A.

Acrostic Jewelry: popular in the Victorian times this is jewelry in which the stone placement holds a special message for the recipient.

Aigrette: early 20th century ornament worn in the hair, often decorated with feathers or glitter.

A-joure setting: open work setting in which the bottom portion of the stone can be seen: also a setting in which the metal has open work.

Albert chain: a watch chain for a man or woman with a bar at one end and a swivel to hold a watch at the other

Alpaca: an alloy that is made of approximately 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc, with 5 % tin. It is often used as a substitute for silver and is found in many Mexican designs and is also known as German silver.

Antique: Jewelry that is 100 or more years old.

Arabesque: scrollwork design, often having low relief curlicues.

Articulated: jewelry that is made with hinged parts, so that it is moveable

Avolto:  jewelry style which uses wire to form a necklace into a particular shape.
B.
Bakelite: a thermo set plastic made from phenol formaldehyde. Characterized by its hardness and unusual finish, it is a highly collectible area of vintage jewelry collecting today.

Baguette: a narrow, rectangular stone.

Bail(Bale): a connecting piece at the top of a pendant or brooch so that it can be hung from a chain.

Bar Brooch or pin: a long, narrow brooch or pin which is often set with gemstones.

Base Metal: a collective term used to refer to all non-precious metals.

Beveled cut: a shape of stone where the surface has been cut at an angle less than 90 degrees most often seen in rhinestones and other gemstones.

Bezel: a setting used in jewelry, in which a stone is held in place by a band (either plain or with a fancy edging) around the outside of a stone.

Black Hills Gold: a type of jewelry made in the Black Hills area of South Dakota in the USA. Normally it is 10k yellow gold, with accents of yellow, green and pink “gold”. [Specifically, the green and pink gold in (Black Hills Gold) jewelry is only found on the leaves. The pink color is made by combining gold with copper, and the delicate green color is achieved by adding sterling silver with gold.] Box setting: a type of setting that holds a stone in place in a box shape with metal edges which are pressed down to hold the stone in place.

Briolette:  a stone that is pear shaped and faceted. Many early vintage rhinestone pieces feature briolette rhinestones.

Brooch: A jewelry piece to pin on to a sweater or at a shirt’s neckline. It is like a pin, only larger.

Bronze: a very heavy metal composed of 60% copper and 40% tin. It is dull brown color and not particularly popular in jewelry because of the weight.

Brushed Finish: (also called a satin finish) is produced by engraving or scratching a series of tiny parallel lines into metal to give it a textured finish.

Burnished Setting: a gemstone that is held in place without the use of prongs or beads and is set flush with the settings surface.

C.
C Clasp: very popular on jewelry up until about 1900 when the safety catch was invented, this clasp consists of a piece of formed metal in the shape of a c, under which the pin part of the clasp sits.

Cabochon: from the French word “caboche” which means knob or small dome. It refers to a domed stone with a flat back which can come in many shapes such as round, oval; tear shape, etc.

Cameo: a shell or other stone which has been carved into various shapes, particularly female heads. As carving progresses, the different layers are shown which gives wonderful detail to the finished piece. Also done in shell, coral and lava.

Carat (karat): a unit of weight used for describing diamonds and other precious gems. The metric carat of 200 milligrams was adopted by the USA in the early 1900s and is now universally used.

Cartouche: a decoration often found on Victorian jewelry which is characterized by swirls and scrollwork in a symmetrical design.

Celluloid: a highly flammable early plastic which contains camphor. It is very lightweight and was later discontinued in favor of heavier more durable forms of plastic.

Channel setting: often used to set baguette and round stones, the jewels are place in a metal channel, which has a slight rim which runs along the “channel” - thus the name.

Chaton: a faceted stone that is round in shape and very popular in rhinestone jewelry.

Chatelaine pin: two pins or brooches worn joined together by a chain

Chaton setting: this setting holds a stone in place by a series of metal claws around a metal ring. It is also referred to as a coronet or arcade setting.

Choker: a very short necklace, which sits right at the throat, generally less than 14″ long.

Claw setting: the stone is held securely in place by a series of metal prongs, called claws. There is no metal directly under the stone, since the setting is open. The claws grip the stone above the girdle. It is often used for transparent stones, since it lets light in under the stone.

Cloisonné: a design in which enamel is applied to metal, by first outlining the metal surface with gold or silver wire into a design. The space between the wires is then filled with enamel and fired to a highly polished, glassy sheen. Many cloisonné designs feature flowers and butterflies.

Cluster brooch: a brooch, developed in the 14th century, in which a single large stone or gemstone is surrounded by a cluster of gemstones or pearls.

Costume Jewelry: Jewelry made from non fine or non precious materials.

