| Word |
Description |
| Faberge |
Legendary Russian goldsmith and jeweler to the Czars of Russia who created ornate gifts, notably a series of jeweled and enameled Easter eggs for European royalty.
A Fabergé egg is any one of 105 jeweled eggs made by Peter Carl Fabergé and his assistants between 1885 and 1917, of which only sixty-nine are known to survive.
24 eggs were made and presented to Czars Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia[1]. A further two eggs were planned but not delivered, the Constellation and Karelian Birch eggs of 1917.
Seven of the eggs were made for the Kelch family of Moscow.
The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term "Fabergé egg" has become a synonym of luxury and the eggs are regarded as masterpieces of the jeweller's art. |
| Facet |
Facets are the small flat surfaces of a polished diamond or gemstone. These polished, flat planes are a major determining factor in enhancing the diamond's ability to sparkle or reflect light. |
| Faceted |
A gemstone carved with a regular pattern of many planes, or "facets". |
| Facets of Fire |
Keepsake's patented diamond cut with 74 facets that gives off more light and greater scintillation than a round-cut diamond. |
| False Topaz |
A name for yellow quartz. |
| Family Jewelry |
Jewelry embellished with the name and birthstone of a member of the family, or sometimes just the birthstone. See also Mother's Rings. |
| Fancy Cut |
A term used for gems that are cut in a shape other than the standard round-cut, such as single cut, marquise, emerald, pear, heart, oval, square, baguette, triangle, etc. Also called fancy shape. |
| Fancy Diamond |
A diamond found in a color other than white, including yellow, blue, green, red, and purple. |
| Fancy Jasper |
An opaque gemstone, the stone varying in shade from a pastel green to forest green, pink to purple-red and yellow-gold in color, frequently in the same stone. |
| Fancy Shapes |
Gemstones cut in any way other than round-cut. Another term for Fancy cut. |
| Fantasy Cut |
Stones cut in fancy shapes. See Fancy cut |
| Faux |
(Pronounced like "foe") French word meaning false, fake, imitation or artificial. In a manufacturing context, faux is used to indicate something made to resemble something else. Faux marble looks like marble. Faux bois looks like wood. Faux porphyry looks like stone. |
| Feather |
A kind of inclusion in a diamond, usually only a tiny crack. Although they may have no affect on the strength or beauty of the diamond whatsoever, these feathers, or “fissures” as they are sometimes called, can make a stone more fragile and susceptible to cracking depending on the depth or location. |
| Fede Rings |
(or "Faith rings") Are distinguished by having the bezel cut or cast in the form of two clasped hands, symbolizing faith, trust or "plighted troth". Fede rings date from Roman times and were popular in the Middle Ages throughout Europe. |
| Feitsui |
The Chinese name for a highly prized variety of pale green jade; the royal stone of China. |
| Feldspar |
A family of minerals which are all silicates of alumina with either potash, soda, or lime. They're usually white or nearly white, flesh-red, bluish, or greenish, and occur in crystals and crystalline masses, vitreous in luster, and breaking rather easily in two directions at right angles to each other. The feldspars are essential constituents of nearly all crystalline rocks, such as Granite, gneiss, mica, slate, most kinds of basalt and trachyte, etc. |
| Fetish |
An amulet, pendant or charm, often representing an animal or person, believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner. |
| Fetish Necklace |
A necklace with shell and/or turquoise beads that has charms in the shape of small animals or birds along it's length. |
| FHC |
fixed head coupe. Denotes fixed roof. The identical convertible model is called a drop head |
| Fi |
fuel injection, possibly mechanical |
| Fibula |
An ancient and often ornamented clasp or brooch used in ancient Greece and Rome to fasten clothing. It usually consists of piece of bowed metal with a pin connected to one end with a hinge. The pin is pushed through the clothing to hold it together and is secured into the other end of the bow behind a catch plate. A fibula is sometimes referred to as a ‘safety-pin brooch’. |
| Figaro Chain |
Similar in style to a curb link chain, but the links alternate between a long one and three round ones instead of uniform links. |
| Figogucci Chain |
A mariner link chain where the links are twisted and diamond-cut so they lie flat like a curb link chain. |
| Figure 8 Safety Catch |
A type of safety catch in which a hinged wire in the shape of a figure eight snaps over a pin. The wide end of the eight connects at the bottom to the hinge, and the smaller end of the eight slips over the pin to hold the clasp closed. |
| Filigree |
The delicate technique of curling, twisting or plaiting fine pliable cables of silver or gold, and soldering them at their points of contact to create an openwork design. Filigree work is often used for appliques on objects and as a base for enameling, either backed or openwork (plique a jour). The technique has been in popular since ancient times.
A design made with thin wire intricately interlaced or bent into rosettes, spirals, or vines. The wire is typically gold or silver and may be plain, twisted, or plaited. There are two major styles of filigree. The first is to solder the wire to a metal base. This style was used in Byzantine, Carolingian, Ottonian, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and 13th century German and Italian jewelry. The second style is to leave the wire as an openwork design without a metal backing, which is characteristic of European jewelry until the 15th century. Filigree was used on Jewish marriage rings as well as Spanish and Portuguese peasant jewelry. In England it is found on some mourning rings. |
| Filigree Enamel |
A type of decoration similar to cloisonné enameling but having the cloisons made of twisted wire, (rather than flat strips of metal), soldered to the base and filled in with opaque enamel. After the powdered enamel in the spaces is fused and, upon cooling, has contracted, the wire shows above the surface. |
| Fimo |
A German-made polymer clay that comes in over 30 colors and can be hardened by baking in a standard oven. Beads made from fimo have become popular in modern jewelry. |
| Findings |
All types of construction components used in jewelry making such as clasps, pins, hooks, tabs, etc. |
| Finial |
Decorative or utilitarian knob found at the top of an item or cover. Also called a knop.
