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Amber - fossilized resin from extinct trees; lightweight and warm to the touch; can be translucent to opaque, imitated in plastics.

Attributed - not SIGNED, but considered likely to have been made by a particular person or firm.

Baroque - in reference to pearls, having an irregular shape.

Basse-taille - enameling technique: translucent or transparent ENAMEL applied over a decorated (engraved, chased, stamped) metal GROUNDPLATE, similar to CHAMPLEVE, but with a pattern or design visible through the enamel; when the groundplate has an engine turned pattern, it is know as GULLOCHE.

Belle Époque - (1895-1910) Literally meaning the “beautiful era”, this style is exemplified by delicate, lace-like jewelry, sometimes referred to as “garland style”, and often set with diamonds and pearls.

Brilliant - circular gemstone cut, especially for diamonds, with fifty-eight facets.

Briolette - gemstone cut, a three-dimensional faceted pear-shaped drop with triangular facets.

Cabochon - an unfacetted, domed cut for stones or glass, with a flat base (a double cabochon has a convex base).

Cameo - a design carved in relief, often from a stone or shell with layers of more than one color forming background and foreground: a cameo carved within a concave depression of a gemstone, with the highest part of the design level with the edge of the stone, is called chevet.

Cloisonné - enameling technique: a design or pattern is formed of wire soldered on to a GROUNDPLATE, creating cells or cloisons which are filled with enamel.

Collier de Chein - A necklace worn closely around the neck, typically 14 or 15 inches in length.

Cultured pearl - pearl produced by insertion of an irritant (small mantle tissue and mother-of-pearl bead) into a mollusk. (A natural pearl is formed around a foreign particle, which occurs in nature.)

Enamel - powder pigmented glass fired onto a metal GROUNDPLATE using a variety of techniques.

Estate jewelry - previously owned, not necessarily antique, period or vintage.

Etruscan jewelry - ancient ornaments from central Italy (western Tuscany), usually of gold, reproduced in the 19th century.

Filigree - metal decoration made of twisted thin wires.

Girdle - widest part of a gemstone, part usually grasped by the setting; in a BRILLIANT cut stone, the widest circumference where the crown (upper) and pavilion (lower) facets meet.

Granulation - ancient decorative technique of applying minute spheres of gold to a gold surface without visible solder, used in ESTRUSCAN JEWELRY, technique approximated by Victorian goldsmiths.

Groundplate - the metal base on which enamels are fired; the method of decoration determines the name given to the technique.

Guilloché - lit., engine turned. Machine-engraved decoration on metal, over which a translucent enamel is often applied.

Gypsy setting - a one-piece mount for a stone which is recessed into the metal, with the table (top facet) of the stone level with the metal surface, also called STAR SETTING when lines radiating from the stone are engraved in the metal.

Hallmark - the mark(s) stamped on gold, silver or platinum indicating fineness or karat: depending on country of origin, hallmarks can also include symbols for place of assay, date of assay, makers mark or importation mark.

Invisible setting - a type of CHANNEL SETTING using specially cut square or rectangular colored gemstones (usually rubies or sapphires) which are notched to slide onto metal tracks and fit closely together in rows; no metal is visible from the front of the piece.

Jabot pin - a pin with ornamental elements at both ends of a long pinstem which is invisible when worn at the collar (formerly worn on a jabot, a front ruffle on a shirt).

Lavalliere - a neckchain suspending a gemstone or small pendant set with gemstones, popularly worn at the turn of the century.

Marquise cut - a gemstone cut that is oval or elliptical with pointed ends; the shape is also called NAVETTE.

Milegrain - a method of setting using a tool around the top edge of a COLLET to form minute beads of metal which hold the stone in place; also a decorative technique.

Negligee - lit., negligent, careless. A pendant or necklace with two drops suspended unevenly.

Old European cut - brilliant cut for diamonds with a circular GIRDLE, otherwise similar to OLD MINE CUT; the circular shaped developed c. 1876, was more easily produced with the invention of the steam-driven bruting, or girdling machine in 1891.

Old mine cut - old-style brilliant cut for diamonds, a cushion shaped stone with a small TABLE, high crown (top facets) and an open, or large culet (the small flat facet at the base, virtually eliminated in modern BRILLIANT).

Patina - color change on the surface of metal, especially silver, copper, bronze resulting in age and exposure to the atmosphere.

Pavé - method of setting many small stones very close together.

Plique a jour - enameling process in which the GROUNDPLATE is removed after firing; the end result resembles stained glass.

Rivière - lit., river or stream. A short necklace of graduated gemstones of the same type – each stone COLLET- set and linked in a row without further decoration.

Rose-cut - circular gemstone cut with triangular facets coming to a point at the top and flat back.

Rose gold - gold with a pinkish color (alloyed with copper).

Sautoir - a very long necklace or strand of beads or pearls, often terminating in a tassel or pendant.

Signed - marked (engraved, stamped, impressed) with the name initials, logo, or trademark of the maker, designer, or manufacturer.

Solitaire - the mounting of a single stone, usually in a ring.

Suite - several pieces of jewelry designed to be worn together.

Tiffany setting - a four or six-prong elevated setting for a solitaire stone, introduced by Tiffany and Company in 1886.