This glossary covers the words used for jewelry parts, styles, settings and decorative techniques. Each entry is one or two sentences, and terms with a full page on the site link to it. Gem terms are in the gemology glossary, and metal terms are in the metallurgy glossary.
A
Art Deco
A design style of roughly the 1920s and 1930s known for geometric shapes, platinum and calibre-cut colored stones. See Art Deco jewelry.
Art Nouveau
A style of about 1890 to 1910 built on flowing lines, plants, insects and the female form, often using enamel, horn and opal. See Art Nouveau jewelry.
B
Baguette
A small, narrow rectangular step-cut stone, often used as side stones or in channel settings.
Bail
The loop or fitting at the top of a pendant through which a chain passes.
Bangle
A rigid bracelet that slips over the hand or opens on a hinge.
Baroque pearl
A pearl with an irregular, non-symmetrical shape. Renaissance jewelers often worked baroque pearls into figures and animals.
Basket
The open framework under a stone that holds its prongs, common in solitaire rings.
Bead setting
A setting in which small balls of metal raised from the surface hold the stones. See stone setting techniques.
Bezel
A collar of metal that surrounds a stone and is pressed over its edge to hold it. Bezels give strong protection to the girdle.
Brooch
An ornament fastened to clothing with a hinged pin and catch.
C
Cabochon
A smooth, domed stone with no facets.
Calibre cut
Small stones cut to exact sizes and shapes so they fit tightly together in a pattern, typical of Art Deco work.
Cameo
A carving in raised relief, usually on shell or layered stone, where the figure and background are different colors. Onyx and sardonyx are traditional materials; see onyx.
Champleve
Enamel work in which recesses are carved or cast into metal and then filled with enamel.
Channel setting
A row of stones held between two parallel metal walls.
Chasing
Shaping or texturing metal from the front with punches and a hammer, often paired with repousse.
Choker
A necklace that sits close around the base of the neck, usually 14 to 16 inches long.
Clasp
The fastening that closes a necklace or bracelet. Common types include lobster, spring ring, box and toggle clasps.
Cloisonne
Enamel set in cells formed by thin metal wires fixed to a base. See cloisonne enamel.
Cluster
A setting that groups several small stones around a center or into a shape.
Cocktail ring
A large, bold ring with a big center stone or cluster, popular from the 1940s onward.
Costume jewelry
Jewelry made from inexpensive materials such as base metal, glass and plastic, worn for fashion.
Cuff
An open, rigid bracelet that slips over the wrist through a gap at the back.
E
Ear wire
A curved wire finding that passes through a pierced ear to hang an earring, such as a French hook or a kidney wire.
Enamel
Powdered glass fused to metal by firing, used for color on jewelry. Cloisonne, champleve and plique-a-jour are enamel techniques.
Engraving
Cutting lines or patterns into metal with a sharp hand tool called a graver, or with a machine or laser.
Eternity band
A ring set with stones of the same size all the way around (full) or across the top (half).
F
Fancy cut
Any gem shape other than round, such as oval, pear, marquise, emerald or heart. See gemstone cut shapes and styles.
Fibula
An ancient safety-pin style brooch used to fasten garments, made across Europe and the Mediterranean.
Filigree
Openwork decoration made from fine twisted wire soldered into patterns.
Findings
The small functional parts used to assemble jewelry, such as clasps, jump rings, ear wires, pin backs and bails.
G
Gallery
The decorative metalwork under the head of a ring or along the sides of a setting, visible from the side.
Girandole
An earring or brooch design with a central element from which three pear-shaped drops hang, popular in the 18th century.
Granulation
Decoration made of tiny metal spheres fused to a surface. The Etruscans were masters of it; see Etruscan jewelry.
Gypsy setting
Another name for a flush setting, in which the stone sits level with the metal surface.
H
Hallmark
An official mark stamped on precious metal to show its fineness and, in some countries, the assay office and maker. See precious metal hallmarks.
Halo
A ring of small stones set around a larger center stone.
Head
The part of a ring that holds the center stone, such as a four-prong or six-prong head.
