Radiant cut: A rectangular
gemstone with a total of 70
facets combining the shape of an
emerald cut and the sparkle of a
Brilliant cut.
Ratchet bezel: A
bezel that can turn clockwise or
counterclockwise and clicks with a ratchet action as it rotates.
Red Gold: See Rose Gold.
Red Jasper: An opaque, rust-red
color of jasper.
Refraction: The action of changing the
direction of a light wave, so the light enters the object in one direction,
and leaves it in another.
Refractory: A material with a high melting
point, which makes it useful as a barrier between the heat source and a
material that you don't want to melt, like the sides of an oven, etc..
Regard: A kind of
Acrostic
jewelry, meaning
jewelry where the first letter of each
type of stone spells out a word. In this case, a ring or
brooch set with a Ruby,
Emerald,
Garnet, Amethyst,
Ruby, and a Diamond so that the first
letter of each gemstone spelled out
"Regard".
Relief: A kind of decoration that protrudes
from the surface, like a cameo.
Renaissance: The period in western Europe
from the mid fifteenth century to the industrial age. The word means "rebirth"
and was characterized by a radical development in the arts, medicine, politics
and sciences.
Repoussé: A method of embossing a
metal sheet by punching and hammering a
design from the back, then polishing it up in front with a chasing hammer,
producing a three-dimensional bas-relief surface.
Reverse Crystal Jewelry: (also called Essex
crystal) A clear crystal is cut as a
cabochon. A carving is made on the flat
side, like an intaglio, and painted with
a thin layer of mother of pearl to produce
a three-dimensional effect.
Rhinestone: A
faceted stone made of glass.
Rhodium: A
metal that is part of the platinum
family but is liquid in its raw natural state not not solid like
platinum. Rhodium can be applied to
base metals,
gold, sterling silver, or some other
alloy, to give it a shiny white surface
like platinum. This process was popular
in the 30's and 40's, is very durable, and very expensive.
Rhodochrosite: A medium to light pink
opaque stone with cream or creamy-pink
banding resembling a pink version of
malachite.
Rhodolite: A rose-red to pale violet variety
of pyrope garnet.
Rhodonite: a glassy,
opaque, pink to rose-red
mineral, often with black
inclusions, composed of crystalline
manganese
silicate. Named after the Greek word "rhodon"
meaning "rose". It is found in the former Soviet Union, the U.S., India, and
Australia and is usually used as an ornamental stone.
Rhombohedral: Resembling a prism with six
four-sided facets.
Ribbed: An undulating ridged texture, like a
person's rib cage showing through the skin.
Ring: A piece of
jewelry worn on a finger. See Band,
Betrothal Ring,
Bridal Set,
Charm Ring, Cigar Band,
Claddagh Ring,
Class Ring,
Cluster Ring,
Cocktail Ring,
Comfort Fit,
Compass Ring,
Dinner Ring,
Engagement Ring,
Eternity Ring,
Faith Ring,
Fede Ring, Poesy,
Poison Ring,
Prayer Ring, Ring Guard,
Ring Size, Shank,
Shoulder,
Signet,
Stack Rings, Three Stone Diamond Ring.
Ring brooch: A type of brooch
similar to a penannular brooch,
but with a complete ring to which is usually hinged a horizontal
pin slightly longer than the diameter of the
brooch. The point of the
pin rests on the ring opposite the hinge, and
the brooch is worn by pulling the fabric
up inside the ring, passing the pin through
it twice and then pulling the fabric tight so that it holds the
pin in place.
Ring guard: A ring worn above another
ring to keep it from slipping off the finger.
Ring Size: A measurement of how large the ring
needs to be to fit on a person's finger. The average ring
size for women is 6. The average ring size for men is 10.
Riveting: A method of joining two flat
objects together by making a hole in each piece, then passing a pin with a
large flat head, (composed of the same metal
as the piece), through the holes. The pin is then pounded flat to secure it in
place. This process was used in jewelry
instead of soldering when it was not
advisable to use heat or when one part was intended to swivel.
Rivière: A
necklace composed of a single strand of
gemstones of the same size and cut,
usually Diamonds.
Rock Crystal: see
Quartz.
Rolo link chain: A
chain composed of individually linked round or oval rings resembling a
standard cable chain, but with thicker
rings.
Rondella: A round
metal disk, sometimes studded with stones,
that is strung on a necklace as a spacer
between beads.
Rope chain: A series of small oval-shaped links
that are arranged in such a way that they make a spiral design resembling
woven rope.
Rose Cut: A style of
diamond
cutting that produces a gem with a
flat base and triangular facets that rise
to form a dome. This style of cut has been in
use since the 16th century.
Rose finish: Jewelry finished
so that it has the look of Rose Gold, but no actual
gold content.
Rose gold: An alloy of
gold mixed with
copper, which gives it a red tint.
Rose Quartz: A translucent
milky pink variety of Quartz.
Rotating bezel: A
bezel that can be turned to perform
different timekeeping and mathematical functions.
Rotational Axis: See
Axis of Symmetry.
Round Brilliant Cut: See
Brilliant cut.
Rubellite: Red
Tourmaline.
Ruby: One of the four precious
gemstones along with
Diamonds,
Emeralds and
Sapphires. Ruby is a member of the
corundum family whose color comes from
chromium
oxide in the stone. Although corundum
can come in many colors, rubies are, by definition, red. Rubies have been
synthesized since at least 1890 and can only be distinguished from natural
rubies by trained gemologists. Rubies are extremely hard, a 9 on the
Mohs scale, second only to
diamonds. Fine rubies of good color can
be more valuable than diamonds, For
centuries, rubies have symbolized beauty, charity, love, passion, power, and
royalty. In some countries, engagement rings are set with
rubies instead of diamonds. The ruby is
the birthstone for July.
Rutilated quartz:
Quartz crystals with
inclusions made up of rutile crystals,
(which resemble fine reddish-brown, red, and sometimes yellowish hairs),
imbedded in the quartz.
Copyright 2007
