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Glossary Page 2

FACETING     The process of applying facets, or flat polished surfaces to a gemstone.  The goal of a gem cutter, who creates the facet arrangement on a gemstone, is to create the most brilliance and best appearance possible for the gem in hand.  When faceting colored gemstones particular attention must be given to how light reflection will affect the gemstones apparent color.

FACE UP     Describes the viewing position of a gem as seen when looking at it perpendicular to the table facet.  A gemstone that faces up well is excellent in appearance in relation to its color or clarity grades.

FANCY COLOR DIAMOND     A Diamond that exhibits a strong color, such as yellow, as opposed to an off colored white Diamond.  Fancy colored Diamonds can be very expensive and are often highly prized by collectors.  Fancy colored Diamonds have been found in many colors of the spectrum.

FANCY CUT     A gemstone cut into a shape other than round.  Fancy cuts include princess, pear, marquise, oval, baguette, emerald, heart and less common but very unique shapes such as stars.

FAMILY RING      A ring set with the birthstones of children, grandchildren, or other family members.  A mothers ring is one type of  family ring.

FILIGREE     An openwork, pierced design, generally delicate in nature and fine in construction.

FINDING     Jewelry parts, such as clasps, settings and others used in the manufacturing or repair of jewelry.

FLORENTINE FINISH     A finish applied to metal, usually applied by hand, consisting of a series of parallel lines engraved in two directions perpendicular to each other.

FOUR C'S      An abbreviation used to describe the Color, Clarity, Carat and Cut of a gemstone as defined by the G.I.A. which created a Diamond grading system using the 4Cs. 

FRESH WATER PEARL     A pearl which is harvested from a fresh water mollusk as opposed to one from salt water.  Chinese fresh water pearls are growing in popularity as their production in rivers and lakes has expanded in recent years.  Biwa Pearls, a name which is often incorrectly used for many types of pearls, are a type of fresh water pearls which specifically come from Lake Biwa in Japan.

FRICTION BACK     An earring back, also called a push back which uses friction to secure itself against an earring post and hold an earring against the ear.

G.I.A..     The Gemological Institute of America.  G.I.A. is a highly respected, not for profit organization, devoted to the promotion of education and ethics within the jewelry industry.  G.I.A. also has a laboratory used to grade and identify gemstones.

GOLD     An element, whose symbol is AU on the atomic charts and has characteristics that make it highly suitable for use in jewelry construction.  Gold is very malleable, meaning it can be hammered, bent, drawn, shaped or formed with relative ease compared to other metals.  Gold is usually mixed with other metals called alloys to give it rigidity or change its color.

GOLD ELECTROPLATE     A final finish applied to non-gold jewelry equal to 7-millionths of an inch of  fine gold or more.

GOLD FILLED      An item made of a base metal such as brass or copper, to which a sheet of gold is bonded by pressure or other means.  To qualify as gold filled, an article of jewelry must have a layer of gold at least 1/20th, or 5% of the weight of the entire article.  Items must be marked G.F. or 1/20th G.F.

GOLD OVERLAY     Has the same meaning as "gold filled".

GOLD PLATED     A thin layer of electroplated gold on base metal. All gold plated items are not plated with fine gold, some are only plated gold in color.  A marking of 14K H.G.E. or 18K H.G.E. (Heavy Gold Electroplate) for example would indicate that some amount of fine gold was actually used.

GOLD TESTING     The gold content or karat can be tested in a piece of jewelry by rubbing the item to be tested on a testing stone, similar to slate (slate is sometimes used) and using Hydrochloric acid, in different strengths to determine the gold content.  

GREEN GOLD     An alloy of gold that appears green in color.  The green color of gold is achieved by mixing  silver, zinc, and cadmium with gold.

GUNMETAL     An alloy of 90% copper and 10% tin.

HALLMARK     A manufacturers mark which indicates the content of the metal used to make an item.  Examples are:  Sterling ".925", 14 karat gold "14K" or .585", Platinum "PT950" or "PLAT".  In other countries symbols such as an anchor, double eagle heads etc.may be used to denote metal content.

HEAD     A finding, typically the prong portion of a ring that holds a gemstone.

HEART

The name says it all.  The shape of love.

HAND MADE     Created completely by hand.  Not assembled from parts or made in a die or mold.

HIGH POLISH     A finish achieved by buffing the surface of metal so it shines brightly, often with a mirror-like finish.

IDEAL CUT     A set of proportions used when cutting a round Diamond, created by a man named Tolkowsky, believed by many yield the best balance of fire and brilliance.

