Rosalind Smith

History of Jewelry Design

HAD-369-01

Terminology Assignment
1. Symbol - A repeated visual allegory or representation of something, such as a concept,
religion, etc. Ex: The star of David, or the Evil Eye (from Turkey)
2. Fashion - Style or trend.
3. Brand - Any kind of conglomerate that makes products as well as that company’s image and
platform.
4. Motif - Ex: The continual appearance of the blue lotus in Egyptian jewelry, as well as the
repetition of floral/plant forms in jewelry around the world.
5. Zeitgeist - What is popular at a certain time in history, including fads in fashion, culture and
media.
6. Culture - Things created by humans that are recognized by a large group as valuable or
meaningful, including art, writing, religion, customs, etc.
7. Zoomorphic - Things emulating or representing or drawing great inspiration from animal
forms.
8. Anthropomorphic - Something that is not human (objects, plants, animals, etc.) that is given
human emotion or attributes.
9. Talisman - Charm or idol
10. Era - Period (as referring to time) or epoch.

Jewelry Specific Terminology:

11. Repousse - The art of warping metal by pounding the back side of it to bring out a pattern on
the front of the piece.
12. Chasing - The step after repousse, where the edge of the designs are pushed back down into
the metal to better define the raised parts of the metal.
13. Forging - The process of forming metal into jewelry, using mass amounts of heat,
compression and repeated hammering.
14. Vitreous Enamel - When a substrate (ex: porcelain, stone, etc.) has a layer of powdered glass
fused to the surface of it, which creates a glossy, thick finish on the piece.
15. Engraving - The opposite of repousse, where the design is carved into the surface of the
material, not the back.
16. Finding - The hardware put on a piece that keeps the piece together, including things like
clasps/fasteners.
17. Granulation - When tiny balls of gold are incorporated into the surface of a gold piece,
giving it a sandpaper-like finish.
18. Alloy - A metal created by the fusion of two or more other metals.
19. Cabochon - Refers to gems or stones whose surfaces have been rounded, smoothed and
polished.
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20. Melee - Refers to what is commonly called “side-diamonds”. These are typically small gems
meant to accentuate a piece, and weigh less than 1/5th of a carat.
21. Faceted Gemstone - Refers to gems or stones that have been re-shaped to geometric patterns,
usually with multiple, polished faces.
22. Ore - The natural formations of rock inside which precious/semi-precious metals are found.
23. Intaglio - The carving patterns into glass or semi-precious stones from the back of the stone,
where the top-side of the stone is smooth.
24. Finding - Materials not typically used in the creation of jewelry (ex: beads) but rather found
and then used to create jewelry.
25. Gilding - Similar to enamel, this is the process of covering a substrate with a layer of gold.
26. Patina - Metals like copper and silver develop a film on their surface after a certain amount
of time exposed to the air and the process of oxidation.
27. Cameo - Sort of the inverse of intaglio, where the design is carved onto the surface of the
gem or stone, making a raised design or relief.
28. Nacre - The inner lining of a mollusk shell that is multi-colored and shifts somewhat in the
light. Also known as “mother of pearl”.
29. Lost Wax Process Casting - The process of sculpting where the artist first carves the design
in wax, and then covers the piece in a layer of metal.
30. Moh’s Hardness Scale - A scale from 1-10 to measure the hardness of a material.