Glossary of Terms

Cabochon - a round or oval stone (usually a gemstone) cut with a domed top and a flat bottom

Gemstone - a precious or semi-precious stone used in a piece of jewellery

Precious stone – diamond, ruby, emerald and blue sapphire

Semi-precious stone – all other gemstones (non precious) e.g. agate, tourmaline, turquoise, rose quartz, opal, pearl and many more

Tarnish resistant Copper wire - has a 99.99% copper core, a high quality lacquered finish, and is lead free and nickel free

Silver plated copper wire – copper wire plated with 1% pure silver then lacquered (I only use tarnish resistant)

Gold plated copper wire - between 0.175 microns to 2.5 microns thick gold on base metal (usually copper, always tarnish resistant)

Gold plated silver wire – also known as Gold Vermeil - Sterling Silver plated in gold at least 2.5 microns thick - looks exactly like real gold

Gold/silver filled wire – 1/20 (5%) of the overall metal content by weight is gold/silver (also known as silver/gold rolled wire)

Sterling Silver – at least 92.5% pure silver with 7.5 parts of another metal, usually copper

Fine Silver/Gold – the metal in its purest form, unalloyed with additional metals

Findings – a variety of semi-finished components used in jewellery making e.g. clasps

Lobster Claw Clasp – has an elongated hook and contains a spring mechanism to catch the ring on the opposite end

Bolt Ring clasp – a circular catch containing a sprung trigger mechanism for fastening chains

Toggle Clasp – fastening containing a ring on one end and a short bar on the other

Cylinder Multi strand Clasp – a cylindrical clasp in which the smaller cylinder slides into the larger one, and the cylinders usually connect inside by means of a magnet

Fish Hook ear wire – a fishhook shaped ear wire used to make earrings, with the hook passing through the pierced ear

Leverback – an earring with wire that delicately bends and latches behind the ear

Swarovski Crystal - Swarovski is a brand name for precision-cut crystal glass which is made only in Austria

Czech Crystal (Bohemian Crystal) - to be called a Czech crystal it must contain at least 10% lead oxide - made in Czech Republic

Cultured Freshwater Pearl - pearls that are farmed and created using freshwater mussels

Swarovski Pearl – simulated pearls having a Swarovski crystal core and a special Swarovski coating

Lampwork bead – the term Lampwork is used for handmade beads and other shapes made by melting and forming glass in a flame

Murano Bead – Lampwork beads made in the island of Murano, near Venice

Seed bead - a generic term for any small glass bead

Miyuki Beads - a type of high-quality, brilliant and uniform seed bead precision manufactured in Japan

Tarnish – a thin layer of oxide that forms over metal to appear dull grey or black (due to oxidisation at the surface of the metal)

Tarnish resistant – a lacquered finish applied to a metal core to reduce tarnishing