I
Intaglio
A design carved into the surface of a stone, the reverse of a cameo. Intaglios were used as seals in ancient Rome; see ancient Roman jewelry.
Invisible setting
A setting in which grooved square stones slide onto a hidden metal framework so no metal shows from the front.
J
Jump ring
A small, open or soldered ring of wire used to link parts together.
K
Karat
The measure of gold purity in 24ths, so 18K is 18 parts gold out of 24. See yellow gold.
Kundan
A traditional Indian setting method in which stones are held in a bed of highly refined gold foil, used in Mughal and later jewelry. See jewelry of India.
L
Lariat
A long necklace with no clasp, worn by looping or knotting the ends or by passing one end through a loop.
Lobster clasp
A clasp with a spring-loaded hinged arm shaped like a lobster claw, used on many chains.
Locket
A pendant that opens on a hinge to hold a picture or keepsake.
Lost wax casting
Making metal pieces by burning a wax model out of a mold and filling the cavity with molten metal. See how jewelry is made.
M
Marcasite
In jewelry, small faceted pieces of pyrite set closely in silver. True marcasite, a related mineral, is too unstable for this use.
Matinee length
A necklace roughly 20 to 24 inches long, longer than a princess length and shorter than opera.
Melee
Small diamonds, usually under about a fifth of a carat, used as accent stones.
Milgrain
A row of tiny beads along a metal edge, made with a knurled wheel tool. It was popular in Edwardian and Art Deco jewelry.
Mourning jewelry
Jewelry worn in memory of the dead, often in black jet, enamel or with hair. It was widespread in the Victorian period; see Victorian jewelry.
N
Navaratna
An Indian arrangement of nine gems, each linked in tradition to a celestial body, usually with ruby at the center.
Niello
A black mixture of metal sulfides inlaid into engraved silver or gold and fused with heat.
O
Opera length
A necklace about 28 to 36 inches long, often a pearl strand.
P
Parure
A matched set of jewelry, such as necklace, earrings, brooch and bracelet made to be worn together. A smaller set is a demi-parure.
Pave
Many small stones set close together over a surface so the metal barely shows.
Pendant
An ornament that hangs from a chain or cord.
Pietra dura
Inlay of cut and fitted colored stones to make a picture, developed in Renaissance Florence. See Renaissance gem cutters and engravers.
Plique-a-jour
Enamel in open cells with no backing, so light passes through like stained glass.
Posy ring
A ring with a short inscription, often inside the band, popular from the late Middle Ages to the 18th century. See medieval jewelry.
Princess length
A necklace about 17 to 19 inches long, the most common length for a pearl strand.
Prong
A metal claw that holds a stone. Prongs let in the most light but give the stone the least protection.
R
Repousse
Shaping metal in relief by hammering from the back, often finished with chasing from the front.
Riviere
A necklace of individually set stones of the same or graduated size in a single line.
Rose cut
An antique cut with a flat base and a domed top covered in triangular facets, used from about the 16th century. See history of diamond cutting.
S
Shank
The band of a ring, the part that goes around the finger.
Shank sizing
Making a ring larger or smaller by cutting the shank and adding or removing metal, or by stretching or compressing it on a mandrel.
Shoulder
The part of a ring shank on either side of the head, often decorated or set with stones.
Signet ring
A ring with a flat face engraved with initials or a crest, once used to seal documents in wax.
Solitaire
A piece, usually a ring, set with a single stone.
Sterling silver
Silver alloy of 92.5% silver, usually with copper. See silver.
Stud
An earring that sits on the earlobe with a straight post through the piercing.
T
Tension setting
A setting that holds a stone between the ends of a band by spring pressure.
Tiara
A jeweled ornamental band or half crown worn on the head.
Toggle clasp
A clasp in which a bar passes through a ring and lies across it.
Torc
A rigid neck ring, open at the front, worn by Iron Age Celtic peoples and others. Torcs were often made of twisted gold or bronze.
V
Vermeil
Sterling silver plated with gold. In the United States the FTC sets minimum standards for gold karat and thickness.
Vintage
A loose term for jewelry that is old but not old enough to be antique, usually meaning a few decades. Antique jewelry is generally taken to mean at least 100 years old.