18k Gold:
18-Karat gold is 18 parts of gold to 6 parts other alloys (75% gold), such as nickel, copper,etc. The gold content of a piece of jewelry material is measured in Karats, which can range anywhere from 1 to 24. The higher the Karat of a piece of jewelry material, the greater its gold content. Please note that this term should not be confused with the term Carat (defined below), which is weight measure of diamonds and other gemstones. 18k gold is commonly used material, strong and stable.

22k Gold:
22-Karat gold is 22 parts of gold to 2 parts other alloys (92.5% gold), such as nickel, copper,etc. The gold content of a piece of jewelry material is measured in Karats, which can range anywhere from 1 to 24. The higher the Karat of a piece of jewelry material, the greater its gold content. Please note that this term should not be confused with the term Carat (defined below), which is weight measure of diamonds and other gemstones. 22k gold is less common and softer than 14k and 18k.

24k Gold:
24-Karat gold is pure gold containing no other metal alloys. The gold content of a piece of jewelry material is measured in Karats, which can range anywhere from 1 to 24. The higher the Karat of a piece of jewelry material, the greater its gold content. Please note that this term should not be confused with the term Carat (defined below), which is weight measure of diamonds and other gemstones. 24k gold is extremely soft due to the absence of any strengthening alloys, and the most expensive of all.

AGS:
American Gem Society. A professional jeweler's society founded in 1934. AGS has a laboratory which grades diamonds and offers a diamond grading report. AGS has a cut grading system for round diamonds.

AGS Diamond Cut Grade:
AGS has developed a system for classifying cut quality. The AGS system uses a 0 to 10 system: Cut grade 0 as Ideal, 2 as Very Fine and 10 being the lowest grade and quality. The AGS cut grade 0 ideal endorses table percentages between 51.6% to 57.5% as ideal with 57.6 to 62% as very fine AGS cut grade 2.

Appraisal:
A written estimate of the approximate retail replacement value of the item described. Appraisals can also be used for insurance purposes.

Baguette Cut:
A gemstone, often a diamond, cut in a narrow rectangular shape. Small diamonds cut this way are often used as accents. A tapered baguette has one short end narrower than the opposite end, forming a trapezoid.

Band:
Plain ring, with same width all around.

Bangle Bracelet:
Stiff bracelet that slips over the hand or is clasped on.

Bar Setting:
A variation on the channel setting, usually used for wedding bands or designer rings. In the bar setting, thin metal bars are placed between each gemstones on a band to hold them securely in place. This design protects the girdle of the round gemstones, holds them more securely than a prong setting, and offers a smooth, sleek appearance. Bar and channel settings typically cost more than prong settings.

Bead Setting:
The stone is placed into a hole in the flat top of the metal and held in-place with tiny prongs or beads.

Bezel:
Any part that incorporates a continuous groove to fit something, generally a stone.

Bezel Setting:
The bezel is a band of metal pressed around the edge of a stone. The top of the gem is flush with the top of the metal. It can completely or partially surround the stone, depending on the style and look desired. This type of setting provides good protection for the middle (girdle) and bottom (pavilion) portions of a stone. Bezel settings can have straight or scalloped edges. This modern look works best with a cabochon (a stone cut with a rounded top and a flat bottom), however, it can also be molded to accommodate many shapes of stones.

Blemishes:
Defect in a gemstone found at the surface. Such as a pit, nick, scratch, chip or even an extra facet where none should be. Blemish is imperfection on the outside of a diamond which differs from an inclusion, which is internal to the gemstone.

Box Chain:
A type of chain with square shaped links, forming boxes.

Brilliance:
Brilliance describes the reflections of white light coming from the diamond.

Brilliant Cut:
A type of round cut with facets designed to produce the greatest brilliance.The most common style of diamond cutting. The standard brilliant cut consists of 32 facets plus a table above the girdle and 24 facets plus a culet below the girdle. Total of 58 facets.

Brooch:
An ornamental piece of jewelry with a pin and clasp to be attached to clothing, etc.

Button Earrings:
A flat, usually round earring that sits on the earlobe and has no dangling parts.

Byzantine Chain:
A type of chain with close-fitting links that create an intricate design and form a tubular chain.

