Glossary Of Terms

This glossary is designed to explain both general jewelry terms, and also those related to antique jewelry.

Complete Jewelry Era Time Line - additional details listed below

Georgian (1714-1830) -Denotes jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced during the reign of King George III and IV.

Victorian (1837-1900) -Denotes jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced during the reign of Queen Victoria.

Art Nouveau (1890-1915) -Denotes jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced exhibiting stylized use of intertwining and curvilinear ornamentation.

Edwardian (1901-1914) -Denotes jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced during the reign of King Edward VII.

Art Deco (1920-1935) -Describes jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced exhibiting a geometric and structural appearance.

Retro (1935-1945) - Describes jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced during the pre and post World War II era

Antique -Describes jewelry that, in our opinion, exceeds one hundred years of age.

Date/Origin -Describes the country or appropriate period of fabrication, in our opinion.

Attributed -The jewelry exhibits, in our opinion, a style or partial marking indicating the maker.

Signed/Stamped -The jewelry exhibits, in our opinion, markings, hallmarks, stamps or signatures of the individual of the firm.

Style -Term describing jewelry that, in our opinion, was produced as a facsimile of an earlier period.

Alexandrite

Discovered in 1830 in Russia, and named after Czar Alexander II of who was then Crown Prince of Russia, alexandrite is a form of the mineral chrysoberyl noted for its color change in different forms of light. In sunlight alexandrite looks blue-green, but in indoor (tungsten) light it the same stone changes to reddish-purple. Natural alexandrite with good color is very expensive today, as very little is still being mined, and there are many synthetics on the market. Synthetic color-change sapphire is also sometimes mistaken for alexandrite.

Amethyst

A form of quartz in shades of purple ranging from light lavender to deep, intense purple with subtle flashes of red.

Art Deco

The geometric style that succeeded Edwardian jewelry beginning in the teens, and reaching full flower in the mid 1920's. This style was characterized by zigzags and sharp angles rather than the curves of the previous era. Colored stones were utilized more, and the opaque stones such as jade, onyx and coral were set in geometric shapes. Sleek animals such as Borzoi and Greyhound dogs were featured in some designs. The style started out with relatively delicate designs, transitioning from the Edwardian, but more geometric and angular, and progressed to more themore bold and blocky style also called Art Moderne.

Art Nouveau

A flowing style with sinuous curves and naturalistic motifs that was popular from about 1895 to 1905. A common motif was a women's head with flowing hair. There are many reproductions on the market today.

Arts and Crafts

A design movement that began in the late 1800s as a rebellion against the mass-produced, machine made designs of questionable aesthetic value common in the late Victorian era. The designers felt that their work should look handmade, and therefore they often left hammer marks on the piece. Although 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. Stones were commonly less expensive cabochon stones such as moonstone, mother or pearl, agates or amber. Enamel work was also used.

Baguette

A gemstone, often a diamond, cut in a narrow rectangular shape. Small diamonds cut this way are often used as accents. A tapered baguette has one short end narrower than the opposite end, forming a trapezoid.

Bakelite

A synthetic patented in 1909, bakelite, also called catalin, was used in jewelry extensively during the U.S. Great Depression of the 1930's. Bakelite can be molded, lathe-carved, and one color can be inlaid into another, as in polka dots. The inlaid and carved pieces are especially popular with collectors today. Watch for both outright reproductions, and later plastics from the last 20-30 years that might be mistaken for bakelite by the inexperienced.

Belle Epoque

Another name for the Edwardian period.

Bezel Setting

A method of setting gemstones in which the stone is held in the mounting by a narrow band of metal surrounding the girdle (outside perimeter) of the stone.

Birthstone

Birthstones have their roots in ancient astrology, and there have been many birthstone lists used over the years. The most common one today is based on a list first publicized by the U.S. jewelry industry in the 1950s.

