Advertisement.

EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site.
As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.
Click here to learn more.

ad
(Already a member? Click here.)


All About Jewels:
Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on an underlined word for more information on that subject.

E



EBONITE

Ebonite (also called vulcanite) is a hard, moldable, polished dark colored (ranging from brown to black) early rubber. Ebonite was produced by adding sulfur to vulcanized rubber. It was used for combs, ornaments, and buttons. Ebonite is sometimes confused with gutta percha.

EBONY

Ebony is a hard, dark, dense wood sometimes used in jewelry.

EDWARDIAN PERIOD

The Edwardian period (also known as the Belle Epoque) was the time of the reign of Edward VII of England (1901-1910). Edwardian jewelry is delicate and elegant. Edwardian designs frequently use bows and filagrees. Pearls and diamonds were also frequently used.


EISENBERG

The Eisenberg company creates beautiful, high-quality costume jewelry. It was founded by Jonas Eisenberg in Chicago, Illinois in 1942, and is still in business. Originally, they made dresses with ornate buttons (made by the Ora company), and expanded into the costume jewelry business. The brooch above is a classic sterling piece from the 1940's. Eisenberg marks include (script) E, Eisenberg Original, and Eisenberg Ice (current).


EILAT STONE

Eilat stone is only found in King Solomon's copper mines on the Red Sea, near Eilat, Israel. This opaque green mineral is composed of azurite, malachite, turquoise, and chrysocolla. The hardness of this copper-based stone varies. There are many variations on its spelling, including Eliat, Elat, and Ellat.

ELECTROPLATE

Electroplating (also called Galvanotechnics after its inventor, Luigi Galvani) is a process in which one metal is coated with another metal using electricity. In jewelry, inexpensive metals are frequently electroplated with more expensive metals, like gold (gold plating), copper (electrocoppering), rhodium (rhodanizing), chromium (chromium plating), or silver (silver plating). The thickness of the metal coat varies. Electrogilded coating is the thinnest (less than 0.000007 inches thick); gold-cased metals have a coating thicker that 0.000007 inches.

ELECTRUM

Electrum is an amber-colored alloy of gold and silver that was used in ancient times. Electrum is also an alloy used in medieval times consisting of copper (50%), nickel (30%) and zinc (20%).

ELIE RUBY

An Elie ruby is actually a pyrope garnet (and not a ruby at all).

EMAIL

Email (French for enamel) is a method in which enamel is applied to metal. It can be applied in many different ways, including cloisonné, champlevé, and plique à jour.

EMBOSS

Embossing is a method of surface decoration in which a design is raised slightly above the surface. Sheets of metal, leather, and plastic can be embossed.

EMERALD

Emeralds are a very hard, green precious stone (beryl, Be3Al2Si6O18, colored by chromium and some vanadium impurities). Flaws and cloudiness (called jardin) are very common in emeralds, so many emeralds are oiled, irradiatied,and dyed to improve their look. Synthetic emeralds (developed by Carroll Chatham in the 1930's) have fewer imperfections and are very hard to distinguish from natural emeralds. Emeralds belong the beryl group of stones which also includes aquamarines, morganite, and chrysoberyl). Emeralds have a hardness of 7-8 and a specific gravity of 2.6 - 2.8. Emerald (and all forms of beryl) have large, perfect, six-sided crystals. Emeralds were long thought to have healing powers, especially for eyesight. During the renaissance, emeralds were used as a test for friendship among the aristocracy; an emerald given to a friend would remain perfect as long as the friendsip endured.


EMERALD CUT

Emerald cut stones have a girdle that is rectangular with truncated corners. Emerald cuts are frequently used on emeralds and diamonds.

EMMONS

Emmons Jewelers, Inc., of Newark, NY, is a costume jewelry company that was founded by Charles H. Stuart. Emmons produced high-quality pieces under the marks Emmons, and Emmolite (and later, the Sarah Coventry line). Emmons jewelry was only sold at home jewelry parties organized by an Emmons representatives. The Emmons mark was first used in March, 1949. The Emmolite mark (for pieces made from base metal) was first used in January, 1955. During the late 1950's, the Emmons company started using the Sarah Coventry name. Emmons costume jewelry is very collectible and can be difficult to find.


ENAMEL

Enamel is a glassy substance (powdered glass with colorants) fused onto metal using heat (see cloisonné, champlevé, guilloche, and plique à jour).

