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Glossary by Letter:
LMW
Stands for "Limited
Manufacturer's
Warranty".
LAB-CREATED
Gemstones produced in
a laboratory rather than
found in nature. Synthetic
gemstones are not "fake",
since they have exactly
the same chemical characteristics
as the natural stone,
but they are usually flawless
and much cheaper than
the real thing. The most
common synthetic gems
are emeralds, rubies,
sapphires and opals.
LAB RUBY (SAPPHIRE)
A lab ruby (or sapphire)
is a synthetic (laboratory-made)
stone. It has the same
composition, hardness,
and specific gravity as
natural rubies (or sapphires)
but is much less expensive
than a natural stone (since
they are relatively inexpensive
to create in the laboratory
as comared to mining gemstones).
These lab-produced stones
can be legally referred
to as "real" stones [as
opposed to "natural" (mined)
stones].
LABRADORITE
A grayish almost opaque
form of feldspar with
flashes of blue, green,
and/or yellow visible
at certain angles.
LAGUNA
Laguna is a mark used
on costume jewelry made
by Royal Craftsmen Inc.
of New York City. The
company was founded in
1944. Laguna pieces are
mostly from low to average
quality, and often use
plastic beads, glass beads,
or simulated pearls.
LAMINATED
An object coated with
a thin layer of plastic
is said to be laminated.
LAMPWORKED GLASS
Lampworked glass (also
called torchwork) is formed
from glass canes and tubes
that are shaped by hand
over a flame (oil lamps
and bellows were originally
used, hence the name lampworking).
Lampworked glass beads
are made in a wide variety
of colors, shapes, and
designs, including millefiori,
rose-like overlay beads
(pictured above), aventurine
glass, and many others.
Lampworking was invented
in the 1700's in Murano,
Italy.
LANYARD
A cord worn around the
neck for carrying something,
such as a knife or whistle
LAPIDARY
The art of cutting, shaping,
polishing and creating
jewelry from stones.
LAPIS
Shortened form of Lapis
Lazuli.
LAPIS LAZULI
A royal blue opaque semiprecious
stone with white veins
or patches of calcite
and a few gold-looking
metallic flecks of pyrite.
Lapis can be dyed to enhance
the color.
LARIAT
A cord worn as a necklace
with the ends of the cord
dangling like a necktie.
It can be tied into a
knot or secured by a sliding
brooch. See Bolo.
LARIMAR
Larimar is a form of pectolite
(with copper) found only
in a single place in the
Dominican Republic. It
is an opaque sky blue
stone with white streaks.
There are often some red
to brown impurities. Larimar
is usually shaped and
polished (but not faceted).
Larimar has a hardness
of 4.5 - 6.0 and a specific
gravity of 2.7 to 2.9.
Larimar is not enhanced.
Larimar was named for
Larisa (the daughter
of Miguel Mendez, a geologist
who helped reintroduce
this stone) and mar
(the Spanish word for
sea).
LASER DRILLING
A way of enhancing a gem
by drilling a tiny hole
with a laser to remove
an impurity.
LATHE
A lathe is a machine that
turns metal, wood, etc.
The material to be turned
is held horizontally on
the machine and rotated
very quickly while the
jeweler applies a sharp
cutting tool to the material,
removing excess material,
shaping the article. Rings
are sometimes turned on
a lathe, but most jewelers
do not use lathes.
LAVA
Lava from the volcano
Vesuvius near Pompeii
in Italy has been used
to make jewelry, especially
cameos.
Lava jewelry was popular
in the nineteenth century.
LAVALIER
(Negligee Pendant): A
necklace with two pendants
of unequal length suspended
from it.
LAYERED
One sheet of material
on top of another with
indistinct boundaries
between them.
LEAD
A soft, dense, metallic
element. Lead is bluish
in color, but tarnishes
readily to a dull gray.
It is both malleable and
ductile and easily fuses
with other metals to form
alloys. Lead is used in
containers, sheets, tubes,
pipes, solder, type metal,
bullets, radiation shielding,
paints, and antiknock
compounds.
LEAD CRYSTAL
Lead crystal is high-quality
glass containing at least
10% lead oxide. Glass
containing at least 24%
lead oxide is called lead
crystal. Glass containing
at least 30% lead oxide
is called full lead
crystal. Lead added
to the melt produces very
clear glass resembling
rock crystal. The process
of making lead crystal
was discovered by the
English glassmaker George
Ravenscroft in 1676. Crystal
is colored by adding various
metallic oxides to the
melt. When cut and polished,
crystal becomes quite
brilliant.
LEAF
Metallic leaf is paper-thin
sheets of metals. For
example, gold, silver,
platinum, and copper are
rolled or pounded into
metallic leaf which can
be applied to surfaces.
LEAF
The plant leaf is a common
motif in jewelry. The
leaf pin pictured above
was made by the Trifari
jewelry company.
