Glossary of Beads and Jewelry Supplies

• 2X - A bead that is coated entirely with the reflective aurora borealis coating use in AB beads.
  
• AB - Aurora borealis, a reflective coating on one half a bead that generates a rainbow of colors in the reflection.
  
• alloy - A mixture of different metals that have been combined when the metal is in a molten state, usually combined to improve hardness or other qualities lacking in one of the metals and present in the other(s.)
  
• bail - A strip of metal formed into a fold with end prongs or a loop used to attach a cut stone or pendant to a necklace.
  
• beads - Stone, glass, shell, clay, or other similarly hard material with a hole drilled making it possible to attach to jewelry with string or metal.
  
• bezel - A thin strip of sheet metal wrapped around a stone and soldered in place to hold the stone against a backing of sheet metal.
  
• bicone - A bead shape that is like two cones attached to each other at the wide end of the cones.
  
• briolette - A teardrop shaped bead that is faceted on all sides.
  
• bugle bead - A long tubular shaped bead.
  
• cabochon - A style of cut stone that is oval in shape with a flat back for setting onto a sheet metal backing. This style is usually used with opaque stones, but sometimes is used with the less expensive transparent gemstones.
  
• carat - A measure of weight used for gemstones. One carat is equal to 1/5 gram (200 milligrams).
  
• casting - Forming molten metal by pouring it into a mold and allowing it to cool and harden into the shape of the mold.
  
• chainnose pliers - Pliers whose jaws are flat on the inside plane where they meet, allowing for ease in holding wire or flat surfaced items such as metal sheet.
  
• clasp - A device that allows for opening and closing a circular piece of jewelry such as a necklace or bracelet.
  
• cloisonne - The art of decorative enameling.
  
• coin silver - A silver alloy that contains 90% pure silver and 10% copper.
  
• crimp bead - Either a round bead or tube that is compressed around bead stringing material, such as coated wire, to hold the string in place by friction.
  
• crimping pliers - Pliers with notches designed to compress crimp beads or crimp tubes.
  
• enamel - Layers of colored glass coating on metal that has been fused to the metal at a high heat, often used to embellish metal beads.
  
• eye pin - A wire with a loop at the end.
  
• faceted - Flat surfaces ground onto beads or stones to create a more reflective surface.
  
• finding - A metal jewelry component used to connect other jewelry components, such as clasps, earring hooks, jump rings, or chain.
  
• fine silver - A silver alloy that contains at least 99.9% pure silver.
  
• fire polished - Glass beads that have been passed through a flame rather than buffed to smooth their surface.
  
• firescale - A black layer of cupric oxide (CuO) that forms on the surface of metal containing copper, such as silver, when the metal is heated, such as occurs in soldering.
  
• flux - A chemical composition used to enable solder to flow when it melts by preventing oxides from forming when metal is heated during soldering.
  
• foil backed - Glass or crystal beads and cabochons are sometimes backed with a thin layer of tin foil to enhance their light reflectivity.
  
• freshwater pearl - A pearl formed in a mollusk that lives in fresh water rather than salt water.
  
• frit - A powder used to coat the mandrel when making glass beads to promote the release of the glass from the mandrel after the glass cools and hardens.
  
• gauge - A term used to express the measurment of wire thickness.
  
• gold filled - Base metal or silver that has a layer of high karat gold bonded by heat and pressure, not electroplated, over its surface.
  
• gold plated - A thin layer of at least 10 karat gold electroplated to the surface of base metal or silver. The surface of gold plate will wear off more quickly than that on gold-filled items.
  
• gram - