Pure Pearls Glossary

Know exactly what you are buying

300 pearl and jewellery terms, each one linked to a piece you can hold.

Where would you like to begin?

Freshwater, saltwater, South Sea, keshi, and how to tell a real pearl from a coated bead.

Round, baroque, drop, coin and the rest, and what each one is worth paying for.

What AAA actually means, plus lustre, nacre, orient and the claims to be sceptical of.

Millimetres, choker to rope, bangle sizing, and which length suits which neckline.

Jhumka, mangalsutra, kundan, polki, temple work and the rest of the Indian vocabulary.

Karat versus carat, 22K and 18K, 916, plating, vermeil and what a BIS hallmark proves.

Ruby, emerald, sapphire and zircon, their Indian names, and the cuts from princess to cabochon.

925 silver, platinum, brass and the alloys and finishes a piece is actually built from.

Clasps, knotting, drilling and settings, the parts that decide whether a piece survives.

Storing pearls, the tooth test, restringing, and the astrological terms buyers ask about.

Making charges, wastage, gold rate, GST, buyback and what a piece is actually worth.

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58.5% gold. Hard, durable and common in export and Western jewellery, less so in India.

75% gold. Harder and more durable than 22K, which is why stone-set and Western-style jewellery uses it.

91.6% gold. The Indian standard for traditional jewellery, and what a 916 hallmark means.

Pure gold, 99.9% fine. Too soft for jewellery that gets worn, so it is bought as coins and bars.

The hallmark number for 18 karat gold, meaning 75% pure.

The hallmark number for 22 karat gold, meaning 91.6% pure. The same thing as 22K.

An alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The international standard for silver jewellery.

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