Notes
Jewelry literacy, small facts, and how to handle or care for gems and pieces.
- A signet is a seal
The face that stamps. Not an intaglio you only look into. Not a hallmark punched into the gold.
- A clasp is a join
The join that opens and closes a necklace or bracelet. Not a hinge. Not a jump ring alone.
- A shank is the band
The part of the ring that goes around the finger — the band. Not the head. Not an eternity of stones.
- An emerald cut is a step
A rectangular or square step-cut — clipped corners, parallel facets. Not a lantern, not a pillow, not a thin line.
- A briolette is a drop
A faceted drop hung from the tip — not a set pear, not any pendant.
- A cushion is a soft cut
A soft square of stone — rounded corners, a pillow sit. Not a round lantern. Not an emerald room.
- Vermeil is gold on silver
A thick gold coat on sterling — not solid gold. Not thin costume plating.
- A hallmark is a stamp
A punch in the metal — fineness, office, maker. Not a logo. Not a pretty engraving.
- A baguette is a long cut
A long rectangle of stone — not the bread, not a round flash, not a wide emerald room.
- A channel is a trench
A groove cut in the metal — stones sit edge to edge, held by the walls.
- A karat is a share
Twenty-four parts — how much of the metal is gold, not how heavy a stone is.
- An intaglio is a cut-in
A hollowed profile — the inverse of a cameo’s raised relief.
- Filigree is a drawn lace
Openwork of drawn or twisted wire — a lace the gold has pulled.
- A cameo is a profile
A face or figure raised from a darker ground — relief worn as the jewel.
- Milgrain is a row of beads
Tiny metal beads along an edge — a dotted rim the gold has drawn.
- A foil is a mirror under the stone
A thin metal sheet under the gem — light thrown back through the color.
- Pavé is a field, not a spark
Small stones set close — a continuous weather of light, the metal almost hidden.
- A bezel is a wall, not a claw
A rim of metal that holds the stone by its edge — light comes from above.
- A prong is a claw, not a wall
The metal finger that holds a faceted stone — light comes in from the side.
- A cabochon is a dome, not a facet
A polished curve — color lives in the volume, not in a flash of pavilion.
- A pearl wants skin
Nacre is not a hard stone — warmth, silk, a knot between each bead.
- Mystery set, a field without claws
A continuous stone surface — the gold stays underneath, out of the way.
No matching pieces.