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Baffa Diamond
It is not actually a diamond
rather it is a rock crystal.
Baguette
It is a stone (usually a
diamond) cut into a long, rectangular shape.
The term has been derived from Baguette means “stick” or “rod” in French.
Bail
A bail is a triangular finding
which attaches
a pendant to a necklace.
Band
It is a type of ring that is made from a thin,
flat, ribbon-like strip of material. It can
be unadorned or decorated. Wedding rings are often bands.
Banded agate
A type of agate with
distinct layers of color.
Bangle
One of the most commonly worn jewelry piece
it is type of a stiff bracelet. Some bangles
have a hinge while others are solid and must be slipped over the
hand.
Bar and ring clasp
Also called a toggle
clasp, it is a jewelry fastener in which a bar can be inserted into
a ring to fasten a piece of jewelry. It is used to attach the two
ends of a necklace or bracelet.
Baroque
This term is used for irregularly
– shaped stones or pearls.
Baroque pearls
Pearls that are irregularly-shaped. It can be natural or artificial.
Bar pin
Also known as a bar brooch it is a
long pin that is worn horizontally.
Barrel clasp
It is a barrel like jewelry fastener. The two pieces of this clasp screw together.
It is used to attach two other rings or links of a necklace or
bracelet.
Barrette
It is a hair accessory, an ornament worn clipped into
the hair.
Base metal
The term used for non-precious metals used
for jewelry.
Copper, zinc, tin, and lead are common base metals.
Basse – Taille
It is an enameling technique in which the
underlying metal (usually gold or silver) is carved in low relief
(the metal’s surface is cut away by engraving or chasing,
producing a sculpted surface). The highest point of the relief
carving is below the surface of the surrounding metal.
Translucent enamels are applied over the carved metal, allowing
the design to remain visible through the enamel.
Baton
A baton is a stone that is cut in a long,
thin rectangular shape. A baton is larger than a baguette.
Bayadre
A pearl necklace with many
strands of pearls twisted together.
Beads
These are small objects, each with a hole
through it for stringing. Beads can be made of glass, stones, wood,
plastics, seeds, and ceramics.
Bell cap
A jewelry finding that is used
to convert a hole-less bead or stone with into a pendant. A bell
cap is glued onto the bead or stone and had a loop for attaching
to the piece of jewelry.
Beryl
Beryl’s are a family of gemstone that
include popular stone like emerald, aquamarine, beryl (green),
red, morganatic (yellow), and heliodor (pink).
Bezel
Also known as crown, it is a part of a cut
stone that protrudes above the edge of a setting.
Bezel setting
A kind of setting a stone,
in which the stone is held by a band of metal around the outside
of the stone.
Bib Necklace
It is also called collarets. It
is a short necklace with flowing ornaments in the front.
Birefringence
It is another name used for double
refraction. In this kind of reflection the light entering the
stone is split into two light rays, and the rays travel in
different paths. The stones with doubly reflect have more than one refractive
index. Calcite, Peridot, zircon, tourmaline, and titanite are
some doubly – refractive stones.
Birthstone
In the 1930’s, the British and U.S. jewelry
industries assigned stones to the months of the year as follows:
January – Garnet
February – Amethyst
March – Aquamarine
April – Diamond
May – Emerald
June – Pearl or Moonstone
July – Ruby
August – Peridot
September – Sapphire
October – Opal
November – Topaz or Citrine
December – Turquoise or Zircon
Biwa pearl
Biwa pearls are fresh water pearls found from Lake Biwa
in Japan. They are irregularly – shaped pearls with smoother and
more lustrous look than most other freshwater pearls.
Black moonstone
Black moonstone is a type of Labradorite.
It is not a true moonstone.
Black opal
These are valuable type of precious
opals with a dark ground color having luminous, iridescent,
and comes in many colors. Basically Opal is a mineral composed of
silica (and some water) and is a species of quartz. Opals have a hardness of 5.5 to 6.5
and a specific gravity of 1.98-2.50. black opals are found in
Australia.
Black Pearl
These dark-colored pearls also known
as Tahitian pearls. They are produced by the large,
black-lipped pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera, a mollusk found in the tropical
Indo-Pacific Ocean. Black pearls come in many colors and body shades and overtone tints including gray, peacock green, aubergine, and deep brown.
Many “black pearls” are dyed or irradiated to enhance or change
their color; it is difficult to tell a natural pearl from a
treated pearl. Tahitian pearls are graded on six factors: 1.
Shape (round is most valued), 2. Size (the larger the better), 3.
Surface Quality = (clean is superior to blemished), 4. Luster
(the more high-gloss luster the better), 5. Nacre Thickness
(thicker is better and longer lasting), and 6. Color (overtones
atop the body color add value to the pearl. The most sought –
after color is peacock green and darker colors are more valuable.
Black Star Diopside (Black Star of India)
An opaque black gem with a
white, four-rayed star. It has a hardness of 5.5
and a specific gravity of 3.3 – 3.6. These stones are found
mostly in India. Stones are generally cut cabochon and are not
enhanced.
Bleaching
A process used for removing gemstone’s
color with a help of bleaching agent.
Blister Pearl
Also called a button pearl, it
is a pearl that developed attached to the inside of a mollusk’s
shell. These pearls are usually hemispherical in shape and are
mostly used for earrings.
Bloodstone
Also known as heliotrope, it is an
inexpensive type of chalcedony that is green with red highlights. Bloodstone is porous and relatively soft.
Blue Diamond
Blue diamonds are rare, fancy diamonds and
are quite valuable. Diamonds have a hardness of 10, a specific
gravity of 3.5, and a refractive index of 2.417 – 2.419.
Blue Gold
As name indicates it is a gold with a
bluish tinge. It has been alloyed with a mix that includes iron.
Bohemian Diamond
Though called diamond Bohemian diamond is not a diamond at
all, it is actually a rock crystal.
Bohemian Ruby
Like Bohemian diamond it is also not a ruby
at all rather it is actually a pyrope garnet.
Bonding
A process that make the stone more durable
and give it an enhanced appearance. A colorless bonding agent
(like plastic) is applied on and into a porous gemstone in this
process.
Book chain
A metal chain with
rectangular links of folded metal, each of which looks like a
little book. This style dates from the Victorian Era, when these
chains held lockets.
Bort
A term used for industrial grade
diamonds.
Bouton Pearl
Another name of Blister Pearl.
Bracelet
An ornament worn by both men and women, it
is wrapped
around the wrist. Types of bracelets include solid and hinged
bangles, expansion, cuff, beaded, charm bracelets, Yurman – style
and link bracelets.
Brass
A metal alloy made by mixing copper and zinc.
Brazilian Chain
Also refers as a snake
chain, this metal chain made up of a series of small, linked
cups.
Brilliant cut
A type of cutting of stone that was
introduced in the 1600’s. Brilliant cut stones have 56 facets, 32
facets are above the girdle, and 24 are below. Most modern-day
diamonds are brilliant cut since it maximizes the amount of
reflected light from the stone (its natural fire).
Briolette
A briolette is a pear-shaped
cut gemstone with triangular facets on top. This type of stone
makes a nice pendant.
Brooch
Also called a pin this ornament is used to pin
a garment.
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy containing copper plus tin and other metals.
Brushed finish
A finishing provided to metal by rubbing a stiff metal brush across the surface of
jewelry, slightly reducing the metal’s reflectivity.
Bruiting
It is the first step in cutting a
diamond that involves shaping the girdle, which gives the
stone its basic shape.
Bugle bead
A long, thin, tube-shaped glass bead.
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