A sculptured ornamental knob, often in the shape of a leaf, flower, or fleur-de-lys, at the terminal end of an object. |
| Finish Florentine |
A surface in which parallel lines are engraved in one direction, then crossed with lighter perpendicular lines resembling brush marks. Also called brushed finish |
| Fish Hook |
A fishhook-shaped finding used to make earrings. The hook end hangs from the lobe of a pierced ear. |
| Fissure |
A fracture or crack in the surface of a stone. |
| Flagon |
A lidded container, typically used in a church to carry wine for the sacraments. Used domestically as well. |
| Flat Lid (Pewter) |
As opposed to dome lid. Describes an American tankard lid type made in the 18th century but patterned on the English flat lid tankards (Stuart tankards) common from 1650 to 1700. |
| Flatware |
The silver of dining; knives, forks, spoons and the associated serving pieces used at table. |
| Fleur-de-lys |
From Old French "flor de lis": flor (flower) + de (of) + lis (lily). A stylized three-petaled iris flower, used as the armorial emblem of the kings of France. It is commonly found in jewelry items. |
| Florentine Finish |
A heavily brushed satin finish. |
| Fluorescence |
A property possessed by diamonds, fluorspar, uranium glass, sulphide of calcium, and many other substances, of glowing without appreciable rise of temperature when exposed to ultra-violet rays, cathode rays, X rays, etc. This fluorescent glow is not always considered when grading a diamond for quality (using the standard Four C’s); it is an inherent characteristic of a diamond. |
| Fluted |
A long, usually rounded groove incised as a decorative motif. Commonly seen on Greek and Roman columns. |
| Fluting |
Type of decoration using parrallel or radiating grooves and ridges. |
| Fob |
A short chain or ribbon attached to a pocket watch, often with an ornament or decorative seal attached to the end. |
| Fogs |
fog lights |
| Foilback |
A method of coating the back of a stone with silver, gold, or colored foil. This enhances the brilliance of the stone, by reflecting back as much light as possible. It is commonly seen in costume jewelry. A foilbacked rhinestone whose foil has been damaged, (often from water creeping in), does not sparkle anymore and is said to be a "dead" stone, lowering the value of the piece. Before, modern, highly reflective cuts were developed, even diamonds were foilbacked. |
| Foldover Clasp |
A clasp used on a necklace or bracelet with a box on one end and a V-shaped tongue on the other. The lid of the box opens to reveal a small hook. The tongue slips over the hook and then the lid of the box is snapped closed to secure the tongue in place. |
| Font |
In pewter lamps, the closed reservoir which holds the liquid fuel (whale oil, cammphene, etc.). Also, a bowl-like vessel used in the Sacrament of Baptism. |
| Fool's Gold |
Pyrite: A common mineral composed of iron disulphide with a pale brass-yellow color used as an iron ore and in the production of sulfur dioxide for sulfuric acid. Also called Fool's gold and Iron pyrite. |
| Forging |
Technique for shaping metal through hammering it against an anvil or stakes. |
| Fossilized |
A piece of bone, wood, or other organic matter that has become petrified and hard like a stone over time. |
| Four C's |
The method by which a gemstone is measured for quality. The Four C’s are cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. See individual listings. |
| Foxtail Chain |
An intricately woven chain made up of three rows of links. The top and bottom row are oval-shaped links lying on each other at a 45 degree angle, but not linked together. The center row is a set of flat connecting rings set at an opposing angle and flush with each other which bind the top and bottom row together. |
| Fracture |
A type of inclusion in a diamond or stone. A crack or feather in a different direction than its naturally occurring crystals. |
| Fracture Filling |
A type of enhancement where tiny fractures in a gemstone are filled. |
| French Back |
A type of earring attachment for non-pierced ears where the earring is tightened against the earlobe by means of a screw with a flat padded end. |
| French Ivory |
A plastic produced to simulate ivory. It was first produced by the Xylonite Company in 1866. Other names include Celluloid, Ivoride, Ivorine, Ivorite and Pyralin. |
| French Jet |
Black glass which is made to resemble real jet. Glass is heavier and colder to the touch compared to real jet. |
| French Wire |
A curved wire resembling a fish hook which passes through the pierced earlobe and has a catch closure. It is mostly used with dangling earrings due to their extra weight. |
| Freshwater Pearl |
A pearl produced by a mollusk that inhabits fresh water, such as a lake or river, as opposed to sea water. These pearls are usually shaped like an uneven grain of rice and unlike the saltwater oyster, which normally produces only one or two pearls, each mussel can simultaneously produce many.
Freshwater pearls are grown in many countries such as the United States, Japan, China and Ireland. Natural freshwater pearls are found in a variety of colors including blue, lavender, violet, rose and gray. They can also be dyed to enhance or change their color. Freshwater pearls are much cheaper than their seawater cousins since they produce several pearls at once and do not require an irritant to be inserted to produce a pearl. |
| FSH |
full service history |
| Full Cut |
Brilliant-cut: A cut gemstone having 56 to 58 facets to maximize the volume of light that is reflected from the inside and thus produce the greatest brilliance. The most common shape of brilliant cut stones are round, which is why this is type of cut is sometimes called a "round-cut", but oval, marquise, pear shape and heart shapes are not unusual. |
| Fully Loaded |
all the manufacturer’s options |
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