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Beading & Jewelry Making Glossary |
Acrylic Resin Transparent man-made resins used in making molded plastics.
Aurora Borealis Named for the Northern Lights. In costume jewelry, a term for crystal stones that have a highly iridescent surface. The effect is achieved by vapor blasting the facets of the lower part of the crystals with an invisible, micro thin metal sheet. This stone was created by Swarovski® in 1955 in collaboration with Christian Dior. Also known as AB, the term now refers to any iridescent finish.
Bail A metal loop that is used to attach a chain or cord to a pendant.
Bail Pendant Mount Bonds to any flat backed item to make a pendant.
Bakelite The trademarked name for synthetic resins and plastics developed by a US chemist. Jewelry pieces made of Bakelite, especially with animal and fruit motifs, were extremely popular in the US in the 1930s and are now considered collectors items. Though still a highly specialized category. Bakelite has had something of a renaissance in this country in recent years.
Baroque Pearl An irregularly-shaped pearl.
Beading Hook Acrylic hook used for attaching beading to lampshades, curtain rods, serving bowls or shade pulls.
Bezel The metal groove or flange holding a gemstone in its setting, or the slanting face of a cut gem.
Biwa A cultured pearl originally non-nucleated, grown in a freshwater mussel from Lake Biwa in Japan. Only those actually produced there should be called Biwas; others are simply called freshwater cultured pearls.
Box Setting A box-like closed gem or stone setting.
Bracelet Clasp A round or oval, gem set or enameled clasp with slots at the back through which a ribbon can be threaded. Often found in pairs. Portrait miniatures were often set as bracelet clasps.
Brooch Convertor A finding used to convert a brooch into a pendant. Styles are available for horizontal or vertical pins.
Bugtail 1mm satin cord.
Cameo A carved gem or shell, in which the carved design stands out against a background of a different color.
Carat The unit of weight used for precious stones. One carat equals one-fifth of a gram. Also a measurement of fitness in gold. Pure gold is expressed as 24kt.
Cats Eye Glass that reflects light in a way reminiscent of a cats eye.
Celluloid Thermoplastic material that was commonly used in jewelry before the invent of injection molding. Now used to simulate tortoiseshell.
Chain Tab Metal tab stamped with metal content designation.
Chalcedony Various types of colored quartz, usually with a milky appearance, including carnelian, agate, cats eye and jasper.
Charms Small ornaments worn as pendants or on bracelets.
Chatelaine An ornamental chain, pin or clasp, usually worn at a womans waist, to which trinkets, keys, a purse, or other articles are attached. Also used to refer to pins with two figures linked together by a chain.
Choker A tight-fitting necklace that is worn close to the base of the neck. May be plain or with pendants or ornamentation. Measures 14" to 16".
Cloisonné Enamel with surface decorations set in hollows formed by strips of wire welded to a metal plate.
Cone Necklace terminator or beading finding used to bring multiple strands together at one point to attach a clasp or be part of the design.
Cubic Zirconia Synthetic gemstone developed in 1977 to simulate a diamond.
Dog Collar A broad, choker like necklace, often consisting of numerous parallel strands of beads, pearls or stones. Known as a plaque de cou when attached by a front clasp. The style was popular in the 1960s, but was made fashionable by Queen Alexandra.
Dulling (or Sanitizing) Brushing a metal surface, sometimes with a matting punch or powder, to give it a duller (matte) finish.
Electroplating Coating a metal surface (in fashion or bridge jewelry, usually with copper, nickel, chromium, gold, silver or rhodium) by means of electrolysis. The amount of electroplate on an object is measured in microns (one micron = .001 mm). See also Gold Electroplating and Silver Plate.
Embossing The process of raising a domed design on the front of a piece of metal by beating it from behind with punches and a hammer.
Enamel Colored, opaque glassy material fused onto metal, pottery or glass.
Engraving A pattern made by cutting away the surface of metal, wood, or other surface.
Eye Beads Decorated to resemble an eye, these beads date back to antiquity and have symbolic meanings. Often used in amulets.
Filigree Lace-like ornamental work of fine gold or silver wire.
Finding Manufactured components used to create jewelry. Generally, findings provide the structure for the jewelry design; the ornamentation is provided by both the design of the finding as well as the gems, beads or other decoration that is added. Findings include jumprings, clasps, bails, headpins, earwires, and charms, to name a few.
Focal Component Any item that is used as the central element in a necklace, bracelet, or other jewelry design. A focal component is intended to be the main attention-getter, the “focal point.” Examples include pendants, carved gemstone beads, cabochons in settings, etc. Sometimes referred to as a “station.”
Foil A thin leaf of metal placed behind a gem or paste stone to heighten its color or brilliance.
Gold Electroplate An electrolytic coating with gold, or with an alloy of not less than 10% fineness to a minimum thickness throughout that is equivalent to seven millionths of an inch. This means that where the fineness is less than 24kt, the thickness must be proportionately greater, so that the same amount of fine gold is seven millionths of an inch, it may be marked - heavy gold electroplate.
Gold-filled A gold alloy plate made by soldering, brazing, welding or other means that is not less than 10kt fineness, where the plating constitutes at lest 1/20th of the weight of the metal in the entire article. The term must be preceded by the karat fineness of the plating, such as 14kt gold filled. When using the term gold overlay, manufacturers are permitted to use a layer of gold that is less than 1/20th the weight of the entire piece, but they must stamp the proportion of the gold layer on the jewelry.
