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.

Or jump to a letter

1–6 of 6

An ornament that grips the outer edge of the ear rather than passing through a piercing.

The hook that passes through the piercing on a hanging earring.

A large bead-nucleated freshwater pearl grown in China, reaching South Sea sizes at freshwater prices.

The green variety of beryl. Panna in Hindi, the stone of Mercury, and almost always full of internal inclusions.

34 in stock · from ₹1,600

A rectangular step cut with cut corners and long parallel facets. Named for the cut used on emeralds.

Pearls outside the white and cream range: pink, peach, lavender, grey, golden, blue, green and multi-shaded strands.

70 in stock · from ₹3,300

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