Glossary

A stone that has a smooth, rounded or dome-like surface that has been cut and polished but does not have facets

A common descriptive term for deep yellow colored diamonds

Closely woven cloth used as a support for paintings.

A unit of weight used for describing diamonds and other precious gems. The metric carat of 200 milligrams was adopted by the USA in the early 1900s and is now universally used. Also known as karat.

The weight of a diamond measured in carats. A carat is divided into 100 points.

A drawing of a person in which his or her most prominent features are exaggerated or distorted in order to produce a recognizable but ridiculous portrait.

A drawing or series of drawings intended to convey humour, satire or wit.
A full size drawing for a painting, mural or fresco. The drawing was fully worked on paper and then mapped out onto the surface to be painted.

A thick sort of paper originally manufactured for soldier’s cartridges, but now extensively used in art, its rough surface being exceptionably suitable for drawing on.

Attached to the watchband, this metal covering surrounds the bezel and dial of a watch and protects its internal parts from dirt and damage. Some cases are built to resist water from entering the watch.

The art of working metals by pouring them while in fluid condition into moulds in which they solidify and harden into the form of the mould which they fill.

A soft stone, similar to a very soft lime – stone used for drawing Crayon is powdered chalk mixed with oil or wax.

A common descriptive term for light brown or medium brown colored diamonds.

The carbon residue from wood which has been partially burned and will make easily erasable black marks. Used mainly to make preliminary drawings.

Term is used to describe the effect of light and shade in a painting or drawing, especially where strong tonal contrasts are used.

A very short necklace, which sits right at the throat, generally less than 14" long.

The relative intensity or purity of a hue when compared to grayness or lack of hue.

A French word for 'lemon'. A semi-precious type of quartz that ranges in color from pale yellow to deep gold. Citrines have a hardness of 7 on the Mohs Scale.

The device used to fasten each end of a watchband, bracelet or necklace together. Clasps are traditionally made of metal and include several designs.

A style of art based on order, serenity and emotional restraint with reference to the classical art of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It followed strict ideals of beauty and figures drawn in this style were usually symmetrical and lacked the normal irregularities of nature.

In this setting, the stone is held securely in place by a series of metal prongs, called claws. There is no metal directly under the stone, since the setting is open. The claws grip the stone above the girdle. It is often used for transparent stones, since it lets light in under the stone.

Several stones that are grouped together for a unique design or to look like one large stone.

A large or oversized ring set with precious, Diamonds or semiprecious stones

A technique of picture making in which the artist uses materials other than traditional paint, such as cut paper, wood, sand, and so on.

The combination of bodycolour and overtone of a pearl. Color is one of the factors considered when grading natural and cultured pearls.

A diamond with no traces of body color. Light travels through a colorless diamond better than a diamond with color, resulting in exceptional brilliance.

An effect caused in the eye by light of various wavelengths. The colour seen depends on the specific wavelengths of light reflected by an object containing pigments which absorb certain light frequencies. Colours used by artists are made by combining pigments of vegetable or mineral extraction with a suitable medium, eg. Linseed oil.

A term used in art criticism to refer to an artist who places more importance and emphasis on colour than on line and form.

The arrangement of elements in a drawing, painting or sculpture in proper proportion to each other and to the painting as a whole.

A term used to describe severely geometrical abstract art.

A hard resin used in making varnishes and painting mediums.

The hard calcium carbonate structure secreted by marine animals, also called coral that can be cut, polished and used to make jewellery. Coral may be found in several colors including pink, orange, red, white and black.

A mineral that comes in several colors including ruby and sapphire, depending on the metallic oxides that it contains. Corundum that does not contain any oxides is colorless and known as pure corundum or white sapphire. Rubies contain chromic oxide, blue sapphires contain oxides of titanium and yellow sapphires contain ferric oxide.

Jewelry made from non fine or non precious materials.

Very highly fashionable jewelry and clothing that has been created by leading fashion and jewelry designers. Also referred to as Haute Couture.

More than one set of close parallel lines that crisscross each other at angles, to model and indicate tone.

A pearl produced by a mollusk as a result of a foreign object, usually a minute piece of mother of pearl, that has been artificially introduced or nucleated into its shell.