Sparklepedia

Glossary

Bauble
Bauble refers to a small, showy trinket or piece of jewelry. In the context of jewelry design, refers to a decorative ornament, charm, or trinket used in jewelry pieces to add visual interest or whimsical elements. It is often associated with accessories that are fun, playful, or light-hearted in nature.

Bezel
A bezel is a setting where a gemstone is encircled by silver that holds it in place. The silver is folded over the edges of the gemstone to secure it. This type of setting provides a sleek, modern look and offers extra protection to the gemstone compared to other setting types.

Byzantine
Byzantine jewelry is a style of jewelry that originated in the Byzantine Empire, which lasted from the 4th century AD to the 1400s. It's known for its large size, heavy weight, and use of precious metals and gemstones. Byzantine jewelry often features a combination of Christian, Greek, and Roman influences, including ancient Christian symbols and iconography. The amount of gold in a piece could indicate the wearer's wealth and status, and pieces were sometimes set with as many gemstones as possible to create a colorful and impressive display. When materials were scarce, enamel might be used in place of gemstones.

Champlevé 
Champlevé is a decorative metalwork technique, especially prominent in enameling, where cells are etched, engraved, or carved into the surface of a metal object to create intricate designs. These cells are then filled with enamel-colored glass powder and fired at high temperatures to fuse the enamel, resulting in a vibrant and durable surface decoration. The artistry of champlevé lies in the meticulous craftsmanship required to create the cells, fill them with enamel, and fire the piece without damaging the metal base. Artists and artisans working with champlevé must possess a high level of skill and precision to achieve the desired results. The vibrant colors and smooth, glossy finish of champlevé enamel work make it a visually striking art form, used for centuries in jewelry, decorative objects, and religious artifacts. The contrast between the metal base and the colorful enamel highlights the design's intricacy and beauty, making champlevé a unique and timeless art form.

Chandelier Earrings
One of a pair of long ornate earrings that dangle from the earlobes, usually dropping more than one level.

Choker
A choker is a type of necklace that fits closely around the neck. It typically sits high on the neck and can vary in width, materials, and styles. Chokers have been a popular fashion accessory for centuries and are known for their versatile and stylish appeal. Varies in length, 15, 16, 18 or 21 inches

Cloisonne
An ancient enameling technique in which a design is outlined on a silver base with bent wire strips (typically soldered to the base) forming individual sections or compartments that are then filled in with colored wet enamel.   It is then fired at high temperatures to fuse the enamel, resulting in a vibrant and durable surface decoration. It is finished with sanding techniques to polish the fired enamel into a high glossy finish. (French “cloison”= cell or partition). 

Collar
A collar necklace is a bold, short-length necklace that sits snugly around the base of the neck, typically measuring 12-14 inches. It's designed to make a statement, adding an elegant or dramatic touch to any outfit.

Cuff Bracelet
A rigid bracelet designed with an opening for easily slipping the bracelet onto the wrist.

Enamel
Enameling is a process by which powdered glass is fused to a metal substrate at high heat. Enamels can be applied to glass, ceramics, and most commonly, metals. The application of enamels can add color to metals such as copper, silver, and gold. The powdered glass can be applied either wet or dry to a surface

Etched
The etching is a traditional technique used to create designs on metal. In this process, the metal sheet is prepped with an acid-resistant wax to draw the lines onto it. Once the acid is submerged, it leaves behind incised markings. With technological advancement, new forms of etching have come up like laser etching

Fire Torched
The torch-fired enamel technique involves applying powdered glass to copper and using a torch to fuse the materials, resulting in richly colored and durable designs. This method is particularly suited for creating intricate pendants and brooches, allowing for layered enamel that produces detailed patterns and gradients. Additionally, torch-firing enables artists to experiment with various textures and effects, ensuring each piece is unique and highly customizable. Enjoy the creative process of crafting beautiful, one-of-a-kind enamel charms, magnets, wall hangings, mobiles, and more.

French Wire Earring Hook
This style uses ear wire bent in a hook shape with no back and instead utilizes the weight of the earrings to anchor the "hook" in place when in your ear and offer a very secure earring.

Gemstone
A mineral or organic material with sufficient beauty, rarity, and durability to be set into jewelry.

Geode
A geode is a hollow rock lined with an inside layer of sparkling crystals. On the outside, geodes appear nondescript and are easily overlooked. However, cracking open a geode will display an array of colorful crystals.

