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View Glossary
by Letter:
K
A variation of the word "carat",
(used to describe the weight
of a gemstone), "karat",
with a "k" is used
to describe the purity of
gold. Gold is often alloyed
with silver, copper, and/or
other metals to improve its
strength and durability. Products
made from gold are marked
to show how much actual gold
is contained in the product.
Items marked 24K are 100%
pure gold. Items marked 18K
or 750 have 750 parts gold
out of 1000, or 75% pure gold.
Items marked 14K or 585 have
585 parts out of 1000, or
58.5% pure gold. Much of the
jewelry manufactured before
the 20th century do not have
these marks and must be tested
to determine purity.
KARAT
A variation of the word
"carat", (used to
describe the weight of a gemstone),
"karat", with a
"k" is used to describe
the purity of gold. Gold is
often alloyed with silver,
copper, and/or other metals
to improve its strength and
durability. Products made
from gold are marked to show
how much actual gold is contained
in the product. Items marked
24K are 100% pure gold. Items
marked 18K or 750 have 750
parts gold out of 1000, or
75% pure gold. Items marked
14K or 585 have 585 parts
out of 1000, or 58.5% pure
gold. Much of the jewelry
manufactured before the 20th
century do not have these
marks and must be tested to
determine purity.
KETOH
Originally just a wide leather
strap worn on the left wrist
to protect the arm from bow
strings, it is now usually
decorated with a wide ornament
of silver.
KNIFE WIRE
An extremely thin wire holding
a gemstone making it appear
to float.
KORITE
(also known as Buffalo Stone,
calcentine, or korite) is
the fossilized shell of
the ammonite, an ancient
cephalopod. It can be used
as a gemstone and is a gray,
iridescent stone with flashes
of blue, green, purple,
red, or yellow. (Blues and
purples are rare.) The color
changes as the stone is
viewed from different angles.
It is only found in southern
Alberta, Canada.
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