GOLD & JEWELRY GLOSSARY

ANTIQUE CUSHION CUT   
A brilliant cut diamond with a square shape and rounded corners.

ASSCHER CUT DIAMOND  
This is a square emerald cut with cropped corners. It was very popular in the 1920s but went out of fashion. Today, it has regained some of its popularity recently.

AVOIRDUPOIS  
A system of weights for commodities except precious metals, stones, and drugs. One avoirdupois ounce equals 28.35 grams or 437.50 grains. See troy ounce.

BLUE DIAMOND   
Diamonds with a light blue hint of color are often rare and highly coveted. The blue hue is a result of trace amounts of boron.

BULLION  
Precious metals in the form of bars that are at least 99.5% pure.

4 C’s  
Refers to diamond Clarity, Color and Cut (proportion), and Carats, upon which a diamond's value is based.

CARAT  
A measure of weight used for gemstones. A carat is one of the 4 C’s of diamond grading. The others being Clarity, Cut, and Color.

CLARITY   
One of the four Cs of diamond grading, clarity refers to the perfection of a gemstones rating scales ranges from I where visible imperfections or inclusionscan be seen by the naked eye to FL flawless under 10X magnification.

CZ  
The abbreviation of Cubic Zirconia,  most widespread and inexpensive diamond simulant. This man-made stone has optical properties very similar to that of a real diamond.

DIAMOND   
Diamond is the hardest natural material known. It has been treasured as gemstones since its use in religious worship in ancient India and in engraving tools that date to early human history.

ECO-FRIENDLY JEWELRY  
Any practice which is friendly toward the environment, as well as the people and animals within that environment, such as recycling or using chemical-free products.

EMERALD CUT   
This kind of diamond is called a step cut, which means it has rows of facets. Step cuts are composed of larger facets which act like mirrors and resemble a staircase. The emerald cut has fifty-eight facets (25 crown, 8 girdle, and 25 pavilion).

ESTATE JEWELRY  
By definition this term simply means "previously owned," should not be confused with antique jewelry.

FACET  
The polished surface/plane on a diamond or gemstone.

FANCY CUT   
A gemstone cut into a shape other than the standard round brilliant cut. Fancy cuts include oval, emerald, princess, pear, marquise, baguette, heart.

FINENESS  
The purity of a precious metal measured in 1,000 parts of an alloy: a gold bar of .995 fineness contains 995 parts gold and 5 parts of another metal.

FLAWLESS DIAMOND  
A diamond that shows no inclusions or blemishes under 10X magnification. Truly flawless or internally flawless (F or IF) diamonds are extremely rare.

GEMSTONE  
Any crystallized mineral structure (natural or synthetic) used in jewelry making. This includes all precious and semi-precious stones.

GOLD  
The most malleable, and most ductile of all metals, gold by itself is too soft to be used in its natural state to be used for jewelry making, and it is commonly alloyed with copper, nickel, or other metals. It does not oxidize or tarnish.

GRAM  
The basic unit of weight of the metric system. (31.1035 grams = one troy ounce.)

HALLMARK  
Mark or stamp on gold item that identifies the producer.

INTRINSIC VALUE  
The value of a coin's metal content.

KARAT  
Abbreviated with the letter "K," karat refers to the purity of gold, which is often alloyed with silver, nickel, copper or other metals to improve its workability and make the soft metal more durable. This is what the following marks mean:
 
24K = 100% pure gold 
18K = 18 parts gold and 6 parts alloyed metal(s) or 75% pure gold 
14K = 14 parts gold and 10 parts alloyed metal(s) or 58.5% pure gold

KILO BAR  
A bar weighing one kilogram (32.1507 troy ounces).

KILOGRAM   
1,000 grams (32.1507 troy ounces).

LONDON FIX  
Two daily bidding sessions in London of five major gold firms, at which the price of gold is "fixed" or set.

MODERN BRILLIANT CUT   
A diamond cut aimed at maximizing the brilliance of each stone. The common form includes fifty-eight facets and has been used since the early 20th century. Shapes range from the traditional round cut to heart, marquise.

OLD EUROPEAN CUT  
No longer popular similar to a brilliant cut diamond.  Key features are a large table, an open culet, and a round perimeter or shape.

OUNCE  
A unit of weight. An ounce means a troy ounce equal to 31.1035 grams.

PAVÉ SET  
A time-consuming style of setting produced by drilling tapered holes in a metal base to seat the gemstones, then securing them with tiny beads formed from the surrounding metal. In current usage it has often come to mean any type of bead setting.

PEAR CUT  
A fancy diamond cut where the stone is cut into the shape similar to that of a teardrop, rounded on one end and pointed on the other.

PENNYWEIGHT  
A measure used to weigh precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum. A pennyweight (dwt) is equal to 24 grains, and there are 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce. In relation to grams, a pennyweight is equal to 1.55 grams.

PINK DIAMOND   
An exceedingly rare color of diamond. Historically, India was the principal source of pink diamonds. In 1989, a 32.34 light pink diamond was sold at auction for almost $7 million.

PRINCESS CUT   
A square cut diamond. It is faceted similar to an emerald cut above the girdle and like a round brilliant cut below the girdle.

RAPAPORT REPORT  
The jewelry industry standard for the pricing of diamonds, found by Martin Rappaport. The report is published weekly and distributed to jewelers and diamond merchants to help them set prices for consumers.

RED DIAMOND  
A rare and very valuable fancy-colored diamond.

ROSE CUT  
A diamond cut also known as the rosette cut or Dutch rose cut. It was invented in the 17th century and is popularly found in some antique jewelry. The rose cut has 24 triangular facets: 6 star facets that meet at the top and 18 cross facets. Because there is no pavilion, many rose cuts have a silver foil reflector back.

SAPPHIRE  
This extremely hard gemstone is from the Corundum class of minerals. It is one of the four precious gemstones, the other three being diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. Available in a multitude of colors.

SI (CLARITY)   
SI grade diamonds the inclusions cannot be seen by the naked eye but can be seen under 10x magnification.

TOLA BARS  
Gold bars measured in tolas, the most popular of which is the 10-tola cast bar (3.75 troy oz).  Although manufactured in Europe, tola bars are traded primarily in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, and Singapore.

TROY OUNCE  
Unit of weight for precious metals. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams or 480 grains. One troy ounce equals 1.09711 avoirdupois ounce.

VS CLARITY  
Very slightly included diamonds are of superior quality and frequently used in fine jewelry. The grade signifies that minor inclusions are difficult to see, even under 10x magnification.

VVS CLARITY   
Very very slightly included diamonds that has only very, very, small inclusions, which can be viewed under 10X magnification.

YELLOW DIAMOND   
Fancy-colored diamond whose yellow comes from the element nitrogen. Extremely rare and expensive.