Jewelry Glossary

Used to describe or designate a true precious stone, as opposed to a synthetic or "fake" version of the stone in costume jewelry. It is common to see gemstone names when describing costume jewelry; amethyst, diamond, garnet, emerald, ruby, sapphire. These words should not be interpreted to meant the precious stones with these names. The terms are used only to describe the color of the non-precious or synthetic stones. If the genuine stone is meant, it is usually indicated with the word "genuine" in description. This general rule also applies to words for metals, such as gold, silver, copper, and pewter.