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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Miniature

A very small, usually a portrait made on ivory, metal, etc. Such pieces were worn as jewelry suspended from bracelets or necklaces, or to ornament the clasps on such objects or some brooches and finger rings. They were often used to decorate mourning jewelry. A chain at the Victoria & Albert Museum includes miniatures depicting girls wearing different Swiss regional costumes.

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