Jewelry Terms - Asset Brokers & Loans

GOLD FILLED: Gold filled articles are similar to plated: they have an exterior of gold and a core of base metal, usually copper. The difference is in the method of application. Plated objects are shaped and then bullion-coated by electroplating in which the soft gold takes the object’s form. Gold filled merchandise is made from sheets of metal to which the outer covering of gold has been applied before the object is shaped.

GOLD PLATED: Electroplated a few thousandths of an inch thick with pure or alloyed gold.

GOLD: Pure 24K gold is yellow in color. It is very soft and not acceptable for use in articles to wear, unless alloyed with harder metal. The choice of alloy metals determines the color of the gold.

GUNMETAL: An alloy of 90% copper and 10% tin that was very popular in the 1890’s.

HALLMARK: A group of markings used on silver and gold in England since 1300 to designate the fineness of the metal, the town in which it was assayed and the name of the maker.

IMPERFECTION: A flaw or blemish, caused by nature or man, which may be on the outer surface or the stone’s interior. Poor color or unskilled cut are not classified as imperfections, though they do, play a role in value determination.

KARAT: The method by which fineness of gold is expressed. Pure unalloyed gold is 24 karat. As alloy metal is added (usually copper, for strength or to reduce the price) the karat value declines: 22K, 20K, 18K and so on. The lowest grade of gold to carry a karat marking is 10K or in Great Britain, 9K. Most gold coins or 20K or 21K. Jewelry is commonly made of 9K to 18K. The word “”karat” derives from the carob bean, used as a measure of weight in the ancient world. When spelled “carat” refers to the weight of a precious gem and has nothing to do with the fineness of a metal in the United States.

MARQUISE CUT: A cut for diamonds in which the stone is brilliantly faceted and then shaped like an elongated almond or tear-drop with pointed ends.

MELT VALUE: The bullion value of any object containing precious metal.

MOSAIC: A piece of jewelry in which the pattern is formed by the inlaying of various colored stones or glass. Two types of mosaic work are Roman and Florentine.

NICKEL SILVER: An alloy of nickel, copper and zinc; usually 65% copper, 5-25% nickel and 10-30% zinc, containing no silver.