Glossary of Terms

Sometimes it seems we speak a whole different language in the jewellery and gemmology world so we’ve decided to break down some of our more commonly used terms!

Alloy: A combination of metals fused together.

Basket Setting: A stone setting used in rings and other fine jewellery which has two horizontal bars joining the four claws.

Bezel Setting: A fine band of gold or other metal that encircles the stone to keep it secure and attached to the shank.

Brilliant Cut: A diamond cut featuring 58 facets. It can also be used for different stones and shapes.   

CAD/Render: An abbreviation for Computer Aided Design which is used to design and engineer a piece of jewellery for casting. The render is a computer illustration of the final design.

Carat: Weight (mass) of a gemstone.

Claw/Prong: A section of the setting which holds/secures the stone by wrapping over a portion of the top of the stone. Often resembles a lion’s claw but can come in a variety of shapes.

Emerald Cut: A rectangular cut with cut corners and step cut facets. 

Eye Clean: Inclusion which are not visible to the naked eye but may be seen under 10x magnification or stronger. 

Gemmologist: A trained person who specialises in identifying, grading and appraising gemstones.

Grading: A gemstones official report on colour, cut, clarity, polish and sometimes origin.

Hardness: A measure of a gemstone’s resistance to scratching and abrasions. Measured on Mohs Hardness Scale.

Inclusion: A visible internal flaw in a gemstone which can include veils, clouds, other crystals and foreign objects.

Karat: Measurement of gold purity in the metal ranging from 9k to (pure) 24k. 

Lab Grown: A gemstone (including diamonds and sapphires) which has the same chemical composition as a natural stone but grown in a laboratory rather than in the earth.

Oval Cut: A gemstone cut in the shape of an oval. Facet styles can include; brilliant, mixed and Portuguese.

Pear Cut: A gemstone cut in the shape of a pear/tear drop. 

Prong Setting: A stone setting used in rings and other fine jewellery which has four or six claws which cradle/secure the stone and attach the shank. See Claw/Prong.

Salt and Pepper Diamond: A naturally grown diamond featuring several visible inclusions which give it a peppery appearance.

Setter: A trained person who specialises in securing stones into their setting eg basket, prong or bezel.

Shank: The circular band of the ring which wraps around your finger. Styles can include round, half round and square.

Solitaire: A ring stone setting featuring a single stone. 

Tulip Setting: A decorative stone setting used for rings which resembles a tulip flower.