Carbon:
Carbon alone forms the familiar substances graphite and diamond. Diamond is hardest mineral known to man, Graphite is one of the softest. Occasionally a diamond will contain tiny pockets of Carbon which can be seen as black spots within the stone.

Cabochon:
A domed gemstone with a highly polished, curved surface and no faceting.

Carat:
Unit of weight for all gemstones:
5 Carats = 1 gram.
142 Carats = 1 Ounce.
1 Carat = 100 points.

Champagne color diamond:
Light brownish color diamond.

Channel Setting:
This setting is used extensively today. The stones are set into a channel with no metal separating them. In some cases the channel can continue completely around the ring, so that the piece has a continuous row of stones.

Charm:
A decorative pendant worn on a bracelet, necklace or earring.

Chip:
A Tiny silicon square that is imprinted with integrated circuits. The "electronic brain" of a quartz time piece.

Chronograph:
A watch that indicates the passage of time in fractions of a second. It may have either an electrical of mechanical movement. It is also possible to start, stop and return it to zero. A stopwatch is a chronograph.

Clarity Enhancement:
Any process used to improve the apparent clarity of a diamond. This may include filling fractures and cavities with glass/resin film or laser drilling to remove black flaws by bleaching them and sometimes filling them. Clarity enhanced diamonds are worth less than untreated diamonds of similar size and quality. Some repairs (ex. retipping) involving heat of jeweler's torch can damage the filler, therefore before having any repair job done on a setting with clarity enhanced stone, you need to let your jewelry know. Nevertheless, clarity enhanced diamonds can be an affordable alternative for people who want a big look at a lower price.

Clarity:
A grading scale used mainly for diamonds, consisting of several levels. This is used to identify intensity of internal flaws and inclusions such as cracks, clouds, growth/grain lines and cavities within the stone, and external marks such as blemishes, scratches, nicks, pits on the surface of the stone.

Clasp:
Any type of attachment that connects two ends of a piece of jewelry.

Clip-Back or Clip-On Earring:
Designed for non-pierced ears. Works like a hinge to secure the earring to the earlobe.

Cloud:
Tiny white inclusions within diamond. A group of tiny, white inclusions which give a "cloudy" appearance.

Cluster Ring:
A ring with a setting in which stones are grouped together.

Color:
A grading scale used for diamonds, which range from 'colorless' to 'yellow'. Typically, as a diamond is identified as more colorless, it has more brilliance and gets much more valuable.

Comfort Fit Ring:
The inner edges of the ring are very much rounded and smooth, making the interior of the ring looking similar to a slight dome profile. This is done to avoid discomfort due to sharp angles.

Crown: (Watch terminology)
A small, knurdled knob used for setting or winding a watch.

Crown (Gemstone terminology):
The upper part of the diamond above the girdle.

Crystal:
A type of inclusion. A crystal is a mineral deposit trapped inside the diamond.

Culet:
Bottom point of a diamond.

Cut:
Shape of the diamond. Alternate definition refers to the proportions and finish of the stone.

Depth:
Distance from very top of the diamond (table) to the very bottom of the diamond (culet).

Diamond:
A precious gemstone composed of pure Carbon. Each Carbon is strongly bonded to four others in a cubic crystal structure to form a tight, rigid structure. This makes diamond extremely hard. Diamond is the hardest of all known substances. Few people realize that Diamond is four times harder than the next hardest natural mineral, corundum (sapphire and ruby).

Dispersion:
The fiery, rainbow colors emanating from a diamond as white light is broken-up into colors.

Duty free:
Simply means that items don't have import duties and taxes included in their price. For example, whisky bought in a duty free store in the Paris airport does not have French duties included in the price. However it is subject to duty when you arrive home, and it must be declared. Incidentally, jewelry sold in duty-free shops is not necessarily cheaper than elsewhere. In fact, often the opposite is true because the shops at the airport have little or no competition.

EGL:
European Gemological Laboratory - EGL has franchises in a number of cities around the world which grade diamonds and offer a diamond grading certificate.

Electroplating:
The process of coating a base metal with a thin film of gold by means of electrolysis. The base metal is set in a chemical solution (liquid conductor) which, as an electric current flows through it, coats it with precious metal.