ILLUSION SETTING    A setting used to make Diamonds appear larger than they are. 

IMITATION GEMS    Any gems made of material other than the gemstone they are intended to mimic.

INCLUSION     A substance or imperfection within the physical composition of a gemstone.  An inclusion is an identifying characteristic and may detract from a gemstones beauty or enhance it.  While most inclusions in a Diamond would decrease its value.  Inclusions in Amber enhance the gemstones value and in gemstones such as star sapphire, the inclusions which align naturally are actually the cause of the star phenomenon.

INITIAL RING     A  ring with an initial.

INLAY     The process of setting stones into a channel or cut out so that they are flush with the surface of the metal.  A stone is said to be  inlaid when it is set in this manner

INTAGLIO     A design cut into the surface of a gemstone.  The opposite of carving in relief, such as is common with Cameos.

INTARSIA     A design or mosaic composed of several types of gemstones inlaid in metal.

INVISIBLE SETTING     Gemstones set next to each other, usually in multiple rows, with no metal between them, giving the appearance that they are set invisibly (without prongs, beads or channels).  The stones actually have tiny grooves sawn on the bottom of them so they interlock or are held in place with wires like a puzzle.

IRRADIATED     A gemstone treated with radiation for the purpose of changing the color of the gemstone.     The change affects a Diamond crystal structure and is permanent.

JET     A black gemstone which is fossilized Coral.

KARAT     A unit of measure of gold content.  Pure gold is 24 karat and one karat is equal to1/24 part pure gold in an alloy. (14kt. gold is 14 parts gold and 8 parts other metal.)

LAPIDARY     A gem cutter or polisher, usually well versed in finishing all types of gems other than Diamond. 

LASER FINISH     A frosty glittery finish applied with a laser.

LASERING     The use of a laser to remove inclusions from inside a gem by "drilling" or burning a fine hole to the depth of the inclusion.  In some cases the inclusion is evaporated and in others it may be bleached out.

LAVALIERE     A pendant dangling from a necklace, typically 24" or more in length.

LEVER BACK 

An earring finding with a snap back "lever" which can be affixed to an earring or have a loop at the bottom from which the earring will dangle 

LOCKET     A charm or pendant that opens to hold one or more pictures.

LOST WAX CASTING     A method of manufacturing jewelry that duplicates a design made of wax  in a metal such as gold or silver.  A wax model is suspended in a canister that is then filled with a plaster like substance called an investment.  When the investment hardens the wax is then burned out and lost, hence the name of the process.   The cavity remaining in the investment is an exact duplicate of the original wax and is then filled with molten metal.  When large quantities or intricate designs are being cast, the use of centrifugal force created by spinning the canisters in a drum will force the metal into the thinnest cavities allowing fine detail reproduction.  When the molten gold cools and hardens the investment is broken and a duplicate of the wax remains cast in metal.

LOUPE     A hand held magnifying glass used by members of the jewelry industry to examine Diamonds and gemstones.  Loupes are available in different levels of magnification.  A ten power loupe, which magnifies an  image ten times, is used for Diamond grading.

LUSTER     The shine or finish on the surface of a gemstone.  GIA describes luster in the following categories: ADAMANTINE - Diamond like. GREASY, METALLIC, RESINOUS, VITREOUS or WAXY.

MABE PEARL     A type of cultured pearl that forms between the shell and tissue of a mollusk.  When cut away from the shell it has an unfinished flat surface on the back that is polished.  Mabe pearls are most commonly dome shaped like a cabochon.

MARCASITE     A steel gray, metallic like gemstone, flat on the bottom and faceted on top, commonly set in sterling silver jewelry.

MARQUISE

A gemstone shape pointed at both ends and oval shaped in the center.

MATTE FINISH     A dull finished surface created by sandblasting, stone finishing or brushing..

MATINEE     A single strand of Pearls  22 to 23 inches long.

MELEE     Diamonds up to .20 carats in size.

MOSAIC

A design made from pieces of gemstones often using different gemstones to create a detail enhanced by each gemstones color.  A mosaic may also be made from one gemstone such as opal.  In the photo here, a gemstone which is a mosaic of several gemstones, was designed for use in jewelry.

MOTHER OF PEARL     The lining of a seashell that exhibits an iridescence..

MOUNTING     The process of setting or attaching a gemstone.  Also, a piece of jewelry, into which gemstones can be set.

MOURNING JEWELRY     Often made of gold or black materials such as jet.  Sometimes with a glass frame in which the hair of a deceased loved one is placed.

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