Antique jewelry glossary

Welcome to our extensive antique jewelry glossary with around 1,500 jewelry related entries.If you feel you are missing an explanation, feel free to let us know and we will add it.

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Fake

A genuine article that has been altered or added to for the purpose of enhancing its market value, such as:

• a finger ring that at a later date has been enamelled in black to make it appear to be a rare piece of memorial jewelry or mourning jewelry
• a piece of jewelry to which some additional gemstones have been added later
• a piece of jewelry to which an inscription or maker's mark has been added
• a gold or silver article bearing a hallmark, where the mark has been altered or a new one soldered on in order to indicate an earlier date
• a diamond that has been subjected to irradiation to change its colours. 6. a zircon made colourless by heat treatment to simulate a diamond

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