20 Terms
Contributors in General jewelry
General jewelry
Birthstone
Fashion; General jewelry
The association of gemstones with astrology goes back centuries. More recently, jewellers have adapted this tradition to create the current list of official birthstones.
Calibrated
Fashion; General jewelry
Many gemstones are sold in calibrated or standard sizes that will fit commercial jewellery settings. Standard sizes are calibrated in millimetres for a number of different gem shapes.
Beryllium treatment
Fashion; General jewelry
A form of heat treatment for sapphire that adds the element beryllium to the heating process. Beryllium is an element well known in the gem world, since it is an essential constituent in many ...
Bi-color
Fashion; General jewelry
A gemstone exhibiting two colour zones, such as ametrine or many tourmalines.
Birefringence
Fashion; General jewelry
Some gemstones are singly refractive: they have only one refractive index. Other gemstones (in fact, most) are doubly refractive: they have two different refractive indices. When a beam of light ...
