Terminology
We want you to be perfectly comfortable ordering any of our jewelry items listed on this site, so we have included definitions of some of the more common Terms used in the jewelry descriptions in order to help you better understand the guality of our products and what you are getting when you order from us. If you still have questions, please E-Mail Tina
Acrylic beads are beautiful, light weight, and very affordable. Sometimes known as lucite beads, acrylic beads give you the look of crystal beads at a lower price.
Bicone beads are beads that are shaped like 2 cones that have been fused together. They are most commonly used as spacer beads.
Buffalo bone natural product which can include variations in size, color and/or shape. Many are carved, and/or stained.
CABOCHON is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse. Cutting en cabochon (French: "in the manner of a cabochon") is usually applied to opaque gems, while faceting is usually applied to transparent stones.
Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects. In recent centuries vitreous enamel was used. In older periods inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials were used. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments (cloisons in French) to the metal object by soldering or adhering silver or gold wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln.
Gold tone jewelry refers to any piece that has no measurable gold content, but has a finish that appears to be gold.
Gold-Plate: A gold-plated silver article is usually a silver substrate with layers of copper, nickel, and gold deposited on top of it.
Hair Pipe is a term for a long slim bead, more than 1.5 inches long. Hair pipe beads were extremely popular from 1880 to 1910 and are still very common in powwow regalia today. These beads are used in chokers, breast plates, earrings, and necklaces worn by men and women.
Rhinestone is a colorless artificial gem of paste or glass, often with facets that sparkle in imitation of a diamond.
Seed beads are uniformly shaped, spherical beads ranging in size from under a millimeter to several millimeters. "Seed bead" is a generic term for any small bead. Usually rounded in shape.
- Color lined - a color coating is applied inside the beads; sometimes this is not very durable and the color of finished work may appear very different in a short time
- Transparent - the glass is see-through
- Translucent - one can see light through the bead, although the light is diffused
- Opaque - the solid color prevents light from passing through the bead
- Matte - the bead is textured on a microscopic level to result in a matte finish
- Silver-lined - a silvery coating which reflects light is applied to the inside of the seed bead
- Copper-lined - a coppery coating which reflects a reddish light is applied to the inside of the seed bead
- Bronze-lined - a bronzy coating which reflects a brown light is applied to the inside of the seed bead
- Luster or lustre - a transparent "pearl" effect applied to the surface of the seed bead
- AB or aurora borealis - a rainbow effect applied to the surface of a seed bead (by Swarovski)
Silverplate is usually sterling silver plated over a base metal such as brass. Jewelry typically uses plating to give a silver or gold finish, to harden the material and to improve wearability
Sterling silver is .925 silver with a .075 additive, usually copper. Sterling made in the USA after approximately the 1850's always has a sterling mark. It may say Sterling. It may be.925 or show the fraction 925/1000. If it does not have this mark it is not sterling.
Swarovski Crystals an Austrian producer of luxury cut lead glass. By applying special metallic chemical coatings to their crystal the glass lets light refract in a rainbow spectrum.
Tibetan silver is similar to pewter - an alloy of copper, and sometimes tin or nickel, with a small percentage of pure silver. Its overall appearance is of aged silver, but it can be polished to provide highlights on complex castings.
Unakité is an altered granite composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote, and generally colorless quartz. It exists in various shades of green and pink and is usually mottled in appearance. A good quality unakite is considered a semiprecious stone; it will take a good polish and is often used in jewelry as beads or cabochons and other lapidary work such as eggs, spheres and animal carvings.