 This list assigned birthstones as follows:

January - Garnet

February - Amethyst

March - Aquamarine

April - Diamond

May - Emerald

June - Pearl or Moonstone

July - Ruby

August - Peridot

September - Sapphire

October - Opal

November - Citrine or Topaz

December - Turquoise or Zircon

Bookchain

A Victorian style of chain in which the links are rectangular, folded pieces of metal. Each link resembles a book. These book chains often had large lockets attached, and the whole piece was often elaborately engraved. They were made in gold, gold-filled and sterling silver.

Cabochon

A stone with a rounded surface, rather than with facets. This style is commonly used with opaque to translucent stones such as opal, moonstone, jade and turquoise. Less expensive transparent stones such as amethyst and garnet, are also sometimes fashioned as cabochons. A garnet cabochon is also referred to as a carbuncle

Carat

Abbreviated "ct." and spelled with a "c" is a measure of weight used for gemstones. One carat is equal to 1/5 of a gram (200 milligrams). Stones are measured to the nearest hundredth of a carat. A hundredth of a carat is also called a point. Thus a .10 carat stone can be called either 10 points, or 1/10 of a carat. Small stones like .05, and .10ct are most often referred to by point designations. Note that karat with a "K" is a measure of the purity of a gold alloy.

A one carat round diamond of average proportions is approximately 6.5mm in diameter. Note that this relationship of weight and size is different for each family of stones. For example ruby and sapphire are both heavier than diamond (technically, they have a higher specific gravity, so a 1 carat ruby or sapphire is smaller in size than a on carat diamond. See Weights and Measures of Gold, Silver and Precious Gems for more information.

Cameo

A style of carving in which the design motif is left and the surrounding surface is cut away leaving the design in relief. Cameos in jewelry are often made of shell, although hard stone cameos such as sardonyx are more valuable. Cameos have been carved from ancient times, and ancient motifs such as the goddess Athena or a Baccante or follower of Bacchus were popular cameo subjects in Victorian times, through the 1930's. Cameos are still being made today in Italy. A cameo habille is one in which "jewelry" such as a miniature diamond pendant is actually attached to the carving.

Cannetille

A filigree type of ornamentation made of coiled wires. Popular in the early to middle 1800's.

Celluloid

One of the earliest plastics, celluloid is derived from cellulose, a natural plant fiber, and was first synthesized around 1870. Items commonly found today include hair combs, dresser articles. Celluloid items for wear were often set with pave rhinestones. Celluloid is flammable and deteriorates easily if exposed to moisture, so care should be taken in its use and storage.

Channel set

A gem setting technique in which a number of square or rectangular stones are set side by side in a grooved channel. Unlike most setting methods, the stones are not secured individually, so there is no metal visible between the stones.

Chatelaine

Said to be from the French for "Lady of the House", a chatelaine is a set of implements worn at the waist. A chatelaine clip is fastened to the waist, and various items such as needle cases, pencil, scissors, dangle from chains attached to it. Chatelaines may be utilitarian or beautifully decorated and made from precious materials like silver.

Citrine

A variety of quartz, citrine occurs in a color range ranging from light yellow to a brilliant orange that may be confused with fine imperial topaz.

Coral

Formed when small sea animals create living quarters, coral comes in colors ranging from vivid orange to palest pink. During the mid-Victorian large brooches of coral finely carved in high-relief floral sprays, or faces were popular. At the turn of the century, small natural pieces of branch coral or small cameos of coral were more popular.

Diamond

Diamonds, a form of crystalline carbon, are prized because they are exceptionally hard and durable, have high refractivity and brilliance, and because really fine diamonds are rare. Today diamonds are valued based on the "4 C's" of color, cut, clarity and carat size. Many diamond imitations have appeared over the years, with the most common today being the ubiquitous cubic zirconia which appears similar to a diamond to the uninitiated, but can be readily distinguished by a diamond tester which measures thermal inertia. Trained individuals, despite claims of cubic zirconia manufacturers, also have little trouble distinguishing a genuine diamond when it is examined under at least 10 power magnification.

