9 Terms
Contributors in Gemstones
Gemstones
Cleavage
Fashion; General jewelry
The plane of weakness of some gems where they will split apart with smooth surfaces. Gems with perfect cleavage are likely to break when being cut or faceted.
Colour
Fashion; General jewelry
Used in the evaluation of a gem. The quality of a gem can based on either the presence or the absence of color.
Marquise
Fashion; General jewelry
He marquise shape is an elongated oval with points on both ends. Said to be named after the Marquise de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV.
Metallic (luster)
Fashion; General jewelry
Ne of the technical terms used to refer to the lustre of a gemstone. A gemstone that is reflective like polished metal is said to have a metallic luster. Hematite is one of the rare examples.
Mohs hardness scale
Fashion; General jewelry
Umerical scale ranging from 1 to 10 developed by Friedrich Mohs that assigns a rating to a gem according to its ability to resist scratching. The hardest is 10 (diamond) and the softest is 1 (talc).
Padparadscha
Fashion; General jewelry
Derived from the Sinhalese term for "lotus flower," padparadscha refers to a lush pink and orange sapphire resembling the colour of the lotus. Padparadscha is also sometimes used to refer to other ...
