Glossary · 20 terms
The Glossary
The vocabulary a product page, a care card or a grading report will put in front of you, defined in plain English. If a term changes what you are actually buying, it is here.
Fine Jewelry
- Pennyweight (dwt)
- One twentieth of a troy ounce — 1.555 grams. The unit refiners weigh gold in.
- Troy Ounce
- 31.1035 grams — the ounce precious metals are priced in, heavier than the kitchen ounce.
- Karat vs Carat
- Karat is gold purity in twenty-fourths. Carat is gemstone weight. Different units.
- Points
- One hundredth of a carat. A 25-point stone is 0.25 ct.
- The 4 Cs
- Carat, colour, clarity, cut — what a diamond grading report records.
- Table
- The large flat facet on top of a cut stone — the window you look through.
- Girdle
- The narrow band around a stone’s widest point, where a setting grips it.
- Culet
- The point or small facet at the bottom of a brilliant-cut stone.
- Setting: Bezel, Prong & Pavé
- The three common ways metal holds a stone — each with different durability.
- Vermeil
- Sterling silver plated with gold to a regulated minimum thickness.
- Gold-Filled vs Gold-Plated
- Gold-filled is a bonded layer by weight; plate is microns thick and rubs through.
- Lab-Grown Diamond
- A real diamond made in a reactor rather than mined — and disclosed as such.
- Moissanite
- Silicon carbide — a different material from diamond, with different optics.
- Treated Stone
- A stone altered after cutting — clarity-enhanced, irradiated or HPHT-processed.
Designer Clothing
- Bias Cut
- Fabric cut at 45° to the grain so it stretches and drapes diagonally.
Accessories & Shoes
- Grosgrain
- A ribbed woven ribbon used for hatbands, waistbands and bag trim.
Care & Sizing
- Hallmark
- A stamped mark recording metal fineness — compulsory in some countries, not in the US.
- Assay
- The test that determines how much precious metal an item actually contains.
- Resizing Tolerance
- How far a ring can be resized before the design is compromised.
Worth It?
- Cost Per Wear
- Purchase price divided by the number of times a piece is actually worn.