Gold Imitation An alloy of zinc, tin and copper that results in a yellow the color of gold.
Granulation One of the oldest jewelry design techniques, dating to 2500 BC. Tiny grains of gold or other metal are stuck to a surface as ornaments
Hammering Giving metal surface marks and textures by hammering.
Heishe Bar Narrow spacer bar used to hold heishe beads, bugle beads, liquid silver or seed beads parallel and prevent tangling.
Ice Pick Bail Similar to a prong bail, it will create a loop to attach a chain to when the prongs are closed into a cross-drilled pendant.
Inlays To set pieces of wood or ivory, for example, into a surface, usually at the same level, to form a design.
Intaglio Decoration made by carving or engraving a design into a gem or other hard material. Intaglio is the opposite of cameo.
Lariat An open ended necklace that is held together by a flexible element such as a drop or ring. Length is 48" or longer.
Lavalier A pendant with one stone, suspended from a necklace.
Lost Wax Casting A process of casting wherein a wax model is encased in an investment, which is agitated mechanically or put into a vacuum to remove air bubbles. After the wax is burned off in an oven, a cavity remains, which is filled with molten metal through an opening. The investment is broken away from the hardened metal, which is then ready for polishing or ornamentation. For large scale production, numerous identical wax models are made by pouring molten wax into a rubber mold.
Maltese Cross A cross with four broad arms of equal length, with tips that look like inward pointing arrowheads.
Manchette Bracelet A broad bracelet in the form of a cuff.
Matinee-length A single row necklace ranging form 30 inches to 35 inches length
Matte A dull finish, particularly on metals.
Micron A unit of length equivalent to 0.001 mm, used for measuring the thickness of electroplating.
Millefiori Beads Created by fusion of several glass rods arranged so that the cross-section creates a flower or pattern with a mosaic-like appearance.
Mousetail 1.5mm satin cord.
Nickel A silver-white metal popular for plating because it is malleable and resists oxidation. The most common of metal allergies.
Opera Length An especially long strand necklace. Length is 28 inches to 32 inches.
Patina The coloration that occurs in certain metals when they are exposed at length to the atmosphere. A thin, greenish layer appears on the surface of copper and bronze; a reddish effect on gold. An artificial patina can be created with acids or electrolyte.
Pavé Setting The method of setting stones very close together so that very little metal shows between them.
Pearl Essence Also called essence d’orient. A crystalline substance extracted from fish scales and combined with acrylic resins. Used to make imitation pearls. In better imitations, the essence is applied over opaline glass beads; in cheaper imitations, over plastic beads. Discovered in 1565 by Jaquin, a French manufacturer of rosaries, when he accidentally dipped some pearls into water in which he had washed fish. Refined versions today produce spectacular results.
Pendant An ornament suspended from a single chain.
Polishing The process in the last stage of metal finishing in which a rotating instrument is dipped in a polishing substance. Increases shine and eliminates flaws.
Pottery Shard A piece of broken pottery.
Precious Stones Rare and costly gems: diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
Princess Length An 18" length necklace.
Prong Bail A finding used to attach a chain to a cross-drilled pendant.
Rattail 2mm satin cord.
Repoussé Patterns or decorations achieved with punches or chasing hammers.
Resin A solid or semi-solid organic (carbon based) material, either natural or synthetic. In general, non-soluble in water.
Rhinestone Originally quartz from the gold washings along the Rhine river. Today, generally means colorless potash-and-lead glass that contains quartz in the form of melted lead crystal and is cut like a diamond. Also called strass, diamante.
Rhodium An expensive whitish-gray metallic element from the platinum family.
Riviere Necklace of stones, either all the same size or graded from a large central stone.
Rope Necklace Length 40 to 45 inches
Sautoir A long necklace, usually made of pearls or beads and often ending in a tassel. Popularized in the 1920’s
Scarab An image of a beetle held sacred by ancient Egyptians, carved in a stone or gem.
Scatter Pin A small pin usually a bird, insect, or flower worn in groups. Popular in the 1950’s.
Semiprecious Stones Natural stones that generally have a lower value than precious stones, including amethyst, aventurine, carnelian, garnet, opal, rose quartz, and others. Primarily used in fashion jewelry.
Silver Filled A mechanical bonding with a silver alloy of at least 92.5 percent fineness. The bonding must be equal to at least one-twentieth of the metal in the article. This can also be called silver overlay, but never silver plate.
Silver Plate A fine silver film deposited on a base metal by electrolysis, in the same kind of electrically-charged bath used to make gold electroplate. The film can be as thin as seven millionths of an inch. A silver plate item cannot be called sterling or bear a marking of ’silver’.
Spacer Bar Jewelry finding used to hold multiple strands of beads in alignment and prevent tangling, are inserted at intervals while stringing the beads.
Station A pendant that is the focus of a design.
Stickpin A straight pin worn vertically on a scarf or tie, which has some kind of ornamentation on the top.
Tailored Jewelry Jewelry constructed entirely of metal and without stones. Introduced by Alfred Phillippe, who drew for Trifari.
Terminator Bond to one end of a flat bulk chain to create a jumpring attachment.
Torsade A popular choker-type, multi-strand necklace in which the strands twist around each other.
Up Eye Finding that can be bonded to round bead or tumbled stone to add a loop and create a pendant.
Vermeil Gilded or gold-colored sterling silver, copper or bronze.
White Metal Alloys with heavy tin or lead content, such as pewter. Also called Britannia metal or tin plate. One of the most commonly used metals in costume jewelry. |
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