Couture: very highly fashionable jewelry and clothing that has been created by leading fashion and jewelry designers also referred to as Haute Couture.  

Cultured pearl: a pearl which is made by “seeding” a mollusk or oyster with a grain of sand. The mollusk secretes layers of coating over time to protect itself from the irritation. Eventually, a real pearl is formed.

D.
Damascene: the process of applying gold or silver on iron or steel to produce decorative patterns. Much Damascene jewelry comes from Spain or Japan. Reed and Barton also use copper in their Damascene jewelry.

Dead stone:  a term often used for foil backed rhinestones which have lost their original shiny finish. This usually happens when moisture comes in contact with the foil backing and damaging it. Dead stones can appear dull, gray, or yellowish.

Dearest Ring: This is a sentimental ring, very popular in the second half of the 19th century with stones set out in the following sequence - Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz. See also Regard ring.

Demi-parure: refers to a matching set of jewelry - often a necklace, earrings and a pin, all of the same design and made to be worn together. See also Parure.

Dress Clip: a clip which uses one wide clip to attach to articles of clothing. See also Fur clip.

Duette: a combination pin on one pin back, made famous by Coro, and registered by them, but now commonly used by others.

E.
Enamel: a paste or powder of various colors is applied to metal and then fired in an annealing oven so that the glass is baked on to the metal

Engraving: the process of making a design in a hard surface, often metal, by cutting grooves into it.

Estate jewelry: a term that refers to jewelry which has been previously owned, not necessarily from an estate.

F.
Facet: an angled, cut surface of a gemstone, rhinestone or diamond.

Fakelite: Faux Bakelite which is a modern, mass produced product, neither true Bakelite or vintage. See also French Bakelite.

Faux: a French word which means false, used to pertain to fake materials made to look like genuine stones.

Filigree: ornate, delicate settings which are produced by using thin strands of wire, which are intricately intertwined or bent into rosettes, swirls etc.

Findings: jewelry components, such as hooks, bails, clasps, etc.

Fob: a Decorative ornament worn on a chain, and usually worn with a watch.

French Bakelite: modern mass produce jewelry, which has the look of Bakelite, but it neither genuine Bakelite nor vintage. See also Fakelite

French Ivory: a plastic made to simulate ivory that was first produced around the middle of the 19th century.

French Jet: black jewelry designed to imitate fossilized coal. Victorian women wore it as mourning Jewelry and it was made very popular by Queen Victoria.

Freshwater pearl: a pearl that is harvested from a freshwater mollusk - a mussel. The shape of freshwater pearls is similar to a grain of crisped rice cereal, rather than round, and they are less valuable than oyster pearls.

Fur clip: a clip with two thin prongs which attaches to a fur stole. See also dress clip.

G.
German silver: Also known as Alpaca this is an alloy that is made of approximately 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc, with 5 % tin. It was invented in the mid 1800s in Germany as a substitute for silver.

Gilt: a term which refers to gold plated.

Givre: beads which have a clear or light layer of glass over an inner colored core.

Gold Filled:  a term for a thin outer layer of gold over a base metal. It is abbreviated GF. As an example 1/20 GF 12K must be al last 1/20th gold and it is layered with 12karat gold. To be classified as gold filled; a jewelry item must be at least 1/20th gold by weight.

Gold Plated: a type of finish inwhich a very thin layer of gold is applied on the surface, usually by electroplating. Jewelry pieces with this finish are often marked G.E.P, gold plated or gold electroplate.

Gold toned: jewelry which is finished to look like gold, but has no actual gold content.

Gold Washed: Jewelry which has a very thin layer of gold - less than 175 microns thick - which is applied by dipping or burnishing but not plating the metal. This type of coating wears off more readily than gold plated or gold filled jewelry

Gunmetal: an alloy popular in the 1890s which is a mix of 90% copper and 10% tin.

H.
Hallmark: the term used for an official mark made on metal. It can indicate the type of metal or the manufacturer. Sometimes, the year of manufacture will be noted. Examples are: Sarah Cov, which is the Hallmark for the Sarah Coventry Company, 925 which indicates silver content, and a Pegasus horse, which is the hallmark of the Corocraft jewelry company.

Hammered Finish: a hand finishing technique in which a small hammer is used to make a series of indentations in a piece of metal and often used with sterling silver jewelry.

Heirloom: a highly valued possession that is passed down among family members from one generation to the next.

I.
Inclusion: a small particle of foreign matter which is contained in a mineral. Many inclusions devalue a stone, but some are prized and make it more valuable - i.e. Star Sapphire.

Inlay:  a process in which a piece of material such as glass or stone is partially embedded into another material. The finished result is that the two materials make a level surface. Mother of pearl is often seen as an inlay in jewelry items.

