Antique jewelry has a language of its own. Many of its names come from French and Italian, some from long-forgotten customs, and a few from the people who made them famous. I'm Tiffany, a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) and a GIA-certified diamond grader, and this is my A to Z of the terms you are most likely to come across.
For the materials these pieces were made from, see our A to Z of antique jewelry materials, and for the meaning of their motifs, our guide to Victorian symbolism in jewelry.
Acrostic jewelry: In acrostic jewelry, the first letter of each gemstone spells out a word. REGARD, set with a ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond, and DEAREST were favorites. The idea was fashionable in France in the early 19th century and soon spread to England, where it became a popular sentimental gift. Example: Antique Victorian REGARD Gemstone Ring.
Aigrette: An aigrette is a jeweled hair or hat ornament designed to hold or imitate a feather plume, named after the egret. Aigrettes were fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries and enjoyed a revival in the Edwardian era and the 1920s. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Albert chain: An Albert is a watch chain worn across the waistcoat, with a bar at one end and a swivel clip for the watch at the other. It is named after Prince Albert, who popularized the style. A double Albert has two branches, one for the watch and one for a fob or seal. Example: Antique Double Albert Watch Silver Chain.
Bar brooches and bar necklaces: A bar brooch is a slim horizontal brooch, often set with a central stone or a row of pearls or diamonds. The same design was also made as a bar necklace, with the bar hanging from a fine chain. Both were hugely popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Example: Edwardian Amethyst and Seed Pearl Bar Necklace.
Belcher chain: A belcher chain is made of round or oval links joined together, a classic British chain that is strong, simple and ideal for pendants and lockets. Example: 18 Inch 9K Gold Fine Belcher Chain.
Berlin iron: Berlin iron jewelry is delicate cast iron lacework, made in Prussia in the first half of the 19th century. During the wars against Napoleon in 1813, Prussian citizens were encouraged to donate their gold jewelry to the war effort and received iron jewelry in return, some inscribed "Gold gab ich für Eisen" (I gave gold for iron). See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Boutonnière holder: A boutonnière holder is a tiny vase worn behind the lapel, holding a little water to keep a buttonhole flower fresh through the day. They were a stylish Edwardian accessory. Example: Edwardian Sterling Silver Boutonnière Holder.
Cameo: A cameo is carved in relief, so the design stands out above the background. Cameos were carved from shell, hardstone, lava and coral, and molded in materials such as vulcanite. Read more in our history of popular antique pieces. Example: Antique Victorian Vulcanite Cameo Mourning Brooch.
Cannetille: Cannetille is a type of filigree made from fine twisted and coiled gold wire, often built up into rosettes and spirals. It was fashionable in the 1820s and 1830s, when gold was scarce and jewelers made a little go a long way. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Champlevé: In champlevé enamel, hollows are cut or cast into the metal surface and filled with enamel, leaving the metal outlines exposed between the colors.
Chatelaine: A chatelaine is a decorative clasp worn at the waist, with chains holding useful items such as keys, scissors, seals, scent bottles and mirrors. Chatelaines were worn from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Example: Antique 1900 Purple Guilloché Enamel Chatelaine Mirror.
Coral and bells: A coral and bells is a traditional baby rattle, usually silver, with small bells, a whistle and a coral teething stick. Coral was believed to protect children, making these rattles a popular christening gift in the 18th and 19th centuries. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Conversion: A conversion is an antique piece adapted to be worn a new way, such as a brooch turned into a pendant or a watch chain made into a bracelet. A good conversion gives an old piece new life without losing its character. Example: Antique Victorian Bird and Flowers Conversion Necklace, or browse our necklace conversions.
Damascene: Damascene is the art of inlaying gold and silver wire into darkened steel to create intricate patterns. It is associated with Toledo in Spain and with Japan, and damascene brooches and bracelets were popular souvenirs in the late 19th and 20th centuries. See a Toledo example at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
En pampille: En pampille describes jewelry with cascading, tassel-like drops of gemstones, usually diamonds, that move and sparkle with the wearer. The style was popular in 19th-century necklaces and earrings.
