• Bracelets
• Brooches
• Earrings
• Necklaces/Chains
• Pendants
• Rings
• Vintage/antique boxes
• Vintage/antique books
• Sentimental/Mourning
• Watches
• Misc. Antique Smalls

Albert (chain) - A gold or silver chain with a bar on one end and a fitting on the other to hold a pocketwatch.

Amethyst - Stone from the quartz family usually of a violet color.

Baguette - a stone cut in the shape of a narrow rectangle.

Basse-Taille - An enameling technique in which a translucent enameling is applied to an engraved metal surface.

Belcher Mounting - A claw-type ring mounting popular from 1870's - 1920's.

Bohemian Garnet - A dark red pyrope garnet. Garnets were very popular during the Victorian era.

Briolettes - A stone completely covered with facets and in the shape of a tear drop.

Bog Oak - Wood from Ireland used to make jewelry during the Victorian era.

Cabochon - A round or oval shaped stone in which the top is not faceted.

Calibre Cut - small stones in the shape of squares or rectangles used to embellish jewelry.

Cameo - A gem/stone carved and designed in relief. Other popular materials consist of shell, coral, lava.

Cartouche - An ornamental tablet of gold or silver used to be engraved.

Celluloid - Early type of plastic made of camphor and gun cotton. Popular during 1890-1917.

Chasing - term used to describe the indentations made on jewelry to make it more decorative.

Chatelaine - Decorative piece of metal which hung from the waist for which objects could be hung such as a small pocket watch, notebook, pencil, etc.

Claw Setting - A style of ring setting where the stone is held by a number of vertically projecting prongs.

Cultured Pearl - A genuine pearl induced by man to grow inside mollusk (A pearl termed natural would be produced without the aid of man).

Demi-Parure - A matched set of jewelry consisting of a small number of pieces (perhaps a necklace and earrings or a bracelet and broach).

Demi-Hunter - Term used to describe a pocket watch where the lid partially covers the face of the watch so that the hands are expose.

Enamel - A powered glass-like material fused on gold or silver.

Engine Turning - Decoration with engraved lines produced on a special machine.

Engrave - The process of placing a design on the surface of metal using incised lines.

Filigree - Fine delicate wire twisted to form ornamental designs.

Fob - Usually found on pocket watch chains, an small ornamental piece of jewelry which comes in many shapes and sizes.

Foil Backed - Found in earlier pieces. A coating found on the back of stones to improve the stone's color.

French Jet - Not related to jet at all. Term refers to black glass.

Gillouche - Engraved decoration achieved by engine turning.

Gunmetal - Used to make jewelry during the late 1800's. Metal consists of a mixture of mostly copper and a small amount of tin.

Gutta Percha - Sap of the Malayan tree which was made into a hard rubber-like material. This material was used for jewelry during the early - mid Victorian era.

Gypsy Setting - Setting in which the stone is set down flush in the mounting.

Hunting Case - the lid of the pocket watch completely covers the face of the watch. Unlike the demi-hunter where the face is partially exposed.

Incise - A line cut in a material.

Intaglio - A carved stone where the design is hollowed out. Unlike a cameo which is done in relief.

Jet - A light weight black material which is a variety of the coal family.

"Mizpah" - Found on brooches and rings, and translated as "May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent from the other".

Mosaic - A tedious process of forming a pattern by inlaying various small pieces of colored glass or stone. Types of mosaic work are Roman and Florentine.

Mourning Jewelry - Jewelry worn in memory of a loved one. Many pieces incorporated hair of the deceased and seedpearls to represent tears.

Nickel silver - Not silver at all but a mix of copper, nickel, zinc, and sometimes other metals.

Old Mine Cut - An old style of cutting a diamond in which the girdle outline is square and not round. The crown is high and the table is small. In has 32 crown facets plus table and 24 pavilion facets plus a culet. The point of the culet is cut off.

Paste Jewelry - Jewelry incorporating glass imitation stones.

Parure - A complete matched set of jewelry consisting of all the pieces (necklace, earrings, bracelet, and brooch).

Pinchbeck - A mixture of copper and zinc used to imitate gold. Popular during the early 1800's.

Pique - A technique used to decorate tortoise shell by inlaying it with pieces of gold and silver. Popular from mid-1700's to early 1900's.

Plique-a-jour - An enameling technique which produces a stained glass effect. This can be seen in Art Nouveau jewelry styles.

Repousse work (or embossing) - A technique of raising a design on metal by hammering from the reverse side.

Rhinestone - Originally termed for rock crystal found along the Rhine River. Today a term used for glass stones found in costume jewelry.

Rhodium - A member of the platinum group however, on earlier pieces, was used as a plating on sterling or gold to look like platinum.

Rose Cut - A cutting style in which there are 24 triangular facets meeting at the top with a point. The base is always flat.

Sautoir - A very long neck chain extending beyond the woman's waist.

Signet Ring - A ring with a center plaque for engraving one's initials.

Seed Pearl - A tiny pearl. Popular in Victorian jewelry.

Synthetic (not to be confused with imitation) - A man-made material with the same physical, chemical and optical properties as a natural gem.

Taille d'Epergne - An enameling technique in which engraved depressions are filled with opaque enamel.

Tiffany Setting - A classic 6-prong ring setting that flares up from the bottom.

Vermeil - Sterling silver with a gold plating.