LMW: Stands for "Limited Manufacturer's
Warranty".
Lab-created: See
Synthetic.
Labradorite: A grayish almost
opaque form of
feldspar with flashes of blue, green,
and/or yellow visible at certain angles.
Laminated: An object coated with a thin
layer of plastic is said to be laminated.
Lanyard: A cord worn around the neck for
carrying something, such as a knife or whistle
Lapidary: The art of cutting, shaping,
polishing and creating jewelry from
stones.
Lapis: Shortened form of Lapis Lazuli.
Lapis Lazuli: A royal blue opaque
semiprecious stone with white veins
or patches of calcite and a few
gold-looking metallic flecks of
pyrite. Lapis can be dyed to enhance the
color.
Lariat: A cord worn as a
necklace with the ends of the cord
dangling like a necktie. It can be tied into a knot or secured by a sliding
brooch. See Bolo.
Laser drilling: A way of enhancing a
gem by drilling a tiny hole with a laser
to remove an impurity.
Lavalier: (Negligee Pendant): A
necklace with two
pendants of unequal length suspended from
it.
Layered: One sheet of material on top of
another with indistinct boundaries between them.
Lead: A soft, dense,
metallic
element. Lead is bluish in color, but
tarnishes readily to a dull gray. It is
both malleable and ductile and easily fuses with other
metals to form
alloys. Lead is used in containers, sheets,
tubes, pipes, solder, type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints, and
antiknock compounds.
Lead crystal: See Crystal.
Length: The linear measurement of a
bracelet or
necklace.
Lever back: A means of attaching an
earring to a
pierced ear with a hook that goes through
the ear and is then secured by a hinged lever attached to the back of the
piece.
Light Transparent: Plastic that appears to only
be translucent, but is actually
transparent when held up to the
light.
Lime: The gray or white
mineral form of
calcium
oxide, used as a cementing compound.
Limestone: A common
sedimentary rock consisting mostly of
calcium
carbonate that was deposited by the
remains of marine animals. It is used as a building stone and in the
manufacture of lime,
carbon dioxide, and cement.
Crystalline limestone is called marble.
Linde Star Sapphire: A
synthetic
star sapphire developed in 1967. Many star
sapphires found today are these
synthetics.
Link: A loop, or other object, which is linked
together in a series to make a chain.
Liquid silver: The term given to strands of
small silver
beads which were made by carefully slicing tubes of
sterling
silver into 1/8" pieces and stringing them together. A form of
Heishi.
Living Jewelry: Term for
jewelry made from materials that were
once part of a living creature, such as Ivory,
Pearls,
Mother of Pearl, Seashell, and
Coral.
Lobster claw clasp: A means of connecting the
ends of a necklace together. One end has
a wide flat hook, resembling the claw of a lobster, with a hinged "thumb" on a
spring. The other end has a ring which the claw hooks onto. It is then secured
by closing the thumb of the claw.
Locket: A hinged case, usually in the shape of
an oval or heart, which can be opened or closed and usually contains a
photograph or memento.
Lost Wax Casting: An object is made of wax and
coated in clay. When the clay is fired, the wax melts and is drained away or
evaporates leaving an exact impression of the object in the hardened clay,
which is then filled with molten metal.
Lucite: A clear, strong plastic that can be
molded and carved, popular in the 1940's for ladies purses and
jewelry.
Luster: A reference to the brightness of an
object that shines with reflected light rather than producing its own.
Lustrous: A reference to the brightness of an object that shines
with reflected light rather than producing its own.
Copyright 2007
