ANNEALING: Process of heating and cooling metals to specific temperatures to increase their working qualities.
ANTIQUE: Jewelry made before 1950.
APPLIQUE: Ornamental work made separately and then applied to an article.
APPLE JUICE BAKELITE: Colorless Bakelite (Prystal) was introduced by the Catalin Corp in 1935. It was carved on the backside with floral or figural designs that looked three dimensional from the front. This is called "reverse carved". Over time, the pieces have oxidized to a light amber color which is called "apple juice".
ART DECO: Geometric lines, bold color. 1910-1930
ART NOUVEAU: More curving lines, designs representative of nature. 1890-1915.
AURORA BOREALIS: Microscopic layers of different materials vacuum plated to glass for irridescence first made by the Swarovski Co in 1955.
BAGUETTE: A long, narrow rectangular faceted stone.
BAIL: Loop through which a chain or cord passes.
BASE METALS: Metals that contain no iron such as copper and brass.
BASSE-TAILLE: (pr: bas TIE yuh) In enameling, decoration in which the design is carved at the bottom of a depressiion and shows through the transparent coat of enamel.
BAKELITE: Plastic invented in 1909 by Leo Headrick Baekeland. It is a phenol plastic that can be cast. Bakelite is the trade name for the Bakelite Corporation.
BAROQUE: In jewelry terms, this means irregular in shape.
BAS-RELIEF: Design that extends only slightly from the background, such as a cameo.
BELCHER MOUNTING: A kind of ring mounting with the setting claws or prongs formed in the shank of the ring.
BEZEL SET: Metal band with top edges burnished over to hold stone in place.
BOG OAK: Fossilized peat - found mainly in 19th century Irish jewelry.
BOOKCHAIN: Folded over square or rectangular links often engraved.
BORO BEAD: Made from borosilicate (hard glass). Has a higher melting temperature than soft glass (effetre).
BURNISHER: Small, highly polished, tapered steel tool used to rub metal to achieve a polished finish.
CABOCHON: Unfaceted, rounded, dome stones. Usually flat on bottom.
CAIRNGORN: A smoky grayish brown, smoky yellow to almost black variety of transparent crystalline quartz. Often found in vintage jewelry from Scotland.
CAMEO: A carved gem that is actually a miniature bas-relief sculpture. Commonly carved from materials of differently colored layers such as onyx, shell or coral.
CARAT: Unit of weight for gemstones.
CASTING: Forming an object by pouring molten metal into a mold. Used to duplicate components in jewelry. The most commonly used varieties are lost wax casting and cuttlefish casting.
CHANNEL SET: Stones are set in a metal channel and held in place by a slight rim that runs along the edge of the channel.
CHATON: Stone with eight facets on top and eight facets on the bottom. The top is flat and the bottom comes to a point.
CELLULOID: Semi-synthetic Thermoplastic which is part natural fiber (cellulose) invented by John Wesley Hyatt in 1868. One of the major drawbacks was its flammability. In 1927, the Celluloid Corp introduced cellulose acetate which substituted acetic acid (vinegar) for nitric acid and camphor and is non-flammable.
COIN SILVER: 90% silver and 10% other metal.
COSTUME JEWELRY: Not containing precious metals or stones.
CULTURED PEARLS: A pearl produced by artificially inducing the formation of a pearl sac. Cultured pearls are not imitation pearls.
DAMASCENE: Embedding of gold and/or silver into metal base.
DEMI-PARURE: Two matching pieces of the same design - a set.
DENTELLE: Stone that is formed in a mold and then hand cut.