Here’s a brief jewelry vocabulary guide, I would like to eventually expand with the help of our awesome readers!
Bezel – The metal around a stone that keeps it in place, e.g. sterling silver bezel.
Bezel set – Stone kept in place by the use of prongs.
Cut – The type of shape the gem is ‘cut’ into. The cut is either faceted or non-faceted, e.g. cabochon cut. Here’s a brief guide to cuts, more to come later. Cut is graded into excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor cuts.
- Brilliant Cut– It’s a facet cut that ensures that when light reflects, it gives a unique burst of brightness, almost like radiating fire.
- Cabochon– A stone that is flat at the bottom, but round on top; smooth without facets like a pebble
- Fancy Cut– Several possible shapes, such as kite-shaped, lozenge shaped, triangular.
- Mixed Cut– Usually rounded in outline, cut as brilliants with pavilions step-cut. Rubies and sapphires are the easiest to shape into a mixed cut.
- Step Cut – Step cuts come in a variation of shapes; oval, square, octagons, baguettes, and general table cuts. The step cut is also known at the ‘emerald cut’. This cut intensifies the hue of a color.
Carat – A measurement of gem weight.
Clarity – Gemstone grading; a lower amount of clarity signifies stones for of inclusions and less pleasing to look at.
| Grade | FL | IF | VVS1, VVS2 | VS1, VS2 | SI1, SI2 | I1, I2, I3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Flawless | Internally Flawless | Very Very Slightly Included | Very Slightly Included | Slightly Included | Included |
| Clarity Scale | 0 | 0 | 1, 2 | 3, 4 | 5, 6 | 7, 8, 9, 10 |
Cavities –Formed during initial gem growth stages, inclusions filled with liquid, gasses, or solids.
Faceted – Jeweler cut sides, the polished planes of a gemstone.
Gauntlet – A bracelet that is oval and firmly set, with an opening in the back.
Gem – polished, cut precious stone used in jewelry.
Gem shape – Somewhat like a cut, but referring to the shape of the stone. E.g. pear cut, trillion cut, and cushion cut.
Gemstone – Semiprecious or precious stone polished and cut to use as a gem.
Inclusions – Internal flaws or blemishes; often associated with clarity. Inclusions are also used to identify types of stones. Inclusions are divided into three categories, cavities, solids, and growth phenomena.
Growth Phenomena – Hollow cavities fill by iron components; examples: solid crystals, naturally occurring glass.
Jewels – Polished and cut precious stone; gem.
Karats – Measurement of gold weight.
Marcasites –Crystalline pyrites cut/shaped to look like diamonds, popular kind of jewelry from the 1700s to the 1800s until in the 1900s marcasites were cut from class and metal.
Metal – Sterling silver, silver toned, silver plating, yellow gold, white gold
Ring Size – Ring gauge in circumference, varies by country.
Treatment – Done to change the shade, hue, or variance of a stone. Different treatments include oiling, heating, irradiation, dying, bleaching, coating, impregnation, filing, lasering, etc.