Dog Collar

A wide "choker" style necklace worn tight around the neck above the collarbone just like a dog's collar, this look was popular in Edwardian times, around the turn of the twentieth century. This look was popularized by Queen Alexandra, who had a long graceful neck.

Doublet

A form of gemstone trickery that was devised to allow inexpensive materials to imitate the more valuable gemstones before modern synthetics were available. A doublet can take several forms but always involves a fake gemstone produced by gluing together two different materials to form an illusion. A very common one in Victorian times was the garnet and glass doublet. This involved a red garnet top, glued to a colored glass bottom. The refractive properties of a faceted stone are such that the red of the garnet only shows at odd angles, or if the stone is immersed in a special liquid with a high refractive index. Thus, for example, a green glass bottom with a garnet top will give the appearance of a fine emerald because the top is a natural gemstone with cut facets, and a few natural imperfections, and the bottom is bright green which reflects throughout the stone. The effect is hard to appreciate unless you've seen one.

Edwardian

Refers to the period during the reign of Edward VII of England (1901-1910), but the style has it's beginnings during the final years of Victoria's reign, and continued until shortly before World War I when the more geometric influences later to be called Art Deco began to make headway. In jewelry, this period was characterized by delicate filigree in white gold and platinum, with diamonds and pearls predominating, and colored stones used less frequently, producing a light, monochromatic look. Delicate bows, swags, and garland effects were used in necklaces and brooches. Both dog collars, and long fringed necklaces were also "in", being popularized by the graceful, long-necked Queen Alexandra.

Emerald

A gemstone of the beryl family, fine emeralds are among the most valuable gemstones. Unlike most gemstones, flaws (called inclusions by gemologists) are quite common in emeralds, so they lower the value much less than with other precious stones such a diamonds. The most highly prized emeralds are mined in Columbia. A valuable emerald will be a bright, vividly colored green. Those with a slight blue cast to the bright green are actually the most valuable color. Many emeralds seen in jewelry are of relatively low quality. They are often dyed or oiled to improve the color and minimize flaws. If an emerald appears to be very fine, it may actually be a synthetic. There are several types of synthetic emeralds on the market, and some of them are challenging to identify, even for a trained gemologist.

Engrave

To decorate metal by gouging a design with graver's tools. This was a popular technique in mid-Victorian jewelry. The resulting depressions were often filled with colored enamel. Also refers to inscribing a dedication or monogram to identify a piece. Stamped pieces can be designed to imitate hand engraving. Under magnification, the design is much more sharp in a hand engraved piece, with subtle irregularities.

Enamel

In its simplest terms, all enamel is produced by fusing colored powdered glass to metal to produce a vitreous or glass-like, decorative surface. The enamel may be translucent with fancy engraving on the metal underneath, which produces guilloche (ghee-YOSH) enamel. Popular during the mid-Victorian period was a solid black blue or white enamel used to fill engraved designs.

See also Plique-a-Jour.

Estate Piece

Term used to denote previously owned jewelry, not intended to specify age or to imply that item is an antique.

European Cut

The style of diamond cutting popular from approximately 1890 to the 1930s. Unlike the old mine cut preceding it, the European cut has a round girdle (perimeter) made possible by the introduction of the power bruting machine (Bruting is the term for shaping the girdle of a diamond, the first step in the cutting process). The European cut can be distinguished by the size of the table (the top, flat facet) in relation to the diameter of the stone. In a European cut, the table is smaller in relation to the diameter of the stone. Also, the culet (the bottom facet, is often large, often appearing 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.

Fairing

Small porcelain pieces originally available at European country fairs and as souvenirs. They're often representational scenes of everyday life. Examples include trinket boxes, match strikers or purely decorative pieces with inscription.

