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 O
1–10 of 10
Oddiyanam
The South Indian waist belt, rigid and heavily worked, worn over a saree at the hips.
Off-Round
A catch-all for pearls that aim at round and miss. Covers semi-round through roundish.
Onyx
A black chalcedony, usually dyed to an even colour. Common as a contrast bead beside white pearls.
27 in stock · from ₹2,250
Opal
A hydrated silica showing shifting spectral colour, called play of colour. Soft, water-bearing and fragile.
Opera Length
About 28 to 36 inches, reaching the breastbone or below. Can be doubled into a two-strand choker.
26 in stock · from ₹11,200
Orient
The faint shifting rainbow that plays across the surface of a fine pearl, distinct from its lustre or its colour.
Oval
Symmetrically elongated, like an egg. Reads as elegant rather than compromised, and flatters a longer neckline.
135 in stock · from ₹700
Oval Cut
An elongated brilliant. Nearly the sparkle of a round, and it looks larger for the same weight.
Overtone
A translucent secondary colour lying over a pearl's main body colour, most often rose, silver or green.
Oxidised Silver
Silver deliberately darkened to bring out detail. In Indian markets the term is also used loosely for base-metal tribal jewellery.