LEATHER CORD JEWELRY
Jewelry strung on a thin
leather cord has become
popular recently. Pendants,
beads, shell, feathers,
and/or sharks teeth are
strung on leather to make
interesting necklaces
and bracelets.
LENGTH
The linear measurement
of a bracelet or necklace.
LENTIL CUT
A lentil cut stone is
a cabochon cut in which
the upper and lower portions
of the stone are identical.
LEVER BACK
A means of attaching an
earring to a pierced ear
with a hook that goes
through the ear and is
then secured by a hinged
lever attached to the
back of the piece.
LIBERTY & COMPANY
Liberty & Co. was
a British jewelry manufacturer
that combined the Arts
and Crafts style and the
Art Nouveau style in their
mass-produced pieces.
Liberty & Co. was
founded in 1975 by Arthur
Lazenby Liberty (1843-17).
Archibald Knox (1864-1933)
was the chief designer
for Liberty and Co.
LIGHT TRANSPARENT
Plastic that appears to
only be translucent, but
is actually transparent
when held up to the light.
LIMOGES
Limoges is a French company
that produces fine china.
The miniature plate pin
pictured above is made
of porcelain that is accented
with gold.
LIME
The gray or white
mineral form of calcium
oxide, used as a cementing
compound.
LIMESTONE
A common sedimentary
rock consisting mostly
of calcium carbonate that
was deposited by the remains
of marine animals. It
is used as a building
stone and in the manufacture
of lime, carbon dioxide,
and cement. Crystalline
limestone is called marble.
LINDE STAR SAPPHIRE
A synthetic star
sapphire developed in
1967. Many star sapphires
found today are these
synthetics.
LINK
A loop, or other object,
which is linked together
in a series to make a
chain.
LISNER
Lisner was a costume jewelry
manufacturer. D. Lisner
and Company of New York,
New York, USA, first produced
jewelry from 1935 (they
first used the mark Lisner
in 1938) in the the 1970's.
They made necklaces, bracelets,
earrings, and pins aimed
at the medium- to lower-priced
costume jewelry market
(although many Lisner
pieces are very high quality
and beautifully designed).
Lisner pieces often have
colorful rhinestones (including
aurora
borealis stones) and
molded plastic stones.
The Lisner pin above has
delicate enamel work,
an aurora borealis stone,
and imitation pearls.
LIQUID SILVER
The term given to strands
of small silver beads
which were made by carefully
slicing tubes of sterling
silver into 1/8"
pieces and stringing them
together. A form of Heishi.
LIVING JEWELRY
Term for jewelry made
from materials that were
once part of a living
creature, such as Ivory,
Pearls, Mother of Pearl,
Seashell, and Coral.
L/N
The marks L/N and L/N25
"Nemo Gold Seal Quality"
belonged to the Brier
Manufacturing Company
(L/N perhaps standing
for "Little Nemo"). This
company produced brooches,
necklaces, bracelets,
dress clips, earrings,
tiaras, hair clips, etc.,
often featuring colorful
rhinestones in gold-plated
pot metal. Nemo was another
mark of the Brier Manufacturing
Company, a costume jewelry
company located in Providence,
Rhode Island, USA. The
Nemo mark was first used
in January, 1913.
LOBSTER CLAW CLASP
A means of connecting
the ends of a necklace
together. One end has
a wide flat hook, resembling
the claw of a lobster,
with a hinged "thumb"
on a spring. The other
end has a ring which the
claw hooks onto. It is
then secured by closing
the thumb of the claw.
LOCKET
A hinged case, usually
in the shape of an oval
or heart, which can be
opened or closed and usually
contains a photograph
or memento.
LONDON BLUE TOPAZ
London blue topaz (Aluminum
silicate fluoride hydroxide)
is the darkest blue variety
of topaz. Most blue topaz
is silver topaz that has
been irradiated and heat
treated, but some stones
are blue naturally. London
blue topaz is found in
Brazil, U.S.A., Sri Lanka,
Myanmar (Burma), Russia,
Australia (including Tasmania),
Pakistan, Mexico, Japan,
and Africa. Topaz has
a hardness of 8 and a
specific gravity of 3.5-3.6.
LORGNETTES
Lorgnettes are glasses
(or opera glasses, which
are small binoculars)
that are mounted on a
handle. This type of glasses
was used a long time ago.
LOST WAX CASTING
An object is made of wax
and coated in clay. When
the clay is fired, the
wax melts and is drained
away or evaporates leaving
an exact impression of
the object in the hardened
clay, which is then filled
with molten metal.
LOZENGE
A lozenge has a diamond
shape. A lozenge cut stone
is a step-cut gem with
a diamond shape.
LUCITE
A clear, strong plastic
that can be molded and
carved, popular in the
1940's for ladies purses
and jewelry.
LUSTER
A reference to the brightness
of an object that shines
with reflected light rather
than producing its own.
LUSTROUS
A reference to the brightness
of an object that shines
with reflected light rather
than producing its own.
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