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Refers to
a semi-precious stone and to a color, a light purple.
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Art Deco
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This
refers to a style of European origin, originally exhibited at the Exposition
Internationale paris in 1925. Art Deco is typically geometric with strong lines
and commonly incorporating contrasting colors.
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Named after the Northern
Lights seen in the skies of the polar regions, these stones shine many
different shades of several colors. These stones were popular in the 1950's.
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Baguette
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This is a shape of stone
in the form of a rectangle. Varying size ratios between the long and short
dimensions allowing for short stubby baguettes and long thin ones.
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Bakelite
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The first true artificial
plastic developed by Dr. Leo Bakeland in 1908. Early colors were earthy browns
and ambers but with further development bright reds and greens were produced.
Notoriously difficult to authenticate.
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Baroque Pearls
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Real or simulated pearls
with a characteristically irregular shape. The simuated versions were a popular
choice with costume jewelry designers such as Coco Chanel and Miriam Haskell.
The cores of these were commonly hand blown glass which was dipped many times
into a pearlising solution made from natural substances like ground mother of
pearl. Care should be taken wearing these as perfumes sprayed directly onto the
surface of the pearl (real or simulated) will, over time, degrade the coating.
A popular method of avoiding this problem is to spray perfume first, allowing
it to dry, then don the jewels.
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Base Metals
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A bucket term for a
non-precious metal. It includes common materials such as lead based alloys used
frequently in the 1930's.
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Bezel Setting
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A setting which totally
encloses the margin of the stone incorporating a lip on the upper margin
holding the stone in place, usually the sign of high quality manufacture.
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Bijoux (de Couture)
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French for jewels, (of Fashion).
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Bracelet
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A general term which
includes many types of ornament,
- Bangle, rigid closed bracelet with no clasp which slips over the wrist,
- Charm bracelets, usually made up of many charms linked onto a chain,
- Cuff, typically a bangle with a gap, this slips over the wrist and commonly
sits on the fore-arm or upper arm,
- Hinged bracelets are generally rigid with a hinge which allows it to be put
on, may or may not have a clasp,
- Slides are bracelets which have small charms threaded on a double chain
allowing them to 'slide' around.
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An English term for a pin
(please not 'Broach')
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Cabouchon
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A stone with a smooth
domed upper surface. These stones may have flat or point backed bases.
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Cameo
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Usually oval in shape these
are carved into a multi-layer material such as mother of pearl which forms a
relief of the subject being carved.
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Carnelian
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An amorphous quartz mineral
most commonly of a dull reddish/ brown color.
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Casting
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Jewelry parts made in a
casting process involving the pouring of molten metals into a pre-formed shape.
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Celluloid
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An early plastic only
semi-artificial in nature. It is one of the fore-runners of the first truly
artificial plastic, Bakelite. It was used to make a wide variety of objects as
well as jewelry.
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Channel Settings
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An elongate setting in which rhinestones
are aligned within a trough and the top of the mounting is bent over as a
retainer, bezel style. It is used for both round and baguette stones.
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Charms
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Originally used to ward off evil, these
objects of a huge variety are now attached to bracelets, necklaces and pins.
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Chatelaine
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In the strictest sense these were early
'pockets' which had the form of a decorative belt hook which had placements for
the necessary objects of the day such as rouge and powder. Nowadays this term
describes a pin in two parts joined by short lengths of chain.
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Chaton
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A chaton stone is a point backed, unfoiled
stone held within a mount which surrounds its edge only. These mounts commonly
have links on opposing sides allowing the chaton stones to be linked into
lengths of 'chain'.
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Choker
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A tight necklace that sits
high upon the neck. These are usually wide and can cover the whole thickness of
the neck.
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Citrine
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A quartz based mineral with
a wide variety of colors which range from a pale yellow to even a light red
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Clasp
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A device to attach two ends
of a necklace around the neck. These have transcended a purely functional
object to one of great decorative value.
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Clip
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Can be either to attach
pins to clothing, e.g. 'fur-clip' or to attach earrings to the ear by a spring
mechanism.
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Collar
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A short necklace worn at
the base of the neck.
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Coral
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In fine jewelry this is the calcareous
skeleton of calcareous corraline algae. To you and me, in imitation jewelry, it
refers to a pale opaque orangy colored stone.
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Crystal
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Describes both a material (a type of glass
used to make rhinestones or a naturally occuring silica mineral) and a color (a
clear brilliant)
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Steel cut on its upper surface to resemble
a marcasite stone
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Demi-parure
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Part of a parure set (see parure)
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Déposé
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A French term denoting a registered design
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Design patents are taken out by companies
to legally protect their work
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Earring
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Ear ornaments, these can have many methods
of attachment to the ear such as, clips, wires, posts, screw backs or a
combination of the above. Earrings can also be described in terms of their
design, for example, hoops, pendants, buttons etc.
