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| Word |
Description |
| Nacre |
The shiny iridescent substance secreted by a mollusk as a response to an irritant, like a piece of sand. Over time layers of nacre build up to become a pearl. |
| Naja |
(or "Najah") From the Navajo word "Najahe", meaning "crescent". A crescent-shaped silver ornament believed to go back to Moorish designs that was originally a forehead pendant on horse bridles. It is now commonly found pendant from the bottom of a squash blossom necklace. |
| Narrow Rim |
A plate (or, rarely, other sadware) with an exceptionally narrow rim, less than 10% of the overall diameter. |
| Navette |
Marquise: (Mar-KEYS, also called a navette). An oval shape gemstone which tapers to a point at both ends, named for the Marquise de Pompadour, Mistress of King Louis XV. |
| Negligee Pendant |
Lavalier: (Negligee Pendant): A necklace with two pendants of unequal length suspended from it. |
| Neoclassical |
New designs inspired by artistic elements from classical antiquity, such as urns, garlands, Greek key, palmette. |
| Nephrite |
A compact variety of tremolite and a form of jade. Often called "greenstone" though it can also be found in shades of grey, brown, and black. |
| Nickel |
A hard, bright, silver-white metallic element of the iron group that is malleable, ductile, and resistant to corrosion. |
| Nickel Silver |
A white colored alloy of roughly 55% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc, and 5% tin, it contains no silver and is primarily used as a base metal for silverplating. First formulated in Germany in the 19th century by the chemists Henninger and Geitner. Sometimes spelled Alpaca and also known as German Silver or Nickel Silver. |
| Niello |
A black metallic alloy of sulfur, copper, silver, or lead, used as inlay for an incised design on the surface of another metal. Niello refers to both the substance and the process. |
| Noggin |
An Irish measure of a quarter of a pint. |
| Non-precious |
Any metal that is not considered to be a precious metal or any gemstone that is not considered to be a precious gemstone. However, that does not mean it has no value. |