Dictionary

"All Jewelry is magical by it's very nature. It's aim is to change the appearance or even the personality of it's owner... Jewels are essentially linked to human life, recalling dates, commemorating events and deeds, either sad or happy, commonplace or grandiose, profound or superficial: for this reason jewellery is always a reflection of the taste and way of life of an individual, a group, a society, or of an entire age."

Leonor D'Orey
Introduction of Five Centuries of Jewellery

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

Cabochon - Type of gem cut that has no facets but is rounded and polished.

Cairngorm - Yellow-brown Quartz stones from a mountain range in Scotland and found in Victorian Pebble jewelry. Since demand exceeded the supply, the term was also used for stones that are heat-treated to simulate the real stone.

Cameo - A layered carving where the top sits higher in relief than it's surrounding stone or shell layers. Everything around the design is cut away.

Cameo Habille - Type of cameo showing a person wearing jewelry in which one or more gemstones are placed.

Chatelaine - An attachment worn at a woman's waist made to hold suspended items for daily household use, like scissors, keys, etc. Chatelaines were made in precious metals as well as cut steel, gold fill, and other materials.

Champleve Enamel - An enamel technique using a design cut into a metal base. The design is then filled in with the powdered enamel mixture and fired to "fix" the enamel. The surface is then polished and made level. The word "Champleve" comes from a French word meaning "raised field".

Choker - Narrow necklace worn tight around the throat.

Cloisonne Enamel - An enamel process made using a technique where metal strips are attached, set on edge, to a background. The enamel mixture is put into the spaces outlined by the metal and the piece is then fired.

Coin Silver - Sometimes shows a mark "900".

Collet Setting - Method of setting gemstones where a round band of metal goes completely around the stone.

Demi Parure - A small matching set of jewelry, usually 2-3 pieces.

Dog Collar - A type of necklace, wide that fits close to the neck, most popular in the Edwardian era.

Enamel - A finish applied by putting a specific powdered mixture of color to metal and heating it to fix it. It's an application that adheres to the top of the metal it's applied to and isn't absorbed. Enameling has been used in jewelry for centuries. There are various types of enameling seen in jewelry that I list independently.

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

Faux - Term used when an imitation is intended to mimic another substance. For surfaces, a paint finish can be "faux" tortoise - a technique to simulate real tortoiseshell. In jewelry, faux gems (meant to look real) can be paste, glass, rhinestones, etc. (Not the same as a "synthetic" stone.

French Jet - Actually glass, meant to replicate real Jet.

Gold Marks -(Includes karat types commonly found in Europe)

22 Kt. = .916

18 Kt. = .750 OR eagle head OR woman's head OR number 72 in box

15 Kt. = .625

14 Kt. = .585 OR number 56 in box

12 Kt. = .500

9 Kt. = .375

Gold Electroplate - Thin layer of gold applied to base metal using an electrical process.

Gold Fill - Oldest term meaning an item covered with a layer of Gold that has been bonded to base metal.

Gold Plate - Usually used as another term for "Gold Fill". Item is made of base metal covered with a layer of gold.

Goldstone - Man-made red-brown stone with gold flecks, first created in mid-1800's.

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

Incised - Engraved designs or text into a surface.

Intaglio - A cut stone where the background in the highest point with the design carved down to make a "negative" image.

Jet - A coal substance, black or brown-black, in color. Often found in Victorian mourning jewelry, it could be intricately carved, engraved, and polished.

Knife Edge Setting - Type of setting, often found in Edwardian jewelry, where a stone is set on the edge of metal wire, making the setting almost invisible.

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

Lavalier, Lavaliere, Lavalliere - Spelled in various ways, a chain necklace with a pendant. Named after a mistress of Louis XIV.

Married - Jewelry that is made up of 2 or more items, joined together, to create an entirely new piece. For instance, an old brooch that originally had a c-clasp which has been removed and replaced by a roller clasp.

Memento Mori - Literally means, "Remember you must die", in Latin. Used to describe items using motifs that invoke remembrances of death, in general, or the death of a loved one.

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

Millegrain Setting -Way of setting a gemstone into jewelry where small beads of metal encase the gem.

Mine Cut - Old type of gemstone faceting, very crudely cut with few facets.

Niello - Item with gold or silver design engraved in enamel.

Paste - The name comes from the Italian word, "Pasta". A type of glass stone that has been hand-cut, sometimes set with a foil backing. Not to be confused with mass produced rhinestones used in modern jewelry.

Parure - A set of matching jewelry, usually made up of earrings, necklace, bracelets and brooch.

Pearls - Baroque - Irregularly shaped pearl, can be natural or cultured Blister - Pearl taken from a shell, usually hollow, where an irritant has lodged and been covered with layers of nacre. Cultured - Artificially produced made by placing an irritant inside the oyster where it is covered with layers of nacre. First available in the 1920's. Freshwater - Produced in freshwater mussels. Mabe - A cultured pearl usually of teardrop shape, flat on one side. Natural - Pearls that have occurred naturally, usually found now only in antique jewelry.

Pieta Dura - Term used to described an item made up of a mosaic of hard-stones.

Pinchbeck - A lost formula for an alloy of Copper & Zinc. Used to make items that look like Gold.

Pique - Jewelry, typically of tortoise shell, where designs have been inlaid with tiny pieces of Silver or Gold.

Plique a Jour - An enamel process where the design is outlined with metal and the enamel is applied to create a stained glass effect. Often a copper backplate held the enamel in place until it hardened and then the copper was dissolved in acid. A fragile art form, particularly found in Art Nouveau jewelry.

Repousse - Ornamentation in metal formed by pressing or hammering the design from the reverse side.

Riviere - A chain necklace set with stones, all of one specific type, in graduated sizes.

Rhodium - Metal that's electrically applied to base metal or silver. Was often used in 'Art Deco jewelry to simulate platinum.

Rolled Gold - Heavy Gold plating over a base metal.

Rose Cut - An older type of gemstone cut with faceting that has a flat base and pointed top. Usually has 24 triangular facets. There are several variations of this basic cut found in antique jewelry.

Satsuma - Japanese enamel with a crackled glaze surface. Scene is hand painted scene usually accented with gold.

Synthetic Stone - A real gem, man-made, with all the properties of the natural gemstone. Not the same as "imitation" or "faux" stones.

Sautoir - Long necklace that extends below the waist. They sometimes have a pendant or tassel on the bottom.

Silver Gilt - Gold applied over silver also called "vermiel".

Sterling - Can show marks of "925", Lion, OR a head facing right.

Tessarae - Small mosaic pieces used in Micro Mosaics and Pieta Dura jewelry.

Tremblant - Type of jewelry incorporating a section that moves within the design. Often the movement is caused by a section being mounted on a tiny spring that "trembles" as the jewelry wearer moves about.

Vermeil - Denotes a silver piece plated with gold.

Vulcanite - Lightweight black-brown substance made of heated india-rubber and sulphur. Used in Victorian mourning jewelry.

Watch Cock - Interior part of a pocket watch, very ornamental, that is removed and used to make other items of jewelry. Often, the watch cocks are Georgian made into jewelry during the Victorian era.

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