Intaglio: A design made by cutting deeply on the obverse or back side of a stone or gemstone.

Ivory: a smooth grained material made from the tusks of elephants and walruses. Creamy white in color, usually with a cross hatching type of grain.

J.
Japanned: metal jewelry that has a shiny black coating; normally this is finished with a lustrous, black lacquer.

Jet: fossilized coal which is also known as gagate. It is hard and light weight and is a lustrous black color. It was used in mourning jewelry during the Victorian period. Black glass and plastics are often made to look like jet. True jet is warm to the touch.

K.
Karat(carat): usually abbreviated as the letter “K”, karat refers to the purity of gold. 24K is 100% pure gold. 18K is 18 parts gold with 6 parts other alloyed metals - 75% pure gold. 14K is 14parts gold and 10 parts other alloyed metals or 58.5% pure gold.

L.
Lariat necklace:a necklace with open, decorated ends that are looped or knotted instead of clasped. It often has a central decorative finding through which the ends are threaded.

Lavaliere: a pendant which has a dangling stone below it. The term was named for the Duchess Louise de La Valliere - a mistress of the French King Louis XIV.

Locket: a hinged, closed case, often with decorative design which opens to hold the picture of a loved one.

M.
Marcasite: often faceted and used in sterling silver: this mineral has the same composition as pyrite (fool’s Gold) but has a different chemical structure.

Marquis cut: an elongated, faceted oval cut, which tapers to a point. Similar to a navette cut, but slightly more rounded - named for the Marquis de Pompadour.

Matinee Length: a single strand necklace which is between 22-23 inches long.

Memento Mori: a jewel that is intended to be a reminder of death.

Memorial jewel: a jewel made in the memory of a loved one. It often contains hair from that person.

Micro Mosaic Jewelry: jewelry which is made by combining small glass tiles, called tesserae, into intricate designs and very popular with Italian artisans in the mid 19th and early 20th century.

Molded Cameo: a cameo which is made by a molding process, rather than hand carving from shell. Molded cameos are often made from porcelain, glass or plastic. Two colors are often used - one for the design and another for the background.

Mother of pearl: the inside linings of mollusks, abalone and other shells which is stripped or scraped from the shell and used as inlay in jewelry.

Mourning Jewelry: is worn when one is mourning the loss of a loved one. It is often black. Queen Victoria went into a very long period of mourning when her husband Albert died and wore much black clothing and mourning jewelry - much of it made from jet.

N.
Nacre: the crystalline layer which is secreted by oysters, mussels and other mollusks around a foreign object. Layers of nacre which form over a period of time create a pearl.

Navette cut: oblong, tapered slender cut similar to a Marquis, although more slender.

Negligee: this is a long necklace which normally ends with irregular lengths of tassels or drops

Niello: a method of decorating metal objects, using engraving techniques. Silver, copper, sulphur or lead are rubbed into an indented pattern and then fired. When the object is polished, darkened areas remain for a decorative effect. Often used in Siam Sterling Jewelry.

O.
Open back setting: a setting in which the back of the stone can be seen

Opera Length: a single strand necklace which is 30-35″ in length. It hangs to the breastbone.

Oriental pearl: a pearl which forms normally without human intervention or creation.

Ormolu: refers to gilded bronze or brass mounts. It comes from the French word meaning “ground gold”

Oxidation: the process where a metal (often silver) blackens or tarnishes as a reaction to oxygen and sulphur also called a patina.

P.
Pampilles: jewelry with a cascade of pendant stones that was very popular in Georgian jewelry. It was meant to look like rain drops.

Parure: a matching set of jewelry, usually a brooch, necklace, earrings and a bracelet, but can be even larger. Part of a parure is called a demi or semi parure.

Patina: refers to the change in the surface layer of jewelry as a result of the aging process. Sterling silver is particularly susceptible to developing a patina over time.

Pave: the process of setting stones (notably rhinestones), where a number of small stones are set as closely together as possible. Better pieces use a claw setting. Less expensive pieces often have the stones simply glued in.

Pietra Dura: Similar to Micro mosaics, except that the piece is made of larger pieces of hard stone such as chalcedony, jasper, etc, in a background of black marble.

Pinchbeck: a substitute for gold invented by Christopher Pinchbeck in the 18th century, made from an alloy of copper and zinc.

Posy Ring: a ring which has been engraved with a verse.

Pot Metal: metal which does not have any gold, silver or platinum as a component and sometimes referred to as white metal because of the finish.

Precious Metal: any metal alloy which contains gold, silver or platinum that has a minimum amount of fineness which meets the standards detailed in the Precious Metals Marking Standards Act.

Princess length: a single strand necklace which is 18″ long.

