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?
Types of Pearl
Freshwater, saltwater, South Sea, keshi, and how to tell a real pearl from a coated bead.
Shapes
Round, baroque, drop, coin and the rest, and what each one is worth paying for.
Quality & Grading
What AAA actually means, plus lustre, nacre, orient and the claims to be sceptical of.
Size & Length
Millimetres, choker to rope, bangle sizing, and which length suits which neckline.
Jewellery Styles
Jhumka, mangalsutra, kundan, polki, temple work and the rest of the Indian vocabulary.
Gold & Hallmarking
Karat versus carat, 22K and 18K, 916, plating, vermeil and what a BIS hallmark proves.
Gemstones & Cuts
Ruby, emerald, sapphire and zircon, their Indian names, and the cuts from princess to cabochon.
Metals & Plating
925 silver, platinum, brass and the alloys and finishes a piece is actually built from.
Clasps & Construction
Clasps, knotting, drilling and settings, the parts that decide whether a piece survives.
Care & Authenticity
Storing pearls, the tooth test, restringing, and the astrological terms buyers ask about.
Buying & Value
Making charges, wastage, gold rate, GST, buyback and what a piece is actually worth.
Terms starting with B
1–24 of 27
Baguette Cut
A small rectangular step cut, used almost entirely as a side stone flanking a larger centre.
Bail
The loop connecting a pendant to its chain. Its inner width caps what chain the pendant will fit.
Bajuband
An armlet worn on the upper arm, tied or clasped. Called vanki in South India.
Bali
A hoop earring. In Indian jewellery, often strung with pearls or beads around the ring.
Bangle
A rigid closed circle worn on the wrist, sized by internal diameter rather than length.
16 in stock · from ₹1,200
Bangle Size
The Indian bangle sizing system, from about 2x4 (small) to 2x10 (large), measured as internal diameter.
13 in stock · from ₹1,200
Baroque
Any pearl with no axis of symmetry. Once treated as a reject, now the shape most associated with contemporary pearl design.
40 in stock · from ₹1,500
Basra Pearl
Natural pearls historically fished from the Persian Gulf. The name is now used far more often than the pearls exist.
Bead Cap
A small cupped metal piece that sits over the end of a bead or pearl, hiding the drill hole and adding detail.
Bead Nucleated
Grown around a round shell bead, so the pearl is a nacre shell over a core. The saltwater method, and how roundness is achieved.
Bezel Setting
A metal rim wrapped around the edge of a stone or pearl to hold it. The most protective setting there is.
Bidri
A Deccan craft from Bidar: silver inlaid into a blackened zinc alloy, giving bright metal against matt black.
Biwa Pearl
A long, flat, stick-shaped freshwater pearl, originally from Lake Biwa in Japan. Now a shape name more than an origin.
23 in stock · from ₹3,500
Bleaching
A standard post-harvest treatment that evens out a pearl's colour and lightens it. Near universal in Akoya.
Blister Pearl
A pearl that grew attached to the shell wall, so it is domed on one side and open on the other.
Blue Sapphire
Blue corundum. Neelam in Hindi, the stone of Saturn, and the most cautiously prescribed gem in Vedic astrology.
Body Colour
A pearl's dominant underlying colour, before any overtone is considered.
Bombay Screw
An earring fitting where the post itself is threaded, and a small screw back winds directly onto it.
Borla
The round, bell-shaped Rajasthani head ornament worn at the centre of the forehead, in place of a flat tikka.
Box Clasp
A folded metal tongue that clicks into a box. The traditional fine-jewellery clasp, usually with a safety catch.
Bracelet Length
Usually 7 to 8 inches. Should be about half an inch longer than the wrist so the piece moves rather than grips.
72 in stock · from ₹1,200
Brass
A copper and zinc alloy with a warm gold tone. Strong and inexpensive, but it tarnishes and can react with skin.
Bridal Set
A matched group of pieces worn together for a wedding: typically a necklace, earrings, and often a maang tikka.
Briolette
A faceted teardrop, cut all the way round with no flat face, drilled at the top so it hangs and turns.