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OLD EUROPEAN CUT: Style of cutting popular in the 19th century, direct predecessor to the modern Round Brilliant. Old European cuts have a smaller table than the Round Brilliant and heavier crown; overall depth is somewhat greater. Also called “old mine.”
OLD MINE CUT: In general, a diamond cut into an early style of round cut, prior to the Modern Round Brilliant cut method of mathematical calculation, is referred to as an “old mine cut”. Apparently it was mistakenly believed that diamonds were once cut at the mines before wholesaling.
PAVE SETTING: A style of setting in which the stones are set as close together as possible, presenting a cobblestone effect.
PENNYWEIGHT (DWT): A unit in troy weight equal to twenty-four grains or one-twentieth of an ounce.
PLATING: The covering of base metal articles with a layer of gold or silver, which may be of various thicknesses and grades. Presence of plating may be discovered by filing and using nitric acid or subjecting the item to specific gravity testing.
PRECIOUS METAL: The three primary precious metals are gold, silver and platinum. All others (except derivatives of these three) are known technically as “base metal”. Of course, the preciousness of precious metals varies, as does the baseness of base metals.
PURITY: The proportion of precious metal vs. base metal in an object. A purity of .900 would mean a content of 90% precious metal and 10% base metal alloy or a ratio of 9 to 1.
ROSE CUT: Method of faceting stones with many small and usually not precision cuts.
SINGLE CUT: Simple style of cut employed on small stones, usually those intended to be used in mounting in conjunction with a large central stone. Single cuts are circular at the girdle.