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 D
1–7 of 7
Dholak Bead
A drum-shaped bead, wider at the middle and tapering to both drilled ends. Named after the dholak drum.
Diamond
Crystallised carbon, the hardest natural material. Heera in Hindi, and graded on the four Cs.
Digital Gold
Buying gold by value rather than by piece, held in a vault on your behalf and redeemable in coins or jewellery.
Dori
A silk or cotton cord closing the back of a necklace, tied rather than clasped, so the length adjusts to the wearer.
Dosham-Free Pearl
A pearl free of the specific flaws that Vedic astrology considers inauspicious: cracks, pits, spots and irregular colour.
102 in stock · from ₹7,245
Drop
Tapered at one end and rounded at the other, like a teardrop. Highly valued when the taper is symmetrical.
10 in stock · from ₹2,500
Dyed Pearl
A real pearl whose colour has been added after harvest. Standard practice, and entirely fine when it is disclosed.
95 in stock · from ₹400