Fob

A short chain with a decorative seal or other device attached to the end. The fob and chain hung outside watch pocket, and could be used to pull the watch out of the pocket.

Foilback

A method of coating the back of a stone with silver, gold, or colored foil. This enhances the brilliancy of the stone, by reflecting back as much light as possible. It is commonly seen in costume jewelry. A foilbacked rhinestone whose foil has been damaged (often from water creeping in) does not sparkle anymore and is said to be a "dead" stone, lowering the value of the piece. Before, modern, highly reflective cuts were developed, even diamonds were foilbacked.

French Jet

Black glass fashioned to imitate real jet. Glass is heavier than real jet, and can feel cold to the touch compared to real jet.

Freshwater Pearl

A pearl produced by a mollusk that inhabits freshwater, usually these pearls are shaped like an uneven grain of rice. There is also a variety called Tennessee fresh water pearls that taper like a long tooth.

Garnet

A group stones that share a similar chemical structure, the garnet family includes pyrope, almandine, and demantoid, among others. Almandine garnet are red varieties, with pyrope being the common Bohemian garnet found in much Victorian and turn of the century jewelry. Demantoid garnet is a much rarer bright green variety, first mined in the mid-nineteenth century. Demantoid has the highest dispersion of colored stones usually found on the market, which means it is very sparkly. Demantoid is generally found only relatively small stones.

Gold

Since ancient times, gold has been prized for its beauty, and purity since it does not oxidize or tarnish like most other metals. It has also been used as a store of value to build wealth and shield against hard times. Gold used in jewelry is almost always alloyed with other metals since gold in its pure form is very soft and malleable, and would not wear well by itself. Much gold jewelry from the 19th century and before is not marked. Tests must be done to determine if it is solid gold and to determine purity. The familiar Karat marking system used in the United States did not become popular until around 1890 or so. (Note that Karat with a "K" refers to gold purity, while Carat with a "C" refers to the weight of a gemstone, e.g. a one carat diamond set in a 14 karat gold ring.) The karat number refers to the parts of pure gold per 24 in the alloy. So a 14K alloy is 14/24 parts pure gold, or about 58% gold. Other countries used a marking system well before the United States. For example, Britain has had a system of hallmarking in place for hundreds of years. It is also common in many European and other countries to mark gold with a three digit number indicating the parts per thousand of gold. Thus gold jewelry is often marked "750" for 750/1000 gold. (Equivalent to US 18K). In addition to many purities, alloyed gold also comes in many colors. Variations in the metals alloyed with the gold account for the ability to produce white, pink and even green gold, in addition to the familiar yellow gold. Pink gold was popular in late Victorian times, and again in the 1940s. White gold was very popular from 1900 through the 30's.

Gold Filled

In this technique a sheet of gold is mechanically applied to the surface. Victorian pieces are likely to be unmarked, but later pieces are marked with the fineness of the gold layer, and the part by weight of the gold. For example a piece marked "1/10 12K G.F." is composed of at least 1/10 12K gold based on the weight of the finished piece. In the U.S., gold filled pieces must be at least 1/20 by weight to be classified as gold-filled. An older unmarked gold piece may often be identified by wear through to base metal, especially when viewing corners or edges under magnification. Look for a change to a darker, brassy colored material at these spots.

Goldplate

A layer of gold applied to base metal, usually by electroplating. This is usually a very thin layer, only a few microns, which is likely to wear much more quickly than gold-filled.

Gutta Percha

A Malaysian tree resin used for jewelry popular in the Victorian era.

Hair Jewelry

In the mid-19th century lockets of hair of loved ones were often preserved under glass in brooches. The hair was sometimes intricately curled or woven, and these pieces are often inscribed on the back to identify the donors. Later in the century, hair was woven into watch chains, bracelets, even earrings and given as tokens of affection. All forms of hair jewelry are very collectible today.

