Jewelry/Watch Glossary

Moissanite is a gemstone composed of silicon carbide, originally discovered in 1893 in a meteor crater by chemist Henri Moissan. Natural moissanite is extraordinarily rare, so virtually all moissanite available...

Vermeil (pronounced "ver-MAY") is a jewelry finish in which a thick layer of gold, at least 2.5 microns deep, is bonded to a sterling silver base. Unlike standard gold plating,...

Palladium is a rare, naturally white precious metal belonging to the platinum group of elements. It shares many characteristics with platinum, including its bright silvery-white color, impressive resistance to tarnish,...

Milgrain is a decorative metalwork technique that produces a row of tiny, uniform beads or granules along the edges of a ring, setting, or metal surface. The word comes from...

Karat is the unit of measurement that expresses how pure the gold in a piece of jewelry actually is. Pure gold is rated at 24 karats, meaning it contains no...

Re-tipping is a jewelry repair technique where a jeweler adds a small amount of metal to the worn or broken tip of a prong. Prong tips are the thin points...

A mandrel is a tapered, cylindrical rod - typically made from hardened steel or aluminum - used by jewelers to shape, resize, and measure rings. Graduated markings along the taper...

A gold fill is a jewelry material made by mechanically bonding a solid layer of gold to a base metal core - most often brass or copper - using heat...

Sterling silver is a metal alloy composed of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, typically copper. Pure silver is too soft for most jewelry applications, so the copper addition...