En tremblant: En tremblant jewelry has elements mounted on tiny coiled springs, so that flowers or sprays tremble with every movement and catch the candlelight. It was especially fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Etui: An etui is a small decorative case for needles, toothpicks or other small essentials, often hung from a chatelaine. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Eye miniature: Also called a lover's eye, an eye miniature is a tiny painted portrait of just one eye, set in a ring, brooch or pendant. Only the giver and the recipient knew whose eye it was. The fashion began in the 1780s, famously when the Prince of Wales sent one to Maria Fitzherbert, and lasted until around the 1830s. See an example at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Fede ring: A fede ring shows two clasped hands, a symbol of trust and faith dating back to Roman times. The name comes from the Italian mani in fede, hands in faith. Fede rings were used as betrothal and wedding rings for centuries. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Ferronnière: A ferronnière is a fine band or chain worn across the forehead with a single jewel at the center. The name comes from Leonardo da Vinci's portrait La Belle Ferronnière, and the style was revived in the 1830s and 1840s. See the portrait at the Louvre.
Fob: A fob is an ornament hung from a watch chain. Many fobs are seals, with a carved stone used to stamp wax, and a swivel fob has a stone that rotates within its mount. Example: Edwardian 1917 Carnelian Swivel Fob Necklace.
Giardinetti: Giardinetti, Italian for little gardens, are rings and brooches designed as baskets or vases of flowers, set with colorful gemstones. They were especially popular in the 18th century. Example: Antique Victorian Giardinetti Silver Basket Brooch.
Gimmel ring: A gimmel ring is made of two or three hoops that fit together to look like a single ring. Popular as betrothal rings in the 16th and 17th centuries, the hoops could be separated between the couple and reunited at the wedding. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Girandole: A girandole is an earring or brooch with three pear-shaped drops hanging from a central ornament, like a chandelier. The design was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Guilloché: Guilloché, also called engine turning, is a precise pattern of fine lines cut into metal by machine. When covered with translucent enamel, it shimmers through the color, a technique famously used by Fabergé. Examples: Victorian Engine-Turned Round Locket and the 1900 Guilloché Enamel Chatelaine Mirror.
Gypsy ring: A gypsy ring has its stones set flush into a solid band, often within an engraved star, so that nothing projects above the surface. The style was popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Example: Victorian 1895 Ruby and Diamond Gypsy Ring.
Heracles knot: The Heracles knot, or Hercules knot, is a reef knot that symbolized love and marriage in ancient Greece. It was revived in Victorian jewelry inspired by archaeological discoveries. See an ancient Greek example at the British Museum.
Intaglio: An intaglio is the opposite of a cameo: the design is carved into the stone rather than raised above it. Intaglios were used as seals, pressed into wax to leave a raised impression. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Jabot pin: A jabot pin has an ornament at each end of a straight pin, with the center hidden in the fabric. It was originally used to secure a lace jabot at the neck, and in the 1920s it was worn on the lapel or the front of a cloche hat. See an Art Deco example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Japonisme: Japonisme describes the Western fascination with Japanese art that followed the opening of Japan's ports in the 1850s. In Victorian jewelry it appears as birds, fans, bamboo and asymmetric designs, often engraved on silver lockets. Example: Antique Victorian Japonisme Silver Bird Locket.
Lavalier: A lavalier is a pendant with a drop, worn on a fine chain, popular in the Edwardian era. It is named after Louise de La Vallière, a mistress of Louis XIV. Example: Edwardian c.1910 Amethyst Lavalier Necklace.
Locket: A locket is a hinged pendant that opens to hold a portrait, a photograph or a lock of hair. Read our guide to antique lockets. Example: Antique Victorian Double Sided Gold Locket.
