Remount: The act of removing gems from one jewelry item and setting them into a new jewelry item. The term remount is sometimes used interchangeably with ”semi-mount,“ when referring to jewelry designed for this purpose.
Ring: A piece of jewelry worn on the finger. Very small rings may be worn on the toes.
Ring Guard: A ring designed with two shanks assembled so that a solitaire ring may be inserted into it.
Riviera: A necklace style comprised of flexible gemstone links which are typically tapered in size.
Rolling Ring: A ring usually consisting of three or more bands. As the ring is slid on and off the finger, the bands roll over one another.
Roundel/Rondelle: A doughnut-shaped or flattened, disk-shaped bead that is used as a spacer or an accent between other beads.
Rub Over: See Flush Set.
Safety Clasp: A secondary closure added to some bracelets and necklaces for extra security.
Scalloped-Set: A technique for setting gemstones in which the prongs are created from the shank. Fishtail is one example of a scalloped setting.
Scintillation: The intense sparkles and flashes of light visible when either the person viewing the diamond or the lighting moves.
Scooped Band: A band with a concave groove on the inside of the band, designed to lessen the weight of the piece, therefore lowering the price.
Secondary Metal: When describing a two-tone item, the metal alloy that makes up the minority of the weight of the jewelry item. See Primary Metal.
Selling System: A pre-merchandised collection of items marketed in a packaged format, designed as a turn-key sales solution.
Semi-Precious Gemstone: A gemstone that is not a diamond, emerald, sapphire, or ruby – historically thought to be less valuable than a precious gemstone, i.e., amethyst, peridot, aquamarine, etc.
Semi-Mount Ring with Head: Any engagement ring set and sold to the jeweler with side stones or melee, but without the center stone. The fixed head for the center stone is in place.
Semi-Mount Ring without Head: Any engagement ring set and sold to the jeweler with side stones or melee but without the center stone. The head for the center stone is NOT in place. May also be referred to as a set shank since it is not a completely assembled ring. Setting The act of securing a gemstone. The term setting is sometimes used interchangeably with head and/or mounting.
Shadow Band: A wedding band designed and contoured to be worn with a specific engagement ring. The design is such that it would not usually be worn on its own.
Shank: A ring designed for, but stocked without a center head and that is not complete without such head. The part of a ring that encircles the finger.
Shepherds Hook: See French Hook.
Shoulders: The upper part of a ring shank.
Side Stones: Gemstones that complement and place emphasis on the center gemstone. Side gemstones are typically larger than accent gemstones.
Side View: A way to describe looking at a ring from the side.
Silver: A precious metal that is commonly alloyed to create the more durable alloy known as sterling silver.
Signet Ring: A ring with letters (usually one’s initials), or a design carved into it. A college ring is an example of a signet ring.
Sizing Area: The area at the bottom of a ring shank where metal can be inserted or removed to reduce or increase the finger size of the ring.
Slide Pendant: A bail-less pendant that incorporate holes into the design to allow passage of a chain or cord.
Solitaire: A piece of jewelry containing or designed to hold a single diamond.
Stainless Steel: A contemporary metal (a form of steel containing chromium and/or nickel) resistant to tarnishing and rust.
Station Necklace: A necklace with repeating elements.
Sterling Silver: A precious metal alloy of 92.5% silver and copper, or another material.
Strip Setting: A metal strip jewelry finding that is usually comprised of repeating patterns in which gemstones can be set.
Stud Earring: Jewelry attached to the ear with an earring post through a piercing and secured with an earring back.
Synclastic: A surface or a portion of a surface that is curved towards the same side in all directions.
Table: Referring to the top, flat part of the cut of a gemstone.
Tennis Bracelet: See Line Bracelet.
Tension-Set: A setting that holds the gemstone in place entirely with compression/ tension and not prongs.
Three-Stone Ring: A ring consisting mainly of three larger stones.
Through Finger View: A way to describe looking at a ring through the finger hole.
Tie Tack/Tie Clip: A piece of jewelry used to hold a necktie in place.
Titanium: A strong, low-density, highly corrosion-resistant and lustrous white element that occurs widely in igneous rocks and is mainly used to alloy aircraft metals. It is also a popular choice for piercing jewelry.
Trellis Setting: A structure of open latticework especially used as a gallery support for gemstones.
Trim: A decorative finding that can be added to another jewelry component to create a finished jewelry item.
Troy Ounce: A unit of troy weight, used for weighing precious metals. The ounce contains 20 pennyweights (dwt) each of 24 grains. One troy ounce is equivalent to 31.10 grams.
Tungsten: A contemporary metal containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms.
Two-Tone: A jewelry item comprised of two different metals or alloys of different color.
Unset Semi-Mount: A ring mounting designed to hold side stones or melee, but in which no stones have been set and the head for the center stone is NOT in place. May also be referred to as a shank.
Vermeil: Gold-plated or gilded silver. The FTC allows a product to be described as "vermeil" if it consists of a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold or gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness, that is of substantial thickness and a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to 21⁄2 microns of fine gold.
Wedding Band: See Band.
White Gold: A white-colored alloy of gold with nickel, platinum, or another metal.
Work-Hardened: The change in hardness of metal due to repeated cold flexing or stress. The annealing process can be used to relieve the stress.