Gadroon: A series of small vertical, diagonal
or twisted grooves applied as a border decoration on silverware.
Gallery: A type of
mounting with a
pierced, openwork design resembling the
gallery, (rear platform), of an early sailing ship.
Garland Style: A
jewelry style popular in the early 20th
century made possible by the introduction of the widespread use of
platinum and characterized by lightness
and delicacy that employed motifs such as garlands, ribbon bows, swags, and
tassels.
Garnet: A family of stones having many
varieties differing in color and in their constituents, but all are
silicates with the same isometric
crystallization and conforming to the
same general chemical formula. Garnet is a very commonly found in
gneiss and mica slate.
The name is derived from its resemblance in color and shape to the seeds of
the pomegranate. The most common color of garnets range from light red to
violet or plum-red, but can also be white, green, yellow, brown, and black
varieties. It seems as though every shade and color of garnet is given its own
name. Known varieties of garnet include
Andradite, Tsavorite,
Grossularite,
Essonite, Pyrope,
Almandine,
Spessartite,
Melanite,
Allochroite,
Ouvarovite,
Demantoid, and
Rhodalite. (See individual listings).
Garnets have a hardness that varies between 6-8 on the
Mohs scale. It was believed that the wearer
of garnet jewelry was kept in good health and protected while traveling. Garnets are
worn to signify truth and faith. Red garnet is the
birthstone for January.
Gem: (Gemstone). A
precious or
semiprecious stone that may be used
as a jewel when cut and polished. Include
diamond, beryl,
emerald,
chalcedony,
agate, onyx,
tourmaline,
chrysolite,
sapphire,
ruby, spinel,
topaz,
turquoise, zircon,
cubic zirconia,
jacinth,
hyacinth,
carbuncle,
amethyst,
alexandrite,
cat's eye,
bloodstone,
hematite,
jasper,
moonstone, sunstone, and many
others. Several organic materials like coral
and pearls are also considered gemstones.
Genuine: Unless the word "genuine" is included
in the description of a piece of jewelry,
it could simply be using the term to describe the color of the piece rather
than its actual content. For example, "gold" meaning gold toned, rather than
actual gold. (See below) Or "amethyst"
meaning amethyst colored, rather than
containing an actual amethyst stone.
Genuine Pearl: A smooth, round growth used as a
gem, a "genuine" pearl is one that
formed naturally within the shell of a
mollusk due to an irritant rather than having the irritant placed into the
mollusk by hand or being made out of
plastic.
Gilding: An object decorated with a thin layer
of gold, gold leaf or
gold foil.
Gilt: Gold plated.
Girandôle: A style of
earring or
brooch in which a large stone or
decorative element suspends three smaller
pear-shaped pendants of similar design.
Girdle: The outermost edge of a cut
gem when viewed from the side and top. It is the edge
formed by where the top section (crown) and
the bottom section (pavilion) of the cut
stone meet.
Glucinum: (Also called "Beryllium") A rare
silver-white
metallic
element resembling
magnesium. It is only found in nature
combined with other elements, usually
silica or
alumina, in the minerals
phenacite,
chrysoberyl,
beryl,
euclase, and danalite.
Gneiss: A form of granite,
but having the component materials, especially the
mica, arranged in planes so that it breaks
rather easily into coarse slabs or flags.
Gold: A yellow
precious metal which is valued for its
beauty and purity since it does not oxidize
or tarnish like most other
metals. It has been used for coins and
jewelry for over 6000 years and from this
has become regarded as a symbol of wealth. Gold is very ductile and is the
most malleable of all metals. It can be
cast into huge statues or beaten into wafer thin sheets of gold leaf. This
malleability makes it too soft to be used in
jewelry without being alloyed with
other metals. (See
Karat).
Gold electroplating: Process by which sheets of gold
of at least 10 karats and no less than
seven-millionths of an inch thick are electro-chemically bonded to another
metal.
Gold Filled: (Also "Goldfilled", or "gold-filled", abbreviated g.f.)
A piece of jewelry with a layer of
gold mechanically applied to the surface of a
base metal, (like
brass or
copper), can be called Gold Filled if the amount of
gold equals one-twentieth of the total weight of the
piece. Victorian pieces are likely to
be unmarked, but later pieces are marked with the fineness of the
gold layer, and the part by weight of the
gold. For example a piece marked "1/10 12K
G.F." is composed of at least 1/10 12K
gold based on the weight of the finished piece. An older
unmarked gold piece may often be identified by wear
through to base metal, especially when
viewing corners or edges under magnification. Look for a change to a darker,
brassy colored material at these spots.
Gold plated: A piece of jewelry
with a wafer thin coating of gold electroplated or
mechanically plated onto a base metal.
Gold Tone: Jewelry finished
with a gold color with almost no appreciable measurement of weight in actual
gold.
Gold Washed: Products that have an extremely thin layer of
gold, (less than .175 microns thick), applied by either
dipping or burnishing the metal, but not
plated.. This will wear away more quickly than pieces that are
gold plated, gold-filled, or gold
electroplated.
Golden finish:
Jewelry finished so that it has the look
of gold, but no actual gold content.
Golden Valadium: Stainless steel
that has been electro-charged to resemble real
yellow gold.
Goldstone: See
Aventurine.
Good Condition: A piece of
jewelry in Good
Condition will show substantial
evidence of wear. It will have a noticeable
patina which may include numerous very fine pits or lines. It will not
have cracks, chips, obviously discolored or poorly replaced stones, evidence
of glue or other repairs, or other evidence of hard wear considered to be
damage. Damage of any kind is separately detailed in the item description, and
generally items with damage appear at very reduced prices in the Bargain
section.
Gothic revival:
Jewelry that evokes the feeling of
medieval Europe in its use of styles, symbols, and motifs. It began in the
18th century as part of the romantic movement.
Gram Weight: The weight, in grams, of a specific
metal used in a piece of
jewelry.
Granite: A common
igneous rock composed of
quartz,
orthoclase, and
hornblende, often accompanied by
pyroxene or
mica. It is called
granite because of the granular surface. Granite is
frequently used for buildings and monuments.
Granulation: A technique often used in
Etruscan Revival
jewelry, granulation is the application
of minute granules or grains of metal to
the surface of a piece of jewelry to form
a decorative pattern.
Greek key: A design motif attributed to the
ancient Greeks symbolizing the bonds of love, friendship and devotion. Greek
key designs are repeating patterns of interlocking geometric shapes.
Green gold: An
alloy made of gold mixed with
copper,
silver, zinc and often
cadmium. The
copper is what gives it the greenish
tinge. It is commonly used with enameling
to strengthen the color of the gold when set beside the
bright enamels.
Greenstone: See
Nephrite.
Grooved: The channel routed in a line.
Grossular: Resembling a gooseberry, as with
a grossular garnet, also called
Grossularite.
Grossularite: A
translucent garnet
of a pale green color like that of the gooseberry, occurring alone or as a
constituent of the common garnet. It may also be pink,
brown, or black.
Guilloché: A style of
enameling in which a continuous decoration
is engraved by an engine-turned lathe and then covered with
translucent
enamel so that the engraving can be seen
through the enamel.
Gypsum: A soft, white
mineral composed of
hydrous
sulfate of lime. It is used as plaster
of Paris.
Gypsy setting: A setting in which the surface of
the mount is virtually flush with the top
of the gemstone.
Copyright 2007
