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HABIT: The term used to
describe the shape in which a crystal naturally occurs.
HAIR: Jewelry woven from human hair, made either as a romantic
token for a loved one or from the hair of a deceased friend or family
member as a sentimental remembrance. Jewelry is also woven from
horsehair and elephant hair.
HALF HOOP: An earring that is not fully circular.
HALLMARK: A mark found on gold and silver articles, frequently
indicating the maker, country of origin, date, and fineness of the
metal. The origin of the word hallmark dates to the later Middle Ages of
England, when silversmiths were members of the Guildhall. Please refer
to the
Precious Metals Buyer's Guide for
more information.
HARDNESS: In gemology, the resistance of a substance to surface
scratching. It does not relate in any respect to ability to escape other
kinds of injury such as crushing or breaking. Diamond is the hardest
mineral substance, with a rating of 10 on the Mohs scale; talc is the
softest, with a rating of 1 on the Mohs scale. Diamonds can be scratched
only by other diamonds. They can, however, be cut and cleaved apart with
conventional tools.
HAUYNE: Click on the
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HC: An abbreviation representing a hunting case or hunter watch,
which is a watch with a cover on both sides.
HELIODOR: Click on the
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HEMIMORPHITE:
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HIDDENITE:
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HIGH POLISH: High polish refers to the mirror-like surface of
jewelry metal.
HOOP EARRING: A circular-shaped earring made from precious metal
wire or tubing.
HYDROTHERMAL: This refers to a process that involves the
alteration or deposition of minerals by water heated by igneous
activity.
IDIOCHROMATIC GEMS: The colors in these "self-colored" gemstones
come from elements that are an essential part of their chemical
composition. Idiochromatic gems usually have only one color, or show a
very narrow range of colors. An example of this is peridot, which is
always green, due to one of its essential elements, iron. See
ALLOCHROMATIC GEMS for the opposite.
INDICOLITE TOURMALINE:
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IGNEOUS ROCKS: These are rocks that are formed from erupted
volcanic lava or solidified magma.
ILLUSIONS / ILLUSION DISCS: A disc of patterned metal, which is
inserted into the top of a setting. The stone is then set into and
surrounded by the disc in order to give the illusion of a larger stone.
IMPERFECTION: A flaw or blemish, caused by nature or man, on the
outer surface or the stone's interior. Poor color or an unskilled cut is
not classified as an imperfection, though it will, of course, play a
role in value determination.
INCLUSION: Any substance visible within a gemstone, including
fragments of a gemstone itself or tiny crystals. These entrapped
"prisoners" influence value, which may be more or less depending on
their number and size. If not too centrally situated, it may be
possible, in cutting, to remove them from a rough stone. Cuts designed
to rid a stone of inclusions generally involve considerable loss of
carat weight.
INDIAN PITCH: A plaque made by pouring green glass onto gold foil
that has been cut out in a mold of hunting scene motifs. After the glass
is set, it is polished until the glass is level with the gold foil,
forming a silhouette effect. Popular after Queen Victoria became empress
of India in 1876.
INLAY: A decorative feature of an item of jewelry, such as a
gemstone. Please refer to the Jewelry Setting Buyer's Guide for more
information.
INTAGLIO: An engraved stone in which the design is carved
into the surface of the stone so that the rim is the highest portion.
The opposite of a cameo. See CAMEO.
INTERGROWN: This is when two or more minerals grow together and
become interlocked.
INTRUSIVE: When igneous rock has solidified within other rocks,
below the Earth's surface.
IOLITE: Click on the
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IRIDESCENCE: Iridescence is the rainbow like color effect seen in
some gemstone types. This phenomenon is commonly seen in ammonite,
moonstone and opal.
JADE: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
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JAIPUR ENAMEL: Named after a region of India that is the center
of the jewelry industry. It is characterized by brightly colored enamels
on both the front and back.
JAMES TASSIE: A London jeweler who developed a secret paste
around 1766 with which he produced paste or glass replica intaglio
gemstones from wax models. Commonly called "Tassies" on today's market.
JET: Hard coal, mined at Whit by, England, highly polished and
carved. Primarily sold as memorial jewelry.
J HOOP: A hopped earring design where the shape is not circular
but elongated similar to the letter "J".
JUMP RINGS: A jump ring is an oval or round ring of metal wire
used at the end of a chain to which a clasp or securing system is
attached.
K: An abbreviation representing the word karat,
which signifies the fineness of the gold content of an item. See KARAT.
Please refer to the
Precious Metals Buyer's Guide for
more information.
