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HAIR JEWELRY
A style of jewelry popular
in the mid-19th century. Lockets
of the hair of loved ones
were preserved in brooches
under glass. The hair was
sometimes intricately curled
or woven. These pieces were
often inscribed on the back
to identify the donors. Later
in the century, hair was woven
into watch chains, bracelets,
and earrings and given as
tokens of affection. All forms
of hair jewelry are very collectible
today.
HAGLER,
STANLEY
Stanley Hagler was a jewelry
designer whose pieces were
opulent, complex, hand-wired,
and usually colorful. Hagler
produced pieces from 1953
until 1996. He produced pieces
for Lord & Taylor, Bergdorf
Goodman, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Hagler's partner, Ian St Geilarm,
designed many of the Hagler
pieces. After Stanley Hagler's
death in 1996, jewelry continued
to be produced under the name
Stanley Hagler & Company.
HALF-HOOP
A bangle, bracelet, or ring
in which only half of the
circumference of the piece
is set with stones.
HALF-HOOP DESIGN
An earring which resembles
a ring but does not form a
complete circle.
HALLMARK
A form of consumer protection
against fraud, hallmarks are
simply marks stamped onto
a precious metal by a legally
appointed official after assaying
to denote the amount of precious
metal contained in a piece.
European hallmarks are legally
required and date back to
the early middle ages. Marks
are not officially required
in the US but are carried
by custom and practice. Marks
may indicate the purity of
the metal, the maker, the
country of manufacture, and/or
the date that the piece was
assayed or had its design
registered.
HAMMERED
A texture applied to the surface
of an object with a hammer
to give it a dimpled look.
HAMMERED METAL
Hammered metals have been
formed, shaped, or decorated
by a metalworker's hammer.
The surface of hammered metal
is covered with crater-like
depressions made by a hammer.
Many hammered metals are used
in jewelry including gold,
silver, brass, aluminum, etc.
The pin above is hammered
silver.
HARDNESS
The measure of a stone’s ability
to resist scratching, surface
inclusions, abrasions or cracking.
See Mohs scale.
Substance |
|
Talc |
1 |
|
2.5 |
|
2-3 |
|
3 |
Iron |
4 |
Glass |
5 |
|
5.5-6.5 |
|
7 |
|
8 |
|
9 |
|
10 |
HARDSTONE
The term used for any
opaque stones used in making
cameos, intaglios, or mosaics,
such as agate, carnelian,
onyx, etc.
HASKELL,
MIRIAM
Miriam Haskell (1899-1981)
was a costume jewelry designer
who designed feminine, intricate
jewelry. Haskell frequently
used "antique"-gilded surfaces,
pearls, intricate beadwork,
and naturalistic themes. Miriam
Haskell started signing her
jewelry in the early 1950's
although she began selling
jewelry in 1924. Her jewelry
is still manufactured and
is widely collected.
HAWK'S EYE
Hawk's eye is a green, grey
or blue variety of quartz
that has parallel, fibrous
inclusions of crocidolite
that give it a greenish cat's
eye effect (chatoyancy). This
mineral has a silky luster.
It looks a lot like Tiger's
Eye, and often occurs with
it in the same rock, but the
internal structure is different.
HEAD
The prongs that secure a stone
onto a setting.
HEART CUT
A "fancy cut"
diamond or stone in the shape
of a heart.
HEAT
TREATMENT
Heat treatment is the heating
of stones to a high temperature
in order to enhance the color
or clarity. For example, blue-green
aquamarine becomes blue with
heat treatment and brown zircon
becomes blue or clear.
HEISHI
(hee-shee). The oldest form
of jewelry in New Mexico,
pre-dating the introduction
of metals. The literal meaning
of heishi is "shell"
and specifically refers to
pieces of shell which have
been drilled and ground into
beads and then strung into
necklaces. Centuries ago,
the shells used by the Pueblo
Indians to make beads were
obtained in trade from the
Gulf of California. The most
commonly used are seashells
of all kinds--dark and light
olive shells, spiny oysters,
mother of pearl, and melon
shell. Coral and stones such
as lapis, turquoise, jet,
pipestone and serpentine are
also used to create exquisite
contemporary heishi necklaces.
A string of good heishi will
have a uniform consistency.
If you gently pull it through
your hand, it should feel
like a single serpent-like
piece. See Liquid silver and
Olivelia Shells.
HELENITE
Helenite is a manmade (not
natural) green glass that
is made from "rock dust" (not
volcanic ash) taken from the
vicinity of the Mt. St. Helens
volcano in Washington state.
The dust is fired to 2700
degrees F, forming glass,
which is later faceted and
used as a gemstone. This glass
is sometimes called emerald
obsidianite or Mount St. Helens
obsidian (but it is not obsidian,
which is a natural glass).
Helenite is sold as a souvenir
of the eruption of Mt. St.
Helens on May 18, 1980. The
composition of rock from Mt.
St. Helens is: Rock from Mt.
St. Helens is composed of:
silicone 60.50%, aluminum
16.60%, iron 6.02%, calcium
5.36%, sodium 4.18%, manganese
2.59%, potassium 1.20%, titanium
.90%, phosphorus .35%, magnesium
.12%, strontium .06%, Beryllium
.04%, copper .03%, lead .03%,
zirconium .02%, chromium .02%,
and zinc .02%; the remaining
0.16 percent is sulfur, chlorine,
and water.
HELIOTROPE
A variety of chalcedony
that is dark green red spots
resembling blood.
HEMALYKE
Hemalyke
is a synthetic hematite that
is made by grinding up hematite,
adding a binder (glue) and
then press-molding it. The
stone is sometimes faceted.
Hemalyke looks very much like
natural hematite - it is very
difficult to them apart.
HEMATITE
Iron ore consisting of
ferric oxide in crystalline
form, hematite is silvery,
shiny opaque stone that becomes
a red powder when ground down.
It manifests in splendent
rhombohedral crystals that
are very heavy and cold to
the touch.
HEMP
Any plant of the Cannabis
family. The fibrous skin is
used for making cloth and
rope. Hemp rope has become
popular for necklaces, bracelets,
and anklets. It is usually
strung with brightly colored
beads.
HERKIMER
DIAMOND
Herkimer diamonds are clear,
lustrous, doubly terminated
crystals of quartz - they
are not true diamonds. These
brilliant stones are also
called "Middleville Diamonds"
or "Little Falls Diamonds."
Herkimer diamonds have a hardness
of 7. This stone is found
in Middleville and Little
Falls, Herkimer County, New
York, USA.
HERRINGBONE
CHAIN
A chain made up of short,
flat, slanted parallel links
with the direction of the
slant alternating row by row
resembling the spine of the
herring.
HESSONITE
A variety of garnet which
is yellow in color. Also called
"Cinnamon Stone".
HIDDEN BOX CLASP
A box clasp hidden under
the last link of chain so
that when the chain is closed
it looks uniform, except for
the release lever.
HIGH POLISH
A piece of jewelry that has
been polished to a mirror-like
finish.
HOBE
Hobe Cie is a costume jewelry
company that was founded by
William Hobé in New
York in the 1930's. William
Hobe had immigrated to the
US from France, where his
family had made fine jewelry
for generations. Hobe jewelry
was used in showgirl costumes
in the Ziegfeld Follies (Hobe
supplied many of the costumes
themselves - this was his
original business in the US).
Florence Ziegfeld (who founded
the Ziegfeld Follies) was
probably the first person
to use the term "costume jewelry."
Hobe jewelry was used in many
Hollywood movies. Hobe produced
very high quality (and very
high priced) jewelry for upscale
stores, often using semi-precious
stones (like turquoise, lapis
lazuli, jade, and agate).
In the 1940's, the Hobe slogan
was "Jewels of legendary splendor."
The Hobe company is still
producing costume jewelry.
HOOK AND EYE CLASP
A hook and eye clasp is a
simple and ancient jewelry
fastener that is composed
of a hook and a circular piece
that the hook can latch onto.
It is used to attach the two
ends of a necklace or bracelet.
HOOP EARRING
An earring made from metal
wire or tubing that has been
shaped like a hoop. Charms
and other ornaments are sometimes
hung from the hoop.
HOPI OVERLAY
Jewelry made by Hopi Indians
that employs a method of creating
jewelry called the Overlay
technique. See Overlay technique.
HOWLITE
Howlite is a soft, white to
gray mineral that takes dye
very easily, and can be dyed
to imitate turquoise
very well (and is sometimes
unscrupulously sold as turquoise).
Howlite was named for its
discoverer, Henry How, a Nova
Scotia geologist.
HUE
The specific color classification
given to an object based on
the seven colors found in
the spectrum; red, orange
yellow, green, blue, indigo,
or violet. For example, garnets
are found in a variety of
shades of red from pink to
plum, but all of these shades
fall under the "hue"
of "red". The more
internally consistent a stone's
hue is, the more valuable
the stone is considered to
be.
HYACINTH
A variety of Zircon used
as a gem which can be brown,
red, orange, or an amber-like
combination of yellow/orange/brown.
HYACINTH OPAL
Hyacinth opal (also known
as girasol) is a yellow or
orange type of precious opal.
In this opal, the play of
colors seems to come from
within the stone, like a floating
light, and seems to follow
the light source.
HYDROUS
Simply means "combined
with water"; especially
water of crystallization.
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