Applique is the practice of forming a shape of feathers, leaves or flowers and then soldering this onto another piece of jewellery as decoration. It is particularly a Navajo practice.
Channel inlay is a style where soldered silver compartments are added to the mosaic inlay design, which strengthens the individual compartments of inlay stones as well as the overall appearance of the design.
Chip inlay is a method where cavities in jewelry are filled with a mixture of crushed stone, typically turquoise and coral, and epoxy resin. The piece is then polished smooth after the resin has hardened.
Cluster work describes arrangements of well-matched stones or shell into flower patterns.
Coin silver is a standardized alloy of silver that has been used in the United States since 1792. Prior to 1906 there was no law defining coin silver, but it was an unofficial category used by manufacturers of silver products to assure their consumers. Often it meant that the silver in the products came from melted-down coins. From 1905 coin silver was standardised to an alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper.
Dead pawn refers to jewellery pawned but not claimed by the owner by the time of expiry of the period of the pawn. The system of pawning and recovering pawned items is still actively used by Native Americans in the southwestern United States. Buyers of dead pawn may have to sign a statement that they will return the piece if the original owner supplies the cash to redeem it.
Gemstones, precious - see Precious gemstones.
Gemstones, semi-precious - see Semi-precious gemstones.
Hallmark is a term to describe an official mark or series of marks set into items made of precious metals to designate the maker or company and the date of manufacture. It signifies the authenticity and genuineness of the item and mostly appeared after 1970.
Keum-boo (also Kum-Boo or Kum-bu - Korean "attached gold") is an ancient Korean gilding technique used to apply thin sheets of gold to silver, to make silver-gilt. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keum-boo and http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/keumboo.htm.
Liquid silver - the Santa Domingo people of New Mexico are recognized as the creators of heishi. Originally, they used shell and turquoise, drilled with a small hand pump drill, rubbed smooth and strung. The ancient technique of heishi has been adapted to the use of sterling silver as well as shell and stone. When silver is used, drawing a ribbon of silver through a drawplate forms a thin, silver tube. These tubes are carefully cut into identical 32mm pieces and hand-strung together in various lengths. The term "liquid silver" is derived from the smooth and flowing watery effect created by the silver strands.
Milagro - the word milagro means "miracle" in Spanish. Milagros are miniature objects in silver, tin, or gold offered in thanks to a saint for granting a favour. A heart may be used to represent the worries of a heart condition or to represent the love someone might feel for another person. The use of such offerings was introduced to Mexico by the Spanish but they are now common elements of Mexican folk art.
Needlepoint design employs small elongated stones of similar colour in clusters and arrays of gemstones, where both ends of the stones are pointed.
Nickel or "German" silver is an alloy of copper with nickel and often zinc. It is named for its appearance, and normally contains no silver. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. It is also called "alpaca".
Old pawn is a term to describe authentic Native American jewellery made before 1940.
Overlay evolved from the appliqué technique where a cut-out design is soldered to a same-sized silver backing piece and etching or scratching or stamping is applied to the backing to increase the contrast between the top and bottom surfaces.
Papier-mâché is comprised of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, which are bound into a shape by means of an adhesive, such as starch, glue or paste.
Petit-point is a refinement of cluster design, where the surface of small stones is rounded at one end and pointed at the other, to create a teardrop shape. It is often seen in cluster designs of necklaces and bracelets dating from the 1920’s, particularly in Zuni jewellery.
Precious gemstones in modern usage are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious.
Repousse describes a textured effect in silverwork, achieved by stamping fine lines on the back of the silver to yield a raised pattern on the face. The effect may be contained within shapes such as crescents, or used as a border for the whole piece.
Semi-precious gemstones generally refer to gemstones other than diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. It should be noted that the terms "precious" and "semi-precious" are historical ones and do not reflect the value of a particular gemstone. Many semi-precious stones under this definition are more rare (and therefore more valuable) than some "precious" stones.
A shadow box is a gemstone that has been bezel-set inside a shallow oxidised or blackened silver frame.
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum fineness of 925. The reason that silver is alloyed with copper is to give it strength, while at the same time preserving its ductility and beauty.