Intaglio

A design carved down into a gemstone, unlike a cameo in which the design is raised from it's background, in relief. This technique was often used for seals, which made an impression in wax used to seal a letter or authenticate a document. It is also common on watch fobs, since the watch fob was originally a good place to carry a seal. Once seals fell out of use, the intaglio tended to face out to the viewer rather than down as on a seal. Some of the most commonly found Victorian intaglios are carved in Carnelian, an orange-brown variety of quartz.

Iridium

A metal and member of the platinum family, it is often alloyed with platinum to improve workability, thus you will find pieces marked something like "90% Plat. 10% Irid" to indicate that the alloy is 90 % platinum and 10% Iridium.

Jet

a form of fossilized coal that became popular for mourning jewelry after Queen Victoria's husband, Albert died in 1861. Produced mainly in Whitby, England, it is a very lightweight substance. Black glass was often used to imitate jet which became a fashion item, not just for mourning.

Lace Pin

A small brooch meant to be worn to fasten a lace scarf, usually late Victorian or Edwardian eras.

Lucite

Popular in the 1940's for ladies purses and jewelry, Lucite is a clear, strong plastic that can be molded and carved.

Marquise

A stone cut in a boat shape, pointed at both ends, with rounded sides. Note that the correct pronunciation is "Mar-KEYS", not "Mar-KEY" which is commonly heard.

Micro-Mosaic

An inlay of pieces of colored glass or stone to form pictures or patterns.

Mine Cut

A style of diamond cutting popular before 1890 or so, it features a cushion shaped outline, rather than the round outline of the modern cut and old European cuts, and has a different facet arrangement.

Parure

A suite of matching jewelry consisting of several pieces. In Victorian times, a complete parure consisted of two matching bracelets, necklace, earrings and a brooch. Note that before wristwatches became widely worn, it was quite common to wear two matching bracelets.

Paste

A term for imitation gemstones. Fine jewelry was often imitated in finely made copies to protect the wearer from theft, and these were referred to as "paste".

Pave'

(pah-VAY) a gem setting technique in which the stones are set low and very closely spaced, so that the surface appears to be paved with gemstones. Most commonly seen with diamonds, but may be used with any stone.

Pearl

A natural gemstone formed when a oyster is irritated by a substance that gets into its shell. If the irritation is a naturally occurring grain of sand, it is an Oriental pearl. If it is produced by purposefully inserting a mother-of-pearl bead, a cultured pearl is formed.

Baroque - An irregularly shaped pearl, can be natural or cultured.

Blister - Pearl taken from the shell where an irritant has lodged and been covered with layers of nacre, usually hollow.

Cultured - Artificially produced pearl made by placing an irritant inside the oyster where it is covered with layers of nacre. First available in the 1920's.

Freshwater - Pearls produced in freshwater mussels.

Mabe - (pronounced mah-bay) A cultured pearl usually of teardrop shape, flat on one side.

Natural - Pearls that have occurred naturally, usually found now only in antique jewelry.

Pique

(pronounced pee-kay) a method of decorating tortoiseshell with fine inlay of gold or silver. Since tortoise shell is a natural thermoplastic, a fine rod of precious metal can be heated and then pressed into the shell. The rod is cut off at the surface and as the shell cools, it rehardens and grips the insert tightly. This process is repeated to form a delicate pattern.

Plique-a-jour

A form of cloisonné in which the enamel in the cells has no backing, producing a translucent effect. This technique was used to good effect by Rene' Lalique and others during the Art Nouveau period to depict dragonfly wings and other translucent objects.

REGARD

The Victorians loved romantic symbols, and rings or brooches set with a Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, and a Diamond so that the first letter of each gemstone spelled out "Regard" were given as a token of affection in early Victorian times.

Rhodium

A metal that is part of the platinum family. Silver, gold, and even base metals were often Rhodium plated during the 30's and 40's to give them the white, shiny look associated with platinum.

