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A
Aloha:  Hawaiian word for hello, goodbye, and good cheer, used to spread joy and kindness

Art Deco:  design and style from art and architecture popular in 1920s and 1930s, 

boldly delineated geometric shapes, truncated rectangles and echoing curves

Avant-garde: new or introductory ideas, often experimental and unique

B

Bas Relief: a shallow relief pattern on wood or ceramic

Bezel:  a round setting used to frame a stone in jewelry

Bohemian: a gypsy inspired, colorful, ethnic, artistic aesthetic

Briolette: a semiprecious stone cut into a faceted teardrop shape

Bronze:  a copper and brass alloy

C

Cabochon:  a rounded domed flat back stone

Chalcedony: quartz of a microcrystalline type that occurs in onyx, agate, jasper and other forms

Chatoyancy: the iridescent shimmer in the cleave of certain stones, such as feldspars or labradorite

CZs (Cubic Zirconia): man-made Crystal rhinestones

D

Dark Academic Jewelry:  pagan themed with magical lore

Druzy: sets of tiny crystals of minerals that form on the surface of another stone, often from the inside of a geode

E

Eclectic: a collection consisting of the best styles curated from diverse sources

Electroforming: electrical bath that transfers metal onto stones

Enigmatic:  inexplicable, mysterious 

Ethically Sourced: products and services from each point of a business' supply chain are obtained in an ethical way, which includes upholding rights, decent working conditions, health, safety, and fair wages

Evil Eye:  protective symbol used to ward off evil

Eye of Horus:  Egyptian protective eye symbol 

F

Fair Trade:  employing people at fair wages and under humane conditions to make a product for sale

Fleur dis Lis:  French Royalty coat of arms symbol

G

Ganesh: Hindu god of new beginnings, and remover of obstacles

Granulation: tiny silver balls used as decorative accents on jewelry

Gypsum: aka Faience, a plaster or claylike substance made of limestone in Egypt

H

Hamza: aka Hand of Fatima, protective symbol from Islamic and Judaic cultures

Horus:  in Egyptology he is a falcon/man god who is lord of the sky, son of Osiris and Isis

Huggies:  close fitting snap close hoop earrings

Huipil: a traditional richly embroidered garment worn by indigenous people in South       

America

I

Ikat:  Indonesian textile technique in which warp and weft threads are tie-dyed before weaving

K

Kantha Cloth:  Textile Art term for cloth embellished with contrasting color lines of basted threads

Kilim: a flat-woven rug made in Turkey

L

Lost wax casting:  metal casting in which molten metal is poured into a mold that has been created by means of a wax model

M

Marquise cut:  an oblong shape with pinched point ends, an elongated eye shape

Merkaba: a yoga 3-D symbol for generating energy, a form of divine protection in and of itself, chariot mysticism or path of ascension to higher dimensions or divine light, literally translates as Light/Spirit/Body

Millefiore:  Italian glasswork technique, tightly packed glass canes cut into geometric sections resembling a thousand flowers

Miyuki:  high-quality faceted tubular seed beads made in Japan

N

Neolithic Netting:  an ancient knotting technique invented by prehistoric people

Nephrite:  a tough, fibrous mineral consisting of calcium magnesium silicate, a dark opaque Jade different from translucent jadeite 

Niobium: a rare pure metal that is both lightweight and hypoallergenic and adds a pop of metallic color to jewelry designs

O

Ombré:  a technique of dying whereby one color gradually morphs into another one

P

Peyotestitch:  beadwork, a spiral brickwork pattern

PMC (Precious Metal Clay):  fine silver or gold ground extremely small and suspended in a binder to create clay

Prong setting:  a star shaped setting with tiny teeth that secure the stone

R

Reticulation:  minuscule silver dots used as texturing on jewelry 

Rivolis: complex color faceted crystal no-hole focal points commonly set in bezel settings or beadwork

S

Sarcophagus:  a specialized coffin painted in the likeness of a ruler in Egypt

Scarab:  a beetle symbol representing eternal life in Egyptology 

Sekhmet:  a fierce warrior and gentle healer in Egyptian mythology, Goddess of medicine, 

“she who is powerful”

Semiprecious:  a myriad of stones less expensive than precious stones (like diamonds)

Shibori:  Japanese tie-dye technique results in tiny puckered contrasting color shapes

Soutache:  fiber arts, a ribbon-like brocade used to fasten buttons or as a decoration on clothing

Steam Punk:  a style of jewelry that includes gears, cogs and other machinery parts that echo the locomotive

Suiseki:  Japanese viewing stone, shaped by nature, only cut on the bottom, set in a contoured wooden base and used for contemplation 

Sustainably Sourced: when selecting suppliers, consideration is given to the supplier's social, ethical and environmental practices as part of responsible supply chain management 

Swarovski Crystals:  high-quality faceted glass crystals patented by the Swarovski family of the Czech Republic

T

Talisman:  an object thought to have magical powers and to bring good luck

Twee: quaint, cutesy, pretty or sentimental

U

Upcycle: re-use of discarded items into new and creative product

Ushapti:  Egyptian term means “answerer,” figurines were placed in tombs to answer the call of their owner to perform tasks

V

Vermeil: high karat gold coating over sterling silver

The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms. Socrates 

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