Micromosaic: Micromosaic jewelry is made from tiny pieces of colored glass set into pictures, often Roman ruins, birds or flowers. The technique was perfected in Rome, and micromosaics were treasured souvenirs of the Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th centuries. Example: Antique Victorian Micromosaic Heart Necklace.
Mizpah: Mizpah jewelry, usually silver brooches, is engraved with the Hebrew word Mizpah, from the Bible verse "The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another." It was given between loved ones who were apart. Example: Antique Victorian Mizpah Silver Brooch.
Mourning ring: Mourning rings were made to remember someone who had died, often in black enamel with the person's name and dates or a phrase such as "In memory of". They were sometimes left in wills so that friends and family would each receive one. Example: Victorian Gold Black Enamel Mourning Ring.
Navette: Navette, French for little boat, describes a long oval shape with pointed ends, used for both stones and ring designs. Navette rings set with rows of diamonds were especially popular in the Edwardian era. Example: Edwardian Old Cut Diamond Navette Engagement Ring.
Parure: A parure is a matching set of jewelry, such as a necklace, earrings, brooch and bracelet. A smaller set, perhaps a brooch and earrings, is called a demi-parure. See a Neoclassical example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Pavé: In a pavé setting, small stones are set closely together so the surface looks paved. Victorian pavé turquoise and seed pearl pieces are particularly charming. Example: Antique Victorian Turquoise Pavé Brooch.
Pencil pendant: The first propelling pencil was patented in London in 1822 by Sampson Mordan and John Isaac Hawkins, and gold and silver pencils soon became fashionable, worn on a chain or chatelaine as a stylish and practical accessory. See an example made for Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840 at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Pietra dura: Pietra dura, Italian for hard stone, is a Florentine technique of inlaying shaped pieces of colored stone to create pictures, often flowers. It was popular for 19th-century brooches bought on the Grand Tour. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Plique-à-jour: Plique-à-jour enamel has no metal backing, so light shines through it like stained glass. It was a favorite of Art Nouveau jewelers for dragonfly wings and leaves. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Posy: Posy, or poesy, jewelry carries a short verse or sentiment. Posy rings, engraved inside the band, were popular love tokens from the 15th to the 17th centuries. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Quizzer: A quizzer is a single magnifying lens on a handle or ribbon, a fashionable accessory in the Regency period. See an example at the Science Museum.
Repoussé and chasing: In repoussé, metal is hammered from the back to raise a design in relief. Chasing refines the design from the front. The two are often used together, especially in Georgian and Victorian gold and silver.
Rivière: A rivière, French for river, is a necklace of individually set stones of similar or graduating size, flowing around the neck. Example: Vintage Art Deco 1930s Rivière Paste Necklace.
Scent bottle: Small scent bottles in silver and glass were carried in a pocket or hung from a chatelaine, a practical luxury in the 18th and 19th centuries. Example: Antique Georgian Silver Glass Scent Bottle.
Stick pin: A stick pin, or tie pin, is a long pin with a decorative head, worn to secure a cravat or necktie. Many antique stick pins have since been converted into brooches. Example: Victorian Diamond Halo Stick Pin Brooch.
Stomacher: A stomacher is a large, elaborate brooch worn at the front of a bodice, often reaching from the neckline toward the waist. Stomachers were a feature of grand 18th-century dress. See an example at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Sulfide cameo: A sulfide is a white ceramic cameo encased in clear glass, so it appears silvery. The technique was refined in the early 19th century, notably by Apsley Pellatt in England, who patented it in 1819. See an example by Pellatt at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Vinaigrette: A vinaigrette is a tiny box with a pierced inner grille holding a sponge soaked in aromatic vinegar, to be sniffed to revive the wearer or mask unpleasant smells. They were popular from the late 18th century through the Victorian era. Example: Antique Victorian Gold Lucky Bean Vinaigrette.
If you have a question about any piece, you can book a video consultation and I'll talk you through it.