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Jewellery terms you should know

Alloy

An alloy is a combination of two or more metals used to lower the purity percentage of precious metals. Common alloys used in jewellery are silver, copper, brass, ruthenium and palladium.

Baguette cut

A baguette cut is a stone that has been cut into a long, rectangular shape. Baguette means “rod” or “stick” in French.

Bezel setting

Bezel stones are set inside a tube of metal, which holds them secure without inserting metal between them. Since the metal edges fold over the stones to hold them in place, it can make stones look slightly smaller.

Brilliant cut

This round cut is the most common and popular style of cut for diamonds and many other gemstones. This is because it has been designed with 58 carefully proportioned facets to maximise the amount of light reflected and refracted by the gemstone.

Cabochon

A smooth and dome shaped stone in oval, round, marquise, cushion or triangle cut. It has either no facets on top, or sometimes a chequerboard cut dome.

Carat

The word carat or the ct. abbreviation is used to indicate the weight of a gemstone as a standard measure of weight used for diamonds and gemstones. One carat weighs 0.2 gram. One hundredth of a carat is called a point. A five carat diamond weighs one gram.

Channel set

Channel set jewels are seated in a metal channel, secured by a rim of metal running along the edges of the channel.

Claw setting

A claw setting is one in which three or more metal prongs holds a stone securely in a setting. These claws grips the stone just above the girdle (the outer rim of the stone), with no metal directly under the stone. This allows light in under the stone, so this type of setting is usually used for transparent, faceted stones. A claw setting will make a diamond more visible from a three dimentional side view, but such a setting will not make the diamond shine more, as it is not transparrent and only reflects light from the top.

How to see if a diamond is real

Cluster ring

Cluster rings are set with a group of stones in a pattern, forming the focal point of the ring. They usually have one large stone in the center surrounded with several smaller stones.

Cubic zirconia

Cubic zirconia (CZ for short) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide. The synthesized material is hard, usually colourless and optically flawless, but may be produced in a variety of different colours. Under shortwave UV light cubic zirconia typically luminance in a yellow, greenish yellow or “beige”.

CZ can be treated to resemble other precious and semi-precious stones, and used in high quality costume jewellery.

Cubic zirconia has an 8.5 to <9.0 on the Mohs hardness scale. Cubic zirconia has a refractive index of 2.176, compared to a diamond’s 2.417.

Cushion cut

Cushion cut stones are cut in the shape of a square cushion and rounded at the edges.

Dress ring

A ring which is worn purely as a fashion accessory. It can be either plain or set with gemstones.

Emerald cut

This cut features a rectangular or square stone with step cuts and cut corners. It is used on gemstones and diamonds.

Engagement ring

A gemstone set ring used to symbolise a strong commitment of love. Diamonds are the most popular choice of gemstone because of their value and traditional symbolism of lasting love, with the solitaire design being the favourite choice. An engagement ring is traditionally worn on the ring finger of the left hand, because it was believed that the vein from this finger ran directly to the heart.

Engrave

Engraving is a method of 3D surface decoration in which a design, date or name is etched into the inner or outer surface of a ring or jewellery piece with a sharp tool.

Eternity ring

An eternity ring is a narrow band with a straight row of diamonds or gemstones.

Faceting

The cutting and polishing of the surface of a gemstone into a distinctive, and specifically proportioned, pattern of flat panels or ‘facets’. This is done with the intention of increasing the stone’s reflection of light and its brilliance.

Ring size

To size a ring for a finger, a finger-ring gauge is used. These rings are marked with their size in numerical or alphabetical order, and the jeweller determines which one fits best.

The Ultimate Guide to Ring Sizes

Gemstone

A natural gemstone is a mineral or an organic object which can be cut, polished and shaped or otherwise treated for use in jewellery.

Alloy An alloy is a combination of two or more metals used to lower the purity percentage of precious metals. Common alloys used in jewellery are silver, copper, brass, ruthenium and palladium. Baguette cut A baguette cut is a stone that has been cut into a long, rectangular shape. Baguette means “rod” or “stick” in… read more here