Embossed:
A mechanical process done under considerable heat and pressure that permanently imprints a variety of unique grain effects into the leather surface.

Emerald Cut:
A cut that is usually rectangular, with rows of step cuts along the edges and at the corners, usually found in diamonds.

Eye-Clean:
In clarity-grading, eye-clean diamonds should have no inclusions that are visible through the table to the unaided eye.

Facet:
The flat polished surface of the diamond or any other gemstone.

Filigree:
A technique used to produce fine intricate patterns in metal. Often used for metal beads, clasps, and bead caps.

Fire:
The rainbow colors seen in a diamond as a result of dispersion.

Fluorescence:
You have probably seen fluorescent minerals in natural history museums. Their fluorescence can be seen in darkened rooms with black lights. The effect is like a white shirt in a discotheque. Occasionally people get concerned when they see their diamond glow under ultraviolet lights (e.g. daylight and halogen lighting). They suspect that it has been artificially treated when it just has a natural fluorescence. GIA estimates that about 50% of gem diamonds are fluorescent. Blue fluorescence, the most common type, can mask undesirable yellow tints of a diamond viewed under the sun's ultraviolet rays. This means that fluorescence can be a positive feature provided it isn't so strong that it makes the diamond look cloudy.

Fracture:
An un-natural inclusion, surface chip, due to trauma to the stone. A chip or break on a diamond that is not in the direction of a cleavage plane. Irregular in shape, they usually appear step-like or as a splinter.

Gemstone:
A stone that has been cut and polished for use in fine jewelry.

GIA:
Gemological Institute of America Gem Trade Lab. The well-respected independent laboratory which grades diamonds and includes a diamond grading report with each diamond.

GIA Diamond Cut Grade:
GIA has developed a system for classifying cut quality.
GIA's system as outlined in GIA's diploma study course uses this four class system:
Class 1 = Ideal,
Class 2 = Fine,
Class 3 = Fair,
Class 4 = Poor.
GIA Class 1 Ideal endorses a table percentages between 53 and 60% as Ideal and 61% to 64% as GIA Class 2 Fine.

Girdle:
The outermost (widest) edge of the diamond. The narrow rim around the diamond. Girdle is the largest diameter of any part of the stone.

Gold:
A malleable ductile yellow precious metal. Gold is used in alloys to make jewelry. The portion of gold in the alloy is indicated in Karats. (Also see 14k Gold, 18k Gold, 22k Gold, 24k Gold, Karat)

Gold-Plated:
A thin coating of electroplated or mechanically plated gold on top of a base metal.

Grading Report:
Sometimes called a "certificate", although labs do not "certify" diamonds. The grading report, issued by an independent laboratory, should accurately describe the proportions, weight, color, clarity, symmetry, polish and possible fluorescence seen in the diamond being evaluated. Some labs such as GIA and AGS are felt by many experts to be more consistent and stringent in their grading than some other labs.

Half-Hoop Design Earring:
Earring that appears to be hoop-shaped, not fully circular in shape.

Hardness:
An important property of gemstones is their hardness. Diamond is the hardest and is rated a hardness of 10 on the "Mohs" scale. A man named Mohs rated different gem materials according to their hardness relative to one another. Diamonds cannot be scratched by anything but other than diamonds. It's important to remember that hardness and toughness are not the same. Diamond is the hardest, but Jade is the toughest! Hardness is the measure of how easily something can be scratched and on the Mohs scale any material with a lower number can be scratched by any material with a higher number.

Heart and Arrows Cut:
Hearts & Arrows is the term used for super ideal cut diamonds that exhibit a complete and precise Hearts & Arrows pattern. Hearts & Arrows diamonds have three distinguishing factors - perfection in polish, symmetry, and proportion. This effect is attained when all the facets are precisely aligned and the diamonds are cut and polished to perfection. In order for the diamond to attract and reflect the maximum amount of light, it must be cut with expert craftsmanship, precision and control. When these fine cutting techniques are employed, they produce diamonds that excel in brilliance, fire and scintillation.

High Polish:
A surface that is polished to a mirror-finish.