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| Word |
Description |
| Lapidary |
The art of cutting, shaping, polishing and creating jewelry from stones. |
| Lapis |
Shortened form of Lapis Lazuli. |
| Lapis Lazuli |
A royal blue opaque semiprecious stone with white veins or patches of calcite and a few gold-looking metallic flecks of pyrite. Lapis can be dyed to enhance the color. |
| Lariat |
A cord worn as a necklace with the ends of the cord dangling like a necktie. It can be tied into a knot or secured by a sliding brooch. See Bolo. |
| Laser Drilling |
A way of enhancing a gem by drilling a tiny hole with a laser to remove an impurity. |
| Lathe |
A machine tool by which work is rotated on a horizontal axis and shaped or cut by a fixed tool. |
| Lavalier |
(Negligee Pendant): A necklace with two pendants of unequal length suspended from it. |
| Lead |
A soft, dense, metallic element. Lead is bluish in color, but tarnishes readily to a dull gray. It is both malleable and ductile and easily fuses with other metals to form alloys. Lead is used in containers, sheets, tubes, pipes, solder, type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints, and antiknock compounds. |
| Lead Crystal |
A fine, high-quality glass invented in 17th century England. In order to be considered crystal rather than simple glass, the product must contain at least 10% lead oxide. The lead oxide is attributed to providing the glass with extraordinary qualities of brilliance, sound and a suitable texture for cutting or engraving. Some of the finest crystal ever made is from Baccarat in France (est. 1816) and Waterford in Ireland (est. 1729). |
| Leopard's Head |
The town mark for London |
| Lever Back |
A means of attaching an earring to a pierced ear with a hook that goes through the ear and is then secured by a hinged lever attached to the back of the piece. |
| LHD |
left hand drive |
| Light Transparent |
Plastic that appears to only be translucent, but is actually transparent when held up to the light. |
| Limestone |
A common sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate that was deposited by the remains of marine animals. It is used as a building stone and in the manufacture of lime, carbon dioxide, and cement. Crystalline limestone is called marble. |
| Linde Star Sapphire |
A synthetic star sapphire developed in 1967. Many star sapphires found today are these synthetics. |
| Linen Mark |
The handles of porringers and some other pewter vessels were attached by fusing the metal without solder. A handle mold with openings at points of connection was placed against the finished body of the vessel and then filled with molten pewter, which melted part of the body at the joint, forming a strong bond. A "tinker's dam," a heat-absorbing bag of linen or burlap filled with wet sand, was pushed against the inside of the vessel during this procedure and usually left an imprint of the cloth--a "linen mark"--in the softened metal adjacent to the exterior contact with the handle mold. |
| Lion Passant |
English mark guaranteeing sterling silver purity. |
| Liquid Silver |
The term given to strands of small silver beads which were made by carefully slicing tubes of sterling silver into 1/8" pieces and stringing them together. A form of Heishi. |
| Living Jewelry |
Term for jewelry made from materials that were once part of a living creature, such as Ivory, Pearls, Mother of Pearl, Seashell, and Coral. |
| LMW |
Stands for "Limited Manufacturer's Warranty". |
| Lobster Claw Clasp |
A means of connecting the ends of a necklace together. One end has a wide flat hook, resembling the claw of a lobster, with a hinged "thumb" on a spring. The other end has a ring which the claw hooks onto. It is then secured by closing the thumb of the claw. |
| Locket |
A hinged case, usually in the shape of an oval or heart, which can be opened or closed and usually contains a photograph or memento. |
| Lost Wax Casting |
An object is made of wax and coated in clay. When the clay is fired, the wax melts and is drained away or evaporates leaving an exact impression of the object in the hardened clay, which is then filled with molten metal. |
| LPG |
liters per gallon |
| Lucite |
A clear, strong plastic that can be molded and carved, popular in the 1940's for ladies purses and jewelry. |
| Luster |
A reference to the brightness of an object that shines with reflected light rather than producing its own. |
| Lustrous |
A reference to the brightness of an object that shines with reflected light rather than producing its own. |
| LWB |
Long wheel base |
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