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.
Every term
289–300 of 300
Uniform Strand
A strand where every pearl is the same size, within a tight tolerance.
Valuation
An independent written assessment of what a piece is worth, usually for insurance rather than for sale.
Vanki
A South Indian armlet in an inverted V, worn on the upper arm with the point facing down.
Wastage
An extra percentage added to the gold weight to cover metal lost during manufacture. Often charged even when no metal is lost.
White Gold
Gold alloyed with white metals and then usually rhodium plated. The white you see is a coating, not the metal.
X-Ray Testing
The only reliable way to tell a natural pearl from a cultured one, by imaging what is inside it.
XRF Testing
A non-destructive X-ray test that reads metal purity in seconds. What the karat meter in a jeweller's shop actually is.
Xuping
A Chinese fashion-jewellery brand whose name is now used generically in India for gold-plated copper-alloy imitation pieces.
Yellow Gold
Gold alloyed with silver and copper in balance, keeping its natural warm colour. The traditional Indian choice.
Yellow Sapphire
Yellow corundum. Pukhraj in Hindi, the stone of Jupiter, and the most commonly prescribed astrological gem in India.
Yellowing
The gradual browning of old pearls as the protein binding the nacre oxidises. Usually irreversible.
Zircon
A natural gemstone with unusually high fire and brilliance. Confusingly similar in name to cubic zirconia, which is a different, man-made material.
35 in stock · from ₹1,000