Abalone: A mollusk whose shell is pearlescent on the inside. This material can be scraped off, sliced thin, and used as inlay on a variety of jewelry, furniture, etc. These scrapings are called “mother of pearl”.
Acroite: A rare, colorless type of tourmaline.
Acrostic jewelry: A popular kind of jewelry during the Victorian era where the first letter of the name of each stone spells out a word. See Regard.
Adamantine: Having a diamond-like luster or hardness.
Adularia: A common type of moonstone, usually set as a cabochon. It is semi-translucent with a white and blue tint. Adularia was very popular in Art Nouveau jewelry.
Adventurine: A common misspelling of Aventurine.
African Emerald: An African Emerald is not actually an emerald. It is green fluorite mined in South Africa.
African Jade: African jade is not really jade, but a type of garnet strongly resembling jade that is mined in South Africa.
Agate: A variety of chalcedony quartz that is a very common and used often in jewelry. When chalcedony is variegated with with spots or figures, or arranged in differently colored layers, it is called agate; and if by reason of the thickness, color, and arrangement of the layers it is suitable for being carved into cameos, it is called onyx. It comes in a wide range of colors including black, gray, brown, red, green, pink, blue, white, and yellow. Agate can be flecked with color, such as Moss Agate and Tree Agate, and is often banded, exhibiting layers of quartz crystals. Agate is often dyed to enhance the color and banding. There are a variety of popular agates including onyx, Eye Agate, Blue Lace Agate, Moss Agate, Tree Agate, and White Agate. (See individual listings)
Agent: A businessman who acts for, or in the place of, another to buy or sell merchandise in exchange for a commission. Also called a”Broker” or a “middleman”.
Aigrette: A feather-shaped piece of jewelry worn in the hair or on a hat. From the French word “egret”, a white heron prized for its plumage.
Alabaster: A form of the mineral gypsum which is usually white or grey in color. It is often used in sculpture, stone paneling, beads, and cabochons.
Alexandrite: A form of the mineral chrysoberyl discovered in 1830 in Russia and named after Czar Alexander II, who was then Crown Prince of Russia. Alexandrite appears to change color under different forms of light. (See Alexandrite Effect.) It looks red when viewed in candle light, green when viewed in fluorescent light, blue-green in sunlight, and reddish-purple in standard electric (tungsten) light.
Alexandrite Effect: A phenomenon in which a stone appears to be different colors depending upon the type of light it is viewed in. Many other stones, including ammolite, garnet and sapphire, exhibit the “Alexandrite Effect.” Also called Dichroism
Allochroite: A dark colored common garnet composed of iron lime.
Alloy: A compound comprised of two or more metals to increase the hardness and/or luster of the resulting product. Many alloys are found in jewelry including Alpaca, Brass, Britannia Or pewter, Britannia silver, Bronze, Coin silver, Colored gold, Electrum, Gold(under 24Kt), Green gold, Nickel silver, Niello, Pewter, Pinchbeck, Pot metal, Rose gold, Stainless steel, Sterling silver, White gold, White metal, and Yellow gold. (See individual listings)
Albite: A common white feldspar composed of a silicate of alumina and soda. It is a common constituent of granite and of various igneous rocks.
Almandine: The most common kind of garnet. It is usually deep red to red-brown and composed of alumina iron.
Alpaca (alpacca): A silver substitute alloy consisting of 55% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc, and 5% tin.
Alumina: (also called aluminum oxide). A compound of two parts aluminum and three parts oxygen which occurs naturally as corundum. Alumina is the base of aluminous salts, a constituent of feldspars, micas, etc., and the characterizing ingredient of common clay, in which it exists as an impure silicate with water, resulting from the erosion of other aluminous minerals. In a hydrated form it is bauxite. Alumina is used in aluminum production and in abrasives, refractories, ceramics, and electrical insulation.
Aluminium: An alternate spelling of Aluminum.
Aluminum: An inexpensive, lightweight, silver-white ore with a bluish tinge. Aluminum is primarily found in bauxite, is remarkable for its resistance to oxidation, and is used in many alloys.
Amazonite: A form of jadeite named for the Amazon river where it was first found in the 19th century. It is opaque and iridescent and ranges in color from green to blue-green. It is usually set as a cabochon since it breaks easily if faceted. It can also be found in Colorado, Virginia, the Ural Mountains of Russia, Australia, and Africa. Some rare crystals are transparent.
Amber: The fossilized resin of conifer trees. The most common colors are honey yellow and various shades of red, but can also be off-white, black, and blue. Amber is easily simulated using plastics, but real amber produces static electricity when rubbed.
American Ruby: See pyrope garnet.
Amethyst: A common form of quartz. Amethyst is usually purple, but can range in color from pale lavender to a very deep, reddish purple and may have milky white or green inclusions. Deeper-colored amethysts are more highly valued. The name comes from the Greek for “not drunken” as wearing amethyst was believed to be a proof against becoming intoxicated. The amethyst is said to bring good luck and to radiate love. Amethyst is the birthstone for February. Some variants are Cape amethyst and Ametrine.
Ametrine: A mixture of amethyst and citrine, it is partially purple and partially orange-yellow.
Ammolite: (also known as Buffalo Stone, calcentine, or korite) is the fossilized shell of the ammonite, an ancient cephalopod. It can be used as a gemstone and is a gray, iridescent stone with flashes of blue, green, purple, red, or yellow. (Blues and purples are rare.) The color changes as the stone is viewed from different angles. It is only found in southern Alberta, Canada.
Amorphous: A gem lacking a distinct crystalline structure such as amber, ivory, and jet.
Amphibole: A common mineral composed of silicate of magnesium and calcium, (with usually aluminum and iron), which occurs in monoclinic crystals and comes in many varieties, each varying in color and in composition. The color varies from white to gray, green, brown, and black. Jade is a form of Amphibole.
Amulet: A pendant or charm carried as a protection from evil or illness or to bring good luck.
Andradite: A garnet used as a gemstone of the grossular family consisting of calcium iron silicate and having any color ranging from yellow and green to brown and black.
Angelite: A pale blue variety of calcium sulfate. (A gypsum that has lost water and transparent to translucent).
Angelskin Coral: A highly valued pale pink coral.
Anklet: A bangle or bracelet worn around the ankle instead of the wrist. Anklets tend to be slightly larger than bracelets.
Anneal: The process of hardening glass, pottery, or metal by alternately heating and pounding it.
Anniversaries: The anniversaries jewelry gift chart lists the most recognized traditional gifts and jewelry used to commemorate wedding anniversaries.