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Enameling
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This term is often used
incorrectly. It refers to the process of appling a glaze to an object which is
then fired in a kiln. We often use this word to describe any form of painting
on a piece of jewelry
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An ornamental design upon a metallic
surface
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Facet
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Faceting describes the process of creating
faces or facets on a crystal
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Festoon Necklace
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This is a form of necklace which is thicker
in the middle than it is at the sides
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Filigree
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This type of jewelry manufacture originated
in the Middle -East and involves the twisting of fine wires into a lace effect
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A type of chain made up of
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An early form of plastic which comprises in
part of cellulose
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A legal obligation to mark precious metal
indicating grade of purity , age, manufacturer and location of assay office.
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Imitation Jewelry
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A type of jewelry made to either look real
or as a substitute for the real/fine item
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Imitation Stones
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Stones made to look like their precious
counterparts
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A process by which a liquid material is
injectedinto a preformed mould
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True jet is a fossilised wood derivative
subjected to moderate temperatures and pressures. French jet is the imatation
glass version.
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Lariat
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A form of necklace consisting of two long
strands dropping either side of the neck which commonly fastens in the middle
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Locket
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A jeweled or engraved closeable piece of
jewelry in which images or hair of a loved one is kept
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A modern (1950's) plastic which has the
ability of being made to be clear
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Marcasite
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A mineral (iron pyrites) which has a gray
lustre. It is faceted on the upper surface and is usually flat-backed
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Moonstone
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An amorphous silicate which is usually of a
blue opalescent color
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Mother-of-pearl
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The internal, nacreous parts of a shell,
commonly of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or aragonite. It can be
polished up to a beautiful irredescent hue
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besel
nonvisible
pavé
prong and claw
ring shaped
tubular
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A metal used for plating and in alloys
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Onyx
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A black glassy mineral of the quartz group
of minerals
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A type of patina on the surface of a metal
giving it a dark metallic look
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Parure
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A full set of jewels comprising of
necklace, earrings, bracelet and pins
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Patent
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A protection of a design or
mechanical device
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Pate de verré
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Glass poured into a wire mould
made so that light travels through the piece of glass. Pionerred in the late
19th and 20th centuries by French companies such as Rousselet and Gripoix
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Patina
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A surface coloring to a piece
of metal
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Mostly as necklaces or
earrings. They comprise of a drop or drops. As a necklace they are usually of a
central motif suspended from a chain
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Rock crystal
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A natural quartz mineral with a
well defined lattice structure. These may be colored naturally, as in the case
of Amethyst. The colorless varieties were often used in 'deco' jewelry
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Rondelle
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This term describes a component
which is round. In fashion jewelry these are usually spacers on threadded
neclaces and are studded with rhinestones held in a circular channel setting
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A flat-backed rhinestone held
in individual prong settings and commonly wired in place
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Sautoir
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A type of necklace fashionable
in the 1920's. They are usually very long sometimes even reaching down to the
knees. They can be wrapped around the neck several times to create a shorter
multi-strand necklace
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Semiprecious stones
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A polite term describing
natural stones which are more common and thus less 'valuable' than their
'rarer' cousins.
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Setting
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A method by whick a stone is
held in place. They are of many ingenious designs and some of them defy opening
to replace the damaged stones. If a manufacturer uses settings within a piece
of jewelry it was quite often an expensive process, thus denoting high quality
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Simulated pearl
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Pearls manufactured to look
real. Many exponents of the simulated pearl acheived high degrees of quality
and used complex processes to gain the best look possible, for example Miriam
Haskell
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Soldering
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A method of joining two pieces
of metal together using heat to fuse a joining agent (e.g. lead based metal) to
both pieces.
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Spacer
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A metal bead or other object
threaded between components of a necklace
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A jewelry part fabricated by
stamping thin brass or another metal into a decorative/functional form uing a
stamping tool
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Tailored Jewelry
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A style of jewelry, usually
without stones, with clean linear lines
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Tassel
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A drop component made up of
freely hanging chain or pearl strands
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Topaz
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A natural stone of the quartz
family with generally light to dark yellow/ochre hues
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Tortoise Shell
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Literally taken from the shells
of tortoise and have a dark to light brown mottled appearance. Fortunately with
the development of artificial materials a similar affect can be acheived using
plastics
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Trademark
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A registered and protected
company identity
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Tremblant
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A component of a piece of
jewelry held by springs so that it trembles. Sometimes called a nodder
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A light/dark blue to green
natural stone
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Venetian-glass
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Glass produced on the islands
surrounding the Venetian Lagoon. Hand-blown and commonly of high quality
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A French term for a form of
gilded silver
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White metals
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Literally metal which is white.
Used to describe silver, white gold, rhodium plating , pot metals and other
metals.
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