.

Quartz Movement                 
A man-made quartz crystal that is vibrated by an electric current from a battery. The impulse per second is fed into a tiny motor, which is transmitted to a gear train, turning the hands of a watch.

Rhodium Plating                 
Protective coating of metal objects with a thin layer of rhodium (hard, brittle metal which does not oxidize and is malleable only when red hot.

Rubies                                    
Synthetic rubies used to reduce the wear and abrasion of the wheels in a watch.

Sapphire Crystal                 
Scratch-resistant crystal with a hardness of 9. The only harder substance is diamond. It is also almost non-reflective. A sapphire crystal will always feel cold when touched to your forehead.

Second Stop                      
By pulling out the crown, the watch is stopped and can then be set precisely to the second.

Self-Winding                       
A watch where the spring is tightened by arm movements.

Shock Resistant                
A watch fitted with an axial shock absorber called a parachute, to protect the movement against shocks.

Skeleton Watch                 
A watch with a mechanism reduced to the minimum material by punching, sawing, and milling. Skeleton mechanisms are often provided with fine engravings and chasings. Built in between the transparent dial and glass bottom, they create attractive, decorative watches.

Split Hand                              
A second hand on the second spring, can be stopped independently of the switched-on chronograph and return to the current time with the push of the button.

Stem                                     
The column that attaches the crown to the internal mechanism of the watch.

Stop Watch                         
An instrument that only measures intervals of time and does not indicate the time of day.

 Strap                                     
Any watch band that is not made of metal. For example: leather, ostrich skin, snakeskin, plastic, fabric, etc.

Striking                                   
An automatic or hand-operated mechanism that strikes.

Swiss-Made                           
A watch that has had its movement assembled, started, adjusted, and controlled by the manufacturer inSwitzerland. If at least 50% of the value of all the components (not counting the cost of assembly) are Swiss made and are subject to technical control inSwitzerland according to the applicable system.

Tachymeter                        
The most common feature on the chronograph watch that measures the speed at which the wearer has traveled over the measured distance – as measured on the highway for instance. The wearer starts the chronograph when passing the starting point and stops it when passing the finish. the wearer can then read the speed in units (in this case, miles) per hour off the tachymeter scale.

Telemeter                              
A device that determines the distance of an object form the observer by measuring how long it takes should to travel that distance. It consists of a stopwatch, or a chronograph, and a special scale, usually on the outermost edge of the watch dial. One application of a telemeter would be determining the distance of a storm from its observer. The wearer starts the chronograph at the instant the flash of lightning is seen, then stops it when thunder is heard. A reading can then be taken to determine the distance of the storm form the observer in miles on the telemeter scale.

Tonneau Case                      
A form of watch-movement or case resembling that of a barrel.

Tourbillon                              
An ingenious mechanical device invented in 1801 to eliminate errors of rate in the vertical positions. It consists of mobile carriage or cage carrying all the parts of the escapement, with the balance in the center.

Universal Time (U.T.)          
Mean solar time for theGreenwich meridian, but counted from noon to noon. Universal Time andGreenwich and Mean Time are often confused.

Watch                                     
A portable timepiece that can work in any position.

Water Proof                           
The case, crown, push piece and glass of a water tight watch are made in such a way that no dust or water can penetrate. Water-resistant watches should be tested or maintained once a year.

Water Resistant                 
A watch that will withstand pressure to a depth of 80 feet. The U.S. Government sets the 80-ft. standard.