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.
Metals & Plating
1–11 of 11
925 Sterling Silver
An alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The international standard for silver jewellery.
33 in stock · from ₹1,800
Annealing
Heating metal to soften it after working, so it can be bent further without cracking.
Bidri
A Deccan craft from Bidar: silver inlaid into a blackened zinc alloy, giving bright metal against matt black.
Brass
A copper and zinc alloy with a warm gold tone. Strong and inexpensive, but it tarnishes and can react with skin.
Hypoallergenic
Metal unlikely to cause a skin reaction. In practice it means nickel-free, since nickel causes most jewellery allergies.
Korean Metal
A light, corrosion-resistant alloy widely used for fashion jewellery findings. Holds plating well and does not rust.
Oxidised Silver
Silver deliberately darkened to bring out detail. In Indian markets the term is also used loosely for base-metal tribal jewellery.
Panchdhatu
An alloy of five metals, traditionally gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron, used for astrological rings.
Platinum
A naturally white precious metal, denser and rarer than gold. Never needs plating, and does not fade.
Rhodium Plating
A thin layer of rhodium over silver or white gold, giving a bright white finish that resists tarnish.
Xuping
A Chinese fashion-jewellery brand whose name is now used generically in India for gold-plated copper-alloy imitation pieces.