ENGRAVE

Engraving is a method of surface decoration in which a design is etched into the surface with a sharp tool.

ENHANCED

Enhanced stones are stones that have been treated to improve their color, clarity, finish, strength, or other characteristics. Some common enhancements are heat-treatment, irradiation, coating the surface, filling cracks, oiling, surface diffusion (coating the surface then applying heat), bleaching, dyeing, etc.

ESPO

ESPO and ESPO-FLEX are the marks of Esposito Jewelry, Inc., a costume jewelry company located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. These marks were first used in 1951.


ETCHED FINISH

An etched finish on a metal's surface reduces the metal's reflectivity. It is done by using harsh chemicals to eat into the surface or by cutting into the surface using a sharp tool.

ETERNITY RING

An eternity ring is a narrow ring with gemstones set all around it.


ETRUSCAN JEWELRY

Ancient Etruscan jewelry has intricate and beautiful designs; most is made of gold. The Etruscans employed a lot of delicate granulation (n which tiny beads of gold are soldered to the surface to form a pattern) and openwork filagree (in which filagree patterns are not applied over sheet metal). The Etruscans lived in Northern Italy for hundreds of years beginning in the late 8th century B.C.


ETUI

An etui (also called a necessaire) is a tiny, decorative, cylindrical-shaped case that was often carried on a chatelaine. The etui was used to carry small "necessary" items like pencils, scissors, manicure set, or spectacles. The etui was first used in the 1720's.

EUGENE

Eugene was a jewelry designer who worked for Miriam Haskell and later started his own company around 1950. Eugene pieces were produced until the 1960's. These pieces are often complex, having beads and pearls, rhinestones, or enamel work.

EUROPEAN CUT

The European cut (also known as the old European cut) is an old, round diamond cut that is similar to but less bright than the newer brilliant cut. The European cut has a very small table and heavy crown.

EVERGREEN TOPAZ

EverGreen (R) is a trademarked type of diffusion-treated topaz. This deep green stone is produced by heating a cut, colorless topaz with coloring chemicals (mineral oxides), resulting in a thin layer of green coating the outside of the stone.

EYEPIN

An eyepin is a thin wire with a loop at one end; it is used for linking beads together.

EXCELSIOR DIAMOND

The Excelsior is the second or third largest diamond (depending on whether or not the Braganza diamond was actually a diamond). This irregular-shaped blue-white diamond was roughly 995 carats. It was found in l893 by a worker at the De Beers mine at Jagersfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa. The Excelsior diamond was cut in 1904 by I.J. Asscher and Company of Amsterdam into 21 stones, including a 69.80-carat marquise, an 18-carat marquise stone (which was displayed at the l939 World's Fair by the De Beers company), and many other stones.

All About Jewels:
Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on an underlined word for more information on that subject.
If the jewelry term you are looking for is not in the dictionary, please e-mail me and I'll add it.




Enchanted Learning®
Over 35,000 Web Pages
Sample Pages for Prospective Subscribers, or click below

Overview of Site
What's New
Enchanted Learning Home
Monthly Activity Calendar
Books to Print
Site Index

K-3
Crafts
K-3 Themes
Little Explorers
Picture dictionary
PreK/K Activities
Rebus Rhymes
Stories
Writing
Cloze Activities
Essay Topics
Newspaper
Writing Activities
Parts of Speech

Fiction
The Test of Time

Biology
Animal Printouts
Biology Label Printouts
Biomes
Birds
Butterflies
Dinosaurs
Food Chain
Human Anatomy
Mammals
Plants
Rainforests
Sharks
Whales
Physical Sciences: K-12
Astronomy
The Earth
Geology
Hurricanes
Landforms
Oceans
Tsunami
Volcano
Languages
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese (Romaji)
Portuguese
Spanish
Swedish
Geography/History
Explorers
Flags
Geography
Inventors
US History

Other Topics
Art and Artists
Calendars
College Finder
Crafts
Graphic Organizers
Label Me! Printouts
Math
Music
Word Wheels

Click to read our Privacy Policy

E-mail


Enchanted Learning Search

Search the Enchanted Learning website for:



Advertisement.

Advertisement.






Copyright ©1999-2018 EnchantedLearning.com ------ How to cite a web page