Understanding the terminology of bespoke jewellery design is crucial for both customers and artisans involved in creating custom-made pieces. Whether you’re communicating your vision to a designer or evaluating the craftsmanship of a unique item, knowing these key terms ensures clarity and enhances your experience throughout the design and production process. This glossary covers essential terms from initial concepts to the final touches in bespoke jewellery design.
Accent Gold: A decorative application of 24K gold used to highlight parts of a jewellery piece, often combined with silver or other metals.
Acid Etching: A process where acid is applied to a metal surface to dissolve certain areas and create engraved or textured patterns.
Alloy: A mixture of two or more metals to enhance durability, colour, or other properties. Common alloys in jewellery include sterling silver and white gold.
Annealing: A heating process that softens metal, making it easier to shape or work with. Often followed by cooling, it’s a key step in jewellery fabrication.
Assay: The testing of precious metals to determine purity, typically resulting in a hallmark to certify the metal’s content, such as gold or silver.
Bail: A component that connects pendants or charms to a chain, allowing them to hang freely. Bails come in various styles like pinch bails and hidden bails.
Barrel Clasp: A clasp in the form of a small barrel, typically used in bracelets and necklaces. It screws together for secure fastening.
Basket Setting: A gemstone setting with a lattice-like framework of metal that holds the stone in place using prongs.
Bead: A small, usually spherical object made of glass, stone, metal, or other materials with a hole through the centre for threading onto wire or string.
Bead Setting: A technique where small beads of metal are raised from the surface to hold a gemstone in place, often seen in pavé settings.
Bezel: A metal rim that surrounds and secures a gemstone, commonly used for cabochon stones, giving a smooth, protective finish.
Bezel Rocker: A tool used to push the bezel edge over the stone, ensuring it is securely held in place within the setting.
Bolt Ring: A circular clasp, commonly used in necklaces and bracelets, that opens when a small lever is pressed.
Brass: An alloy made primarily of copper and zinc, known for its golden-yellow hue. It is often used for affordable jewellery.
Briolette: A teardrop-shaped gemstone cut with many facets, usually drilled at the top, perfect for earrings and pendants.
Burnishing: A polishing technique where a metal surface is rubbed with a hard, smooth tool to create a bright, shiny finish.
Cabochon: A gemstone that is polished but not faceted, featuring a domed top and a flat back, often set in bezel settings.
Carabiner Clasp: Also called a lobster clasp, this is a popular closure for necklaces and bracelets, designed in the shape of a lobster’s claw.
Channel Setting: A setting style where gemstones are placed between two strips of metal, forming a “channel” that holds them in place without prongs.
Chatoyance: A visual effect where light reflects within a gemstone, creating a shifting, cat’s-eye appearance, most commonly seen in tiger’s eye.
Claw Setting: A setting where small metal prongs, or claws, are bent over the stone to hold it securely in place, ideal for faceted gemstones.
Collet: A circular metal band that forms the base of a gemstone setting, often used in bezel or claw settings.
Crimp: A small metal tube or bead used to secure the ends of beading wire by flattening it with pliers, often used in stringing jewellery.
Crown: The top part of a gemstone that sits above the girdle, usually the most visible section of the stone when set.
Cuff Bracelet: A rigid bracelet that does not close completely around the wrist, often designed to be slipped on and off with ease.
Facet: A flat surface on a gemstone that is cut to enhance light reflection and brilliance. Faceted gemstones often have multiple such surfaces.
Filigree: Ornamental metalwork formed into delicate, lace-like patterns, often made from fine gold or silver wire.
Fire Stain: A discolouration caused by heating metal, particularly silver, during soldering. It can be removed with pickling or polishing.
Flux: A substance applied to metal during soldering to prevent oxidation and ensure smooth flow of solder.
Gemstone: A naturally occurring mineral or stone that is cut, polished, and used in jewellery. Examples include diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds.
Girdle: The narrow band around the widest part of a gemstone, separating the crown from the pavilion.
Gold Vermeil: A type of gold-plated jewellery where the base is sterling silver, offering a higher-quality finish than standard gold plating.
Granulation: A decorative technique where tiny beads of metal are applied to a surface to create patterns or textures.
Hallmark: An official mark stamped on precious metal items to certify their metal content and purity, required by law in many countries.
Headpin: A thin metal wire with a flat or decorative end used to create charms by threading beads and forming loops.
Inlay: A technique where pieces of gemstones or other materials are set into a recessed area of metal, creating a flush surface.
Jump Ring: A small metal loop used to connect different elements of a jewellery piece, such as attaching a clasp to a chain.
Karat: A unit of measure for the purity of gold, with 24K being pure gold. Lower karats indicate a blend with other metals for strength.
Kumihimo: An ancient Japanese braiding technique used to create intricate cords, often used in jewellery making for necklaces and bracelets.
Liver of Sulphur: A chemical used to oxidise silver and create a dark patina, often for antique-style finishes.
Mandrel: A tapered tool, usually metal, used for shaping rings, bracelets, and other rounded jewellery components.
Marquise Cut: A gemstone cut with a pointed oval shape, maximising carat weight and creating an elongated, elegant appearance.
Mokume Gane: A Japanese technique involving the layering and fusion of different metals to create wood-grain patterns, often used for bespoke rings.
Patina: A layer that forms on metal due to oxidation, often darkening or altering its appearance. Patinas can be natural or applied for effect.
Pavilion: The lower part of a gemstone, below the girdle, usually cut to reflect light back through the crown.
Pavé Setting: A setting style where small gemstones are set closely together with minimal visible metal, creating a “paved” effect of sparkle.
Pickling: The process of cleaning metal in an acid bath to remove oxidation and flux residue after soldering.
Prong: A metal projection in a setting that holds a gemstone in place. Prong settings are popular for solitaire rings.
Rondelle: A type of bead that is slightly flattened on the sides, often used as spacers in necklaces or bracelets.
Safety Chain: A small chain attached to the ends of a bracelet or necklace for added security in case the clasp opens.
Soldering: The process of joining metal pieces together using a filler metal, or solder, that melts at a lower temperature than the pieces being joined.
Spacer Bead: A small bead used between larger beads to create spacing in a design, often simple in shape to not distract from the focal beads.
Sterling Silver: A silver alloy containing 92.5% pure silver, the standard for high-quality silver jewellery.
Toggle Clasp: A closure made of a bar and ring, where the bar is inserted into the ring to secure the jewellery piece.
Tungsten Carbide: A strong, scratch-resistant metal alloy used in rings and other jewellery, known for its durability and sleek finish.
Vermeil: A type of gold plating over sterling silver, often used to create high-quality, long-lasting gold-tone jewellery.
Wire Wrapping: A jewellery-making technique where wire is twisted and coiled around gemstones or beads to create intricate designs.
