Antique jewelry glossary

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Cloisonné inlay

A type of decoration made, in the manner of cloisonné enamelware, by outlining the design on a metal base with thin wire or strips of metal (cloisons) and filling in the spaces with cemented slices of coloured gemstones (often garnet) or coloured glass cut to fit the spaces and usually backed with silver or gold foil.

The design covers the entire metal base and results in a smooth surface. It is found on Egyptian jewelry, and later Carolingian jewelry, Ottonian jewelry, and still later northern Germanic and Anglo-Saxon jewelry.

The French term was verroterie cloisonnée.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson