Antique jewelry glossary

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Seed pearl

See our: seed pearl jewelry.

A very small round pearl, natural or cultured (sometimes of irregular shape), that weighs less than one-quarter of a grain. They are used in clusters or tassels suspended from earrings, set in the borders of frames or mounts, sewn ornamentally on dresses, or set as ornamentation of some brooches or other articles of jewelry. When set in jewelry the metal framework is covered with a thin sheet of mother-of-pearl and the seed pearls are sewn on with horsehair, cat-gut, or silk thread; the designs are usually openwork, executed in pavé style, with sometimes large pearls intermingled in the design.

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