Palette: A palette is a board which artists
apply paint to when they are preparing to make a painting. In regards to any
medium outside of painting, the palette simply refers to the group of colors
chosen by a particular factory or decorator.
Palladium: A charcoal gray form of
platinum found in Russia, South Africa and North
America. Palladium has many of the same properties as
platinum such as its resistance to corrosion and versatile applications in
jewelry designs. Pieces made with
Palladium bear the hallmarks of Pd950 or
Pd500.
Palmette: A stylized palm leaf which is a
common motif in Greek and Persian art.
Panther link: A flat
chain in which each
link resembles three bricks stacked on top
of each other with the center brick offset one half-step to the side. The
offset brick is then connected to the space left by the offset brick of the
next link in the
chain by means of a pin. These bricks are
commonly rectangular, but may also be shaped like the diamond in a deck of
cards.
Parure: Term for a set of
jewelry popular through the 19th century
which consisted of several pieces of matching
jewelry. In times, a complete
parure consisted of two matching bracelets,
necklace,
earrings and a
brooch. See also
demi-parure.
Paste: In the context of
jewelry, "paste" is a glass-based
substance used to simulate gemstones. It
has become a slang term for all fake
gemstones.
Pastille burners: A form of incense burners
popular from 1820-1850 in the form of cottages, churches, or summer houses,
with detachable lids.
Patina: The change in an object's surface
resulting from natural aging due to wear and
oxidation.
Antique
jewelry is expected to have this patina and the value of the piece may
decrease if it is cleaned off.
Pave': (pah-VAY) A kind of setting in which small
gemstones are set very close together
resembling the paving done with bricks.
Pavilion: The pointed section of a
cut
gemstone just below the girdle ending
in the culet.
Pavilion Height: The distance from the
girdle to the
culet of a cut
gemstone.
Pear Cut: A fancy
shape of gem
cutting which somewhat resembles a teardrop;
rounded on one end and pointed on the other. See
Fancy Cut.
Pearl: An organic
gem grown within oysters and other
mollusks when they produce
nacre as a reaction to an irritant. A good
sized pearl can take between five to eight years to form, which is usually the
entire life of the oyster or mollusk.
Pearls are most valuable when they are perfectly round. Fine natural pearls
are much more expensive and rare to find than
cultured pearls. Never dip
jewelry with pearls into a
jewelry cleaning solution unless it
specifically says that it is safe for pearls. If the solution is not intended
for pearls, it will dull the luster on the
pearl and cause them to look cloudy. Pearl is the
birthstone for June. See also
awabi pearl,
cultured pearl,
oriental pearl,
freshwater pearl,
blister pearl,
mabe', nacre,
and baroque.
Pearlescent: A term used to describe a
surface with lustrous cloudy rainbow-like colors like one might see in an oil
slick or mother of pearl. Synonymous with
Iridescent.
Penannular brooch: "Penannular" means
"almost circular". A penannular brooch is
a circle of metal with a small gap in it. A
pin attached to a tube can slide along the circle of
metal. The pin is threaded through material
and the gap in the circle. The circle is then twisted so that the pin rests on
the circle, thus securing the material. It is most commonly used as a cloak
clasp.
Pendant: An ornament or
charm that hangs from a cord or
chain worn around the neck.
Pennyweight: see
dwt.
Peridot: Another name for chrysolite and
olivine. Peridot is the birthstone for
August. See Peridot Rings and Peridot earrings.
Perfumed Beads:
Beads that release a scent when warmed by the body.
Periclase: See
Magnesia.
Petit Point: A stone shaped to a fine point
which is usually somewhat larger than needle point and is characterized by
being round, oval, or having one rounded end.
Pewter: An alloy
of 90% tin mixed with
lead, antimony, and a bit of
silver or
copper.
Phenacite: A glassy, colorless
mineral occuring in
rhombohedral crystals composed of
beryllium silicate. From the Greek for
imposter, deceiver, phenacite is a silicate
of glucina, and receives its name from
its deceptive similarity to quartz. It is
sometimes used as a gemstone.
Phosphate: A
salt composed of the most highly oxidized
acid of phosphorus, and forms an important and
extensive series of compounds.
Phosphorus: A highly reactive, poisonous,
nonmetallic
element occurring naturally in
phosphates, especially apatite, which is
found as a white, or yellowish,
translucent waxy substance, having a characteristic disagreeable smell and
a faint glow.
Picture Jasper: An
opaque tan colored variety of
jasper with medium and dark brown patches
that make the "pictures."
Pierced: A hole punched completely through an
object.
Pierced earrings: Earrings that
are attached to an ear by means of a wire or post that is inserted through a
hole pierced in the ear.
Pierced-Work: See Open Work.
Pietra Dura: An
inlaying technique usually associated with workshops in Florence, Italy,
used to describe sculptural or decorative use of
hard stones to decorate furniture, cameos,
vases, and panels with various stones such as
malachite,
lapis lazuli, and
jasper.
Pigeon's-Blood: A deep red-violet shade of
ruby which is the most desirable color of
ruby.
Pins: Jewelry
attached to clothing by means of a small metal
rod with a sharp point.
Pinchbeck: A type of imitation
gold composed of an
alloy of
copper and zinc invented by Christopher
Pinchbeck in the 18th century.