Gold 
A precious, yellow, metallic element, highly malleable and ductile and not subject to oxidation or corrosion.

Gold Filled
Gold-filled jewelry is made by bonding a layer of gold onto a base metal (usually brass) core. To be considered 'gold filled', the gold layer must be at least 5% of the total metal content. Most gold-filled jewelry is made with 12-karat or 14-karat gold.

Gold Plate
Gold plated refers to jewelry that has a thin layer of gold applied over another, cheaper, metal such as copper. Jewelers might use gold plating as a way to create affordable jewelry, as the base metal is less expensive than solid gold or sterling silver.

Granulation
A surface adornment technique in which minute grains or tiny balls of precious metal are applied to a surface in patterns to create visual interest.

Hoop Earrings
A (usually) circular, ring-like earring that may be a complete circle or may only go part of the way around.

Inlay
The insertion of pieces of gemstones, wood, ivory, etc. into slots created on a surface for embellishment.

Italian Murano Glass
Murano glass, an exquisite art form from Murano in Venice, Italy, is crafted from silica, soda, lime, and potassium melted together at 1500°C, then mouth-blown and shaped using various techniques. Adorned with minerals, enamel, gilding, or engraving, the glass showcases vibrant colors and intricate designs. After cooling, it undergoes "Moleria" for grinding and polishing, achieving specific effects and smoothing imperfections. This art form, rooted in a 13th-century tradition and continuing the legacy of ancient Roman glass masters, is handcrafted by skilled maestros using simple tools and specialized furnaces. The result is a unique, inimitable work that embodies Venetian history and beauty, marked by bright colors and natural imperfections that highlight the master's touch.

Kiln-Fired
Kiln firing is the process of heating powdered enamel glass to fuse into metals to make jewelry, bowls, and ornamental decorations.

Millefiori
First of all, the word "millefiori" means "thousand flowers" in Italian, which is where this technique was mastered in glass, mainly in Murano, the island off of Venice, famous for glass art.  When I went there, I hoped to see someone creating millefiori in glass but I guess it isn't as showy as glass blowing because that's all they were demonstrating.  If you have seen the tiny little flowers in a glass paperweight (or on a vase) you were most likely looking at Murano millefiori.

Pavé
Pavé is the French term in Jewelry used to describe a grouping of small stones that create a multi-faceted surface that enhances the reflectiveness of a piece. Pavé refers to the setting of a ring, and how the diamonds are presented in the ring. Pavé refers to the line of diamonds that appear around the ring that creates a higher level of sparkle than a single stone alone could. These diamonds are much smaller than larger stones - typically less than 0.1 carats in size and are lower in quality because they are presented together. Sometimes they are not fully colorless either. These are all elements that can be selected when designing a ring

Pendant
An adornment designed to be suspended from a necklace.

Plique-a-jour
An enameling technique by which the design is outlined with metal and filled in with colored enamels, but with no backing so that the effect is similar to a stained glass window.

Precious Gemstones
The group of gemstones consists of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

Raku 
Raku is a type of Japanese pottery that is traditionally used in tea ceremonies. Raku ware is characterized by its unique firing process, where the pottery is removed from the kiln while still glowing hot and placed into a container with combustible materials like straw or sawdust. This process creates spontaneous and unpredictable patterns on the pottery's surface, resulting in beautiful and one-of-a-kind pieces. Raku pottery is prized for its aesthetic qualities, including its lustrous glazes and irregular textures, making each piece a work of art with its own distinct character.

Rondelle
A doughnut-shaped or flattened, disk-shaped bead that is used as a spacer or an accent between other beads.

Semi Precious Gemstones
A gemstone that is not a diamond, emerald, sapphire, or ruby – historically thought to be less valuable than a precious gemstone ie, amethyst, peridot, aquamarine, etc…

Silver
The precious metal (99% by weight of silver) is commonly alloyed to create the more durable alloy known as sterling silver and is priced at the precious metal prices on the stock exchange that change every day.

Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.  It will tarnish if not stored properly.  Review Product Care.

Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum. A turquoise stone represents wisdom, tranquility, protection, good fortune, and hope.

Vermeil
Gold-plated or gilded silver. The FTC allows a product to be described as “vermeil” if it consists of a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold or gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness, that is of substantial thickness and a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to 2 1/2 microns of fine gold.