Antique Jewelry Glossary & Terminology

Every era of jewelry brought its own techniques, cuts, and vocabulary — words that can turn a listing from a string of adjectives into something you actually understand. This glossary collects the terms we use most, grouped so you can browse by category or jump straight to what you're curious about.

Eras ✦ Diamond Cuts ✦ Metals ✦ Gemstones ✦ Settings & Construction ✦ Buying & Authenticity

Eras

Georgian (1714–1837)

The earliest era we collect — handwrought gold, foil-backed gems to boost sparkle by candlelight, and rose cut diamonds. Surviving pieces are rare.

Victorian (1837–1901)

Spans Queen Victoria's reign and several distinct moods — romantic snake and heart motifs early on, somber mourning jewelry mid-era, and exuberant, gem-heavy pieces by its end.

Edwardian (1901–1915)

Lacy platinum filigree, milgrain edges, and old European cut diamonds. Platinum's strength let jewelers achieve a delicacy gold couldn't hold.

Art Nouveau (1890–1910)

Flowing, nature-inspired lines — flowers, insects, women's silhouettes — rendered in enamel and unconventional stones rather than pure gem value.

Art Deco (1920s–1930s)

Geometric, symmetrical, and architectural. Platinum, calibré-cut sapphires and onyx, and a deliberate break from Victorian ornament.

Retro (1940s–1950s)

Bold, sculptural pieces in rose and yellow gold — wartime platinum restrictions pushed design toward chunky, three-dimensional forms.

Antique

Technically, a piece 100 years old or more. We use the term precisely — it's a legal and trade definition, not a marketing word.

Vintage

Broadly, an older piece — often 20 to 99 years old — that isn't yet old enough to be called antique. Style-driven rather than a strict age line.

Estate

Simply means a piece has had at least one prior owner. An estate piece can be antique, vintage, or barely a few years old — the word describes ownership history, not age.

Diamond Cuts

Old Cut

An umbrella term for any diamond cut by hand before modern proportions were standardized — old mine, old European, single, and rose cuts all qualify. Read more about old cut diamonds.

Old Mine Cut

The earlier of the two major old cuts — a squarish outline, high crown, and large culet, common through the Georgian and Victorian eras.

Old European Cut

The refinement of the old mine cut — rounder, with a small flat culet visible from above. The standard cut of the Edwardian and Art Deco eras. Compare the two.

Rose Cut

A flat-bottomed, domed cut with triangular facets and no pavilion — the earliest faceted diamond cut, common in Georgian and Victorian jewelry.

Single Cut

A simplified 17- or 18-facet cut, usually used for small accent diamonds rather than center stones.

Transitional Cut

The bridge between old European and modern round brilliant cuts, popular from the 1930s–1950s as cutters began favoring brilliance over candlelight warmth.

Marquise Cut

An elongated, pointed-oval shape, said to be commissioned by Louis XV to resemble the smile of the Marquise de Pompadour.

Pear Cut

A teardrop shape combining the round brilliant and marquise — one rounded end, one point.

Asscher Cut

A square step cut with cropped corners and deep facets, patented in 1902 and revived as an Art Deco favorite.

Emerald Cut

A rectangular step cut with cropped corners — named for its early use on emeralds, prized for clean architectural lines over maximum sparkle.

Oval Cut

An elongated round brilliant, popularized mid-century for its flattering, finger-lengthening shape.

Culet

The small facet — sometimes just a point — at the very bottom of a diamond. Old cuts typically show a visible culet from above; modern cuts usually don't.

Metals

Platinum

Dense, naturally white, and strong enough to hold delicate filigree — the defining metal of the Edwardian and Art Deco eras.

Yellow Gold

Gold in its natural warm tone — the dominant metal through the Georgian, Victorian, and Retro eras.

White Gold

Gold alloyed with white metals and often rhodium-plated — a more affordable alternative to platinum, especially from the Retro era onward.

Rose Gold

Gold alloyed with copper for a pink hue — a Victorian favorite that returned strongly in Retro-era design.

Palladium

A rare, lightweight member of the platinum family, occasionally used mid-century as a platinum alternative.

Karat

A measure of gold purity — 24 karat is pure gold; 18k is 75% gold, 14k is about 58%. Antique pieces most often run 14k or 18k.

Gemstones

Sapphire

A corundum gem prized in every blue shade and beyond — a Victorian and Art Deco favorite, often paired with old cut diamonds.

Ruby

Red corundum, ruby's rarity and color have made it a high-value center stone across every era we collect.

Emerald

A green beryl prized since antiquity — almost always included (containing natural inclusions), which is expected and not a flaw.

Pearl

Natural pearls form entirely by chance in the wild; cultured pearls are seeded by hand. Most fine pearl jewelry before the 1920s uses natural pearls.

Semi-Precious Stones

A traditional (if imprecise) category covering amethyst, citrine, garnet, opal, and other gems outside the "big four" precious stones.

Demantoid Garnet

A rare green garnet with exceptional fire, mined largely in the Ural Mountains and prized in Russian and Victorian jewelry.

Foil-Backed Stone

A Georgian-era technique of backing a gem with reflective foil in a closed setting to increase brilliance under candlelight — a hallmark of the period, and a reason not to submerge these pieces in water.

Settings & Construction

Filigree

Delicate, lace-like metalwork made from twisted or pierced wire — an Edwardian and Art Deco signature made possible by platinum's strength.

Milgrain

A fine beaded edge applied by hand with a small rolling tool — look closely and it's always slightly irregular, which is exactly how you tell it from a cast reproduction.

Calibré Cut

Small gemstones — usually sapphires or emeralds — cut to fit a specific setting precisely, seen throughout Art Deco channel work.

Bezel Setting

A stone fully or partially wrapped in a rim of metal, rather than held by prongs — protective and common in Retro and mid-century design.

Prong (Claw) Setting

Metal "claws" that grip a stone at points rather than fully surrounding it, maximizing the light that reaches the gem.

Halo Setting

A ring of smaller diamonds encircling a center stone, adding perceived size and sparkle — common in Edwardian and Art Deco design and still popular today.

Eternity Band

A ring set with stones continuously around its full circumference, symbolizing unending love.

Cluster Setting

A group of smaller stones set closely together to resemble one larger stone — a practical Georgian and Victorian technique when large diamonds were scarce.

Guilloché Enamel

Translucent enamel fired over a mechanically engraved metal pattern, so the engraving shimmers through — associated with Edwardian and Art Nouveau luxury goods.

Pliqué-à-Jour

An enameling technique with no metal backing, so light passes through like a stained-glass window — technically demanding and closely tied to Art Nouveau.

Close-Back / Open-Back Setting

A close-back setting fully encloses a stone from behind (often to hide foiling); an open-back lets light pass through from behind, which is standard on fine stones today.

Buying & Authenticity

Hallmark

A stamped mark indicating metal purity, maker, or origin — one of several clues we use to date and authenticate a piece.

GIA Report

An independent grading report from the Gemological Institute of America, confirming a diamond's cut, color, clarity, and carat weight.

Patina

The soft, satiny surface a metal develops naturally over decades of wear — genuine age, and part of what makes an antique piece feel different from a new one.

Signed Piece

A piece marked with its maker's name — Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Oscar Heyman, and others — confirming both craftsmanship and provenance.