KARAT: A term used to denote gold purity. The designation for
fine gold is 24ct therefore 9ct is 9/24 or 37.5% pure.A term used to
denote gold purity. Pure gold or "Fine Gold" is 24 Karat; therefore, 24
Karat = 100%, 12 Karat = 50% etc. The lowest grade of gold to carry a
karat mark in the United States is 10K, or, in Great Britain, 9K. Most
gold coins are 20K or 21K. Jewelry is commonly 9K to 18K. The word karat
derives from the carob bean, used as a measure of weight in the ancient
world. When spelled "carat", it refers to the weight of a precious gem
and has nothing to do with the fineness of a metal in the United States.
Please refer to the
Precious Metals Buyer's Guide for more
information.
KORNERUPINE:
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KUNZITE: Click on the link
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KYANITE:
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LABRADORITE:
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LAB GEMSTONES: Man made gems; unlike
"Natural Gemstones", which
refers to those gems formed in the earth. Lab gems are imitations, which
vary in similarity. Synthetic/lab gems are produced in a number of
grades and vary considerably in price. All are detectable, using proper
equipment.
LAPIDARY: This is someone who polishes and cuts gemstones.
LALIQUE, RENE JULES (1860-1945): Leading French jeweler connected
with the Art Nouveau movement.
LAPIS LAZULI: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
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LARIMAR: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
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LAVA: Lava found at Pompeii, Italy, was primarily carved as
cameos, ranging in color from cream to dark brown and white to charcoal.
It is very soft and therefore permits a skilled artisan to carve fine
detail with high relief.
LEIFITE: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
type from Thaigem.com's extensive resources of information.
LIGNE: A unit of measurement generally used to determine bangle
widths. There are forty lignes to the inch.
LOBSTER CLAW CLASP: A jewelry fastening or clasp shaped like a
lobster claw. Possesses a spring-loaded arm to keep clasp securely
closed. Please refer to the Precious Metals Buyer's Guide for more
information.
LOUPE: A magnifying glass, either of the folding pocket variety
or mounted in an eyepiece. Though a magnifier of any strength can be
sold as a loupe, a "jeweler's loupe" refers to a glass of 10x power.
LUSTRE: Lustre is the overall appearance of a gemstone and is
determined by the way light is reflected from its surface. The luster is
also related to the amount of surface polish, which is usually greater
the harder the gemstone is. Gems comparable to diamond or demantoid
garnet are termed as having an "adamantine" luster but most faceted gems
have a glass-like "vitreous" lustre.
MACARONI: A style of chatelaine
composed of a series of long chains with a watch on one end and on the
other end a series of charms, such as watch keys and seals.
MAGNESITE:
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MASSIVE: This term is used to describe minerals that have an
indefinite shape, or that consist of small crystals in masses.
MATTE: A frosted, non-shiny surface effect commonly used in
precious metal jewelry. Please refer to the
Precious Metals Buyer's Guide for more information.
MATRIX: This is the rock in which a gem is found. It is also
referred to as the host rock or parent rock.
MAWSITSIT: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
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METAMORPHIC ROCK: These are rocks that have been changed by heat and/or
pressure to form new rocks consisting of new minerals.
MELLITE: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
type from Thaigem.com's extensive resources of information.
MICROCRYSTALLINE: Refers to the mineral structure in which crystals are
too small to be detected by the naked eye.
MILARITE: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
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MILLGRAIN EDGE: An edge that has small beads or ridges, giving
the effect seen on the edge of a coin.
MINERALS: These are naturally occurring, inorganic materials with
a constant chemical composition and regular internal atomic structure.
MIXED-CUT: A cut where the facets above and below the girdle are
styled in different ways, such as the brilliant-cut (above) and step-cut
(below). MM (mm): Millimeter, representing a unit of measurement for a
round object such as a pearl.
MOHS' SCALE: The German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs devised The
Moh's scale. It is a method of classifying the relative hardness of
minerals. Mohs took ten common minerals and put them in order of "scratchability".
Each mineral will scratch the mineral below it on the scale but will be
scratched by the mineral above it. Mohs' scale is 1: Talc 2: Gypsum 3:
Calcite 4: Fluorite 5: Apatite 6: Orthoclase 7: Quartz 8: Topaz 9:
Corundum and 10: Diamond.
MOONSTONE:
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MORGANITE: Click on the link and learn everything there is to know about this gem
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MULTISTRIPE: A karat gold product made up of a combination of
three different colored alloys (red, yellow and white), which are bonded
together and when rolled, giving a stripy colored effect. Please refer
to the
Precious Metals Buyer's Guide
for more information.
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