Retro

A recent designation for the period in the forties when when large scale, stylized geometric forms were the rage. Pink gold, set with colored stones, sometimes in floral forms was common.

Ruby

A precious gemstone, and a member of the corundum family, rubies are always, by definition, red, but be aware that many other red gemstones and imitations might be assumed to be a ruby. Fine rubies of good color can be more valuable than diamonds, but the first synthetic ruby was created in the 1890's and became quite popular in jewelry. Synthetic rubies must be distinguished from natural by sophisticated testing by trained gemologists.

Safety Catch

Prior to 1900 or so, brooches had a simple "C" catch with no locking mechanism, and the pin often extended out beyond the "C" far enough to weave back into clothing for security. At the turn of the century several "safety catches" were invented and came into common used for better jewelry, so a piece that exhibits a safety catch was made in the twentieth century. (Consider the possibility, however, that an old catch was replaced at some point, and look for evidence of this.)

Sapphire

A gemstone of the corundum family, although blue is the color most commonly associated with sapphires, they come in a range of colors from white to orange to green to pink. In fact, if a corundum gemstone is red, it is referred to as a ruby, but any other color, including the light pinkish "rubies" in inexpensive jewelry are properly referred to as sapphires. Sapphires were first synthesized in the 1920's, so it takes an expert to determine if a sapphire is natural. Natural sapphires are sometimes found that exhibit a star effect. These can be quite valuable if the star is centered and well-defined, but in 1967 the synthetic Linde Star Sapphire hit the market, and many star sapphires found today are these synthetics.

Sautoir

(Soh-TWAH) a long rope style necklace, often with a tassel or pendant at the end, these were popularized in the Edwardian era because Edward's Queen Alexandra often wore them.

Seed Pearl

Refers to a very small round pearl. These were strung on horsehair and used in intricately woven jewelry during the early-mid Victorian period. In the late Victorian period accents set into gold jewelry. During the Edwardian period, they were sometimes woven into long fringed necklaces called sautoirs.

Taxco

(TAHKS' coh) The small town in Mexico where William Spratling, an American set up his workshop in 1929. Many other silversmiths eventually set up shop here making Taxco the center of silversmithing in Mexico. Much silver is made in Taxco to this day, but the earlier silver , up to about 1970 is considered collectible. In 1979 the government began to require silversmiths to stamp a registration mark consisting of two letters and several numbers, and this mark should be found on nearly on newer pieces.

Tiffany Setting

The high pronged setting most common today for large stones such as a diamond solitaire, this setting was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1886.

Tortoiseshell

A popular material for 19th century jewelry and hair combs, tortoiseshell was banned and is no longer used for these items. There are very close plastic imitations of tortoiseshell. One technique to differentiate tortoise from its imitators is to touch the surface with a hot pin chemical odor.

Troy Weight

Gold and silver are measured in Troy weight, a system that includes pennyweights, ounces and common goods are measured in. Gold is also commonly measured in metric grams. 

A pennyweight (abbreviated dwt.) is equal to 1.5552 grams. 

24 grains = 1 pennyweight = 1.5552 grams

20 pennyweight = 1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grams

12 ounces = 1 pound troy = 373.24 grams.

For complete information on weighing gold, silver and gemstones see Weights and Measures of Gold, Silver and Gemstones.

Vermeil

(Vehr-MAY) Denotes a silver piece plated with gold.

Vulcanite

A hard, moldable dark brown or black early plastic sometimes erroneously called "gutta percha". This material was used for memorial pieces in the mid-Victorian period.

Victorian

The designation given to the period from approximately 1837 when Victoria became Queen of England until 1901 when she died. This long period is divided into early (approx. 1840-1860), mid (approx. 1860 - 1880) and late (approx. 1880-1900) since it covers a wide span of time, and a number of distinctive design trends. This period was preceded by the Georgian period, and succeeded by the Edwardian period after Victoria died in 1901, and her son Edward became king.