Prong: this setting has a series of metal prongs which grip around the side of stones. Better rhinestone jewelry is prong set, rather than glued.

R.
Regard Ring: R E G A R D - a ring which has been set with precious stones, the first letters of which spell the word “regard.” The stones are ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond. This was very popular in the second half of the 19th century and meant to signify friendship. See also Dearest Ring.

Repousse:  in this process, sheet metal has designs hammered into the back of it with special punches which form raised designs.

Retro: this is a term for chunky jewelry from the 1940s which was often geometric in design. The term is also used for modern jewelry of this style.

Rhinestones: this is a type of highly reflective glass which is made to imitate gemstones. Original rhinestones were quartz stones or rock crystal found on the floor of the Rhine River. Swarovski is renowned for their high quality rhinestones.

Rhodium: often used for plating over other metals, particularly sterling, to give a tarnish free finish.

Rivire necklace: a choker type with a continuous line of gemstones either of equal or graduated sizes of stones.

Rivoli Rhinestone: This is a type of rhinestone with a pointed end on both sides which makes it look somewhat saucer shaped.

Rolled Gold: gold plating which was popular in the early 19th century.

Rondelle: a piece of metal or gemstone which is pierced and then strung on beads in a necklace.

S.
Sautoir: a long necklace of beads, pearls or chains, often ending in tassels. It was very popular in the 1920s.

Scarab: made to represent an Egyptian beetle, semi precious stones are carved with a distinctive pattern. Sometimes in swiveled mountings so the intaglio on the reverse side can be seen.

Scatter Pins: a series of small pins which are worn together in groups.

Screw back: the backing to an earring which is held tightly against the ear lobe by means of a screw with a flat rounded end. This type of earring back was introduced in 1894.

Silvertone: jewelry which is finished to look like silver but has no actual silver content.

Solje Jewelry: Filigree silver jewelry from Norway, normally with dangles. It is considered the National jewelry of Norway and is very collectible. It used to be worn on traditional Norwegian costumes.

Spray Brooch: a pin, usually worn at the shoulder, which is styled with a spray of flowers on stems.

Stick Pin: a pin with an ornamental top which is worn vertically on a scarf, tie or jacket lapel.

Strap Necklace: a necklace worn during the Victorian period. It consists of a mesh chain which has pendants that suspend from short, fine chains, which resemble a fringe.

T. 
Tarnish: the darkening of a metal which causes a dull luster that is generally easily removed.

Taxco: This is a town in Mexico famous for its sterling silver jewelry. Taxco sterling jewelry is highly collectible.

Tiara: a head ornament, often highly jeweled, which is worn in the crown position.

Tiffany setting: normally a rounded 6 pronged setting with thin prongs which flare out from the base. It was introduced by Tiffany and Co. in 1886 and often used for large diamond solitaires today.

Torsade: a necklace which is made of many strands which are twisted together, instead of hanging loosely.

Trade mark: an assurance of quality, It is a permanent record of the signature of the manufacturer and the origin. See also hallmarks.

Trembler: a piece of jewelry which has a part which is set on a spring, resulting in this part moving as the wearer of the jewelry moves. Coro is famous for its trembler jewelry.

Triplet: a process whereby a stone is made by sandwiching three thin layers of stones together. The term is often used for opals which has only a middle layer of opal surrounded by other materials on the top and bottom of it to generate a particular color.

Tube Clasp: an older vintage jewelry clasp, which was patented in 1850, and used for jewelry only until after the end of World War II. The presence of a tube clasp indicates that the jewelry is an older piece.

Tutti Frutti: vintage jewelry which is set with multi colored gemstones in the shape of flowers, berries and leaves sometimes found in a basket design.

V.
Vauxhall Glass: a type of glass named for a mirror glass made in Britain in the early 1700’s, in Vauxhall, London. Commonly made in deep burgundy color, but there are other colors as well. It is quite hard to find because it became damaged from wearing.

Verdigris: over time, costume or fine jewelry can develop a green gunk disease known as verdigris. The presence of this green gunk means that there is metal damage underneath.

Vermeil: pronounced “vairmay”, this term refers to silver, bronze or copper with a thin layer of gold plating over the top. Commonly used with sterling silver jewelry to help with the problem of tarnishing.

Vintage: a piece of jewelry that is considered a classic, characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal.

W.
White Metal: a metal which has no gold, silver or platinum in it, and has a white finish is often called Pot metal.

Y.
Yellow gold: comes in several different shades of yellow in its natural state. It is fairly pure when it is first mined. It is usually alloyed with zinc, copper or silver when it is used in making jewelry.

Z.
Zinc: a metal that is brittle at room temperature and yet it is malleable when it is heated. It is used in such alloys as brass, bronze and nickel silver.