Piqué: (pee-kay). A decorative style popular in
the 18th and 19th centuries of inlaying
tortoise shell with a pattern of gold and
silver. Tortoise shell melts like plastic
when exposed to heat. Piqué is produced by pressing a heated rod of
precious metal into
the shell, melting it slightly. When the shell cools it hardens around the
precious metal.
Plain: An object with one plain uniform color
and no decorations of any kind.
Plagioclase: Another name for
Oligoclase.
Platinum: One of the three "precious
metals" along with gold and
silver, platinum is the rarest of them
all. It is harder than the other precious metals and
has a higher melting point, making it difficult to
alloy and work with. Platinum is
silvery-white in color, almost never causes allergic reactions and is
resistant to tarnish. The standard of
platinum in the US and most western countries is 95% pure and is usually
marked PLAT. That name comes from "platina", a Spanish word meaning "little
silver", which is what the Spaniards called it when they first encountered it
in South America in the 18th century. See also
Iridium, Palladium,
and Rhodium.
Plique-A-Jour: A form of
enameling popular in
Art Nouveau
jewelry similar to
cloisonné, but where the
transparent
enamels are held in place by wires on the
edges rather than on a metal plate.
Poesy: A ring
or other piece of jewelry with a short
love poem inscribed on it. Popular in the medieval period.
Point: The smallest unit of weight used for
gemstones, equal to 1/100th of a carat.
Another term for a 1/4 carat diamond is a
25 point diamond.
Poison Ring: A small hinged box secured to a
ring which is made to resemble a normal
setting, but can be opened to reveal a small space which could conceivably be
used to hold poison. See also Prayer ring.
Poison Pendant: A small box worn as a
pendant that could conceivably be used to hold poison.
See also Prayer pendant.
Polish: The process of rubbing an object to
make it smooth and shiny and reduce the appearance of flaws.
Polychrome: Literally meaning "many
colored", in the context of jewelry it simply refers to a decoration that uses
three or more colors.
Polypropylene: A hard, tough polymer of
propylene used as a thermoplastic molding material.
Polyurethane: A polymer containing
urethane used as plastic, adhesive, paint, rubber, or to form a tough,
resistant coating.
Poppy Jasper: An
opaque variety of jasper with colors
such as brick red, white, brown, and blacks.
Porosity: Areas of the mold that absorbed
some of the casting material leaving the cast object with a rough, granular
surface.
Post: The pin that sticks out the back of a
stud
earring. The post goes through the pierced ear and is secured in place
with a catch that slides onto it behind the
earlobe.
Posy: An alternate spelling of
poesy
Pot Metal: Any
alloys which do not have gold,
silver, or platinum
as a component. Also called White Metal
Potash: Any compound containing
potassium.
Potassium: A common soft, silver-white,
alkali metal
element that is only found in nature as a
compound with other elements. It is
obtained by electrolysis of its common hydroxide,
oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts
violently with water, and is used in glass making, soap making, in
fertilizers, and in many drugs and chemicals.
Prase: A
translucent leek-green variety of
chalcedony varying in color from light green or light grayish-green.
Prayer Ring: A small hinged box secured to a
ring which is made to resemble a normal
setting, but can be opened to reveal a small space which could be used to hold
a small piece of paper with a prayer written on it. See also
Poison ring.
Prayer Pendant: A small box worn as a pendant
that could be used to hold a small piece of paper with a prayer written on it.
See also Poison pendant.
Precious Gemstone:
Gemstones that are highly valuable for
their hardness and rarity. There are only four precious
gemstones:
diamonds,
sapphires,
emeralds and
rubies.
Precious metal: Metals valued for their color, malleability, and
rarity. There are only three precious metals:
gold, silver and
platinum.
Precious stone: See Precious Gemstone.
Princess cut: A relatively new
fancy cut for
gemstones based on the multi-faceted
square cut. It is square when viewed from
the top
Prong setting: A
gemstone held in place by small
finger-like wires attached to the bezel and bend over the edges of the stone.
Prystal: Trade name for a glass substitute
invented in Italy made of plastic.
Punches: Pointed tools used for stamping a
design on a surface.
Pyralin: See
French Ivory.
Pyrite: A common
mineral composed of
iron disulphide with a pale brass-yellow
color used as an iron
ore and in the production of
sulfur
dioxide for sulfuric acid. Also called Fool's gold and Iron pyrite.
Pyrolusite: The most common
ore of
manganese composed of manganese
dioxide. It is a soft, iron-black to
dark-steel-gray colored mineral and is
used extensively in creating brown and green tints of glass.
Pyrope Garnet: A poppy or blood-red colored
garnet composed of
alumina
magnesia. It is used as a gem.
Sometimes called an "American Ruby", "Australian Ruby", "Arizona Ruby", or
"Bohemian garnet". See also Rhodolite.
Pyroxene: Any of a group of
crystalline
minerals common in
igneous rocks containing two
metallic
oxides . Pyroxene is a silicate of
lime and
magnesia with sometimes alumina and
iron. Though it was named after the Greek
words for "fire" and "stranger" because it was supposed to be a rare occurence
in igneous rocks, it is actually quite
common. It varies in color from white to dark green and black.
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