J HOOP
A hoop earring in which the hoop is elongated into a shape resembling the letter J rather than being circular.

JABOT PIN
A "jabot", (pronounced zhah-Bow), is a kind of ruffle worn on the bosom of a man's shirt or woman's blouse. The "jabot pin" was designed to hold the jabot onto the shirt. It is basically a pin with a brooch at either end. One brooch is removable so that the pin can be stuck through the garment and then secured by reattaching the removable brooch. It is a form of Art Deco mourning jewelry.

JACINTH
Jacinth is a semi-precious stone that is also known as hyacinth. it is a lustrous orange-yellow, orange-red, or yellow-brown type of zircon. Hyacinth has a hardness of 7.5 and a specific gravity of 4.65. Sometimes, topaz and grossular garnet of this color are also referred to as hyacinth (this can be very confusing). Hyacinth is mined in Sri Lanka. Even more confusing is the origin of the name, which comes from the Greek hyakinthos, which refers to blue gemstone.

JADE
An opaque semiprecious gemstone which is usually found in shades of green, but can be also be found in lavender and rose shades.

JADE GLASS
Jade glass is translucent green glass that is designed to imitate jade.

JADEITE
A hard, translucent variety of jade which is rarer than the other varieties of nephrite and comes in a variety of colors such as orange, pink, yellow, brown, blue, violet, and black.

JAPANNED
A Japanned finish in jewelry is when metal is finished with a lustrous, black lacquer. The Maltese cross brooch above is by Weiss; it has red paste stones and a Japanned finish.

JARGON
Registered trade name for a colorless, pale-yellow or smoky-brown variety of cubic zirconia from Ceylon.

JASPER
From the Hebrew word "yashpheh", meaning "glittering". Jasper is an opaque, impure, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz that may be red, yellow, or brown. It breaks with a smooth surface and can be highly polished like marble. Varieties of jasper include Fancy Jasper, Picture Jasper, Poppy Jasper, Red Jasper, and Striped (or Banded) Jasper. Jasper was once believed to have curative powers.

JASPERINE
Jasperine refers to any type of banded jasper.

JASPERIZED WOOD
Jasperized wood (also called xyloid jasper) is petrified wood. It is wood that has fossilized - all the original chemicals have been replaced with minerals, making a stone-like replica of the original wood.

JASPER WARE
Jasper ware (also spelled jasperware) is a type of porcelain (high-fired white kaolin clay) made by the Wedgwood company. It is made into molded cameos that are made into pins, pendants, and necklaces.

JEANNE
Jeanne was a mark used by Mark Dottenheim of NY, NY, for costume jewelry, often figural. This mark was first used in October 1919. The gold-plated Jeanne pin above depicts a bird's nest with tiny pearl eggs.

JELLY BELLY
A jelly belly is a piece of jewelry (usually a pin) that has a clear lucite or glass center. The Trifari jelly belly fish pin above has a faceted glass belly.

JENSEN, GEORG
Georg Jensen (1866-1935) was a Danish silversmith, ceramic artist, and sculptor. Jensen's modern-style silver jewelry is often adorned with semi-precious stones and is avidly collected. Jensen's workshop grew to have branches in Australia, New York, USA, and Toronto, Canada.

JET
(Also called "black amber".) A dense black variety of lignite, (fossilized coal), that can be highly polished and is often made into mourning jewelry, Zuni inlay, toys, buttons, etc.

JEWELRY
Ornamental adornments worn on the body composed of precious metals set with real or imitation gemstones.

J.J.
J.J. is a registered trademark of the Jonette Jewelry Compant, East Providence, R.I. This costume jewelry company was orignially called the Providence Jewelry Co.; it was founded in 1935 by Abraham Lisker. When Abraham Lisker's brother Nathan joined the company, the name was changed to Lisker & Lisker Inc. Production was halted during World War 2. After the war, the company was called the Jonette Jewelry Company. Marked with the initials "J.J." their jewelry is mostly figural and novelty pins, including Christmas pins. The poodle above is a J.J. figural pin.

JOB LOT
A collection of merchandise sold in one group for use in a specific display or fixture.

JOBBER
An individual who buys job lots from manufacturers or wholesalers to sell for a specific display or fixture.

JOB'S TEARS
Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) is a wild tropical grass plant that has very hard seeds. The white seeds are used as beads in jewelry. The seeds are dried, dyed or painted, polished, drilled and then strung into necklaces and bracelets.

JOCLA
A small string of beads at the bottom end of a necklace. The beads in the center of the jocla usually contrast with the beads surrounding it and may be larger than the beads surrounding it.

JOMAZ
Jomaz (or Mazer) is a costume jewelry mark used by the Joseph J. Mazer company (founded in NY, NY, in 1927). Early pieces are marked "Mazer Bros;" later pieces are marked JOMAZ or MAZER. They went out of business in the 1970's. They make high-quality jewelry like the gold-plated earring above with pearl and paste accents.

JULIANA
Juliana jewelry is distinguished by many beautiful, brightly-colored glass stones of different shapes and sizes (often including speckled or "painted" stones), with very little metal showing in the pieces. The well-made designs are very feminine, and often use cluster settings. Stones were either prong-set (usually with four prongs) or glued in. Juliana bracelets usually have five links and a fold-over clasp (plus most have a safety chain with a spring ring). Juliana pieces were marked with only a paper hang tag (a detachable tag), so positive identification is not usually possible. Juliana jewelry was produced from 1950 until the 1960s, and pieces are now highly prized by collectors. Juliana pieces were manufactures by the De Lizza & Elster company. A few other companies, including "Gloria" (perhaps made by G. Fox and Co. of Hartford, CT) and "Tara," sold pieces similar to Juliana pieces.

JULIANA-Style
Juliana-style jewelry is unsigned costume jewelry that resembles Juliana jewelry (see the previous entry)s, but the piece's origin in undetermined.

JUMP RING
A small oval or round wire ring used to link charms or pendants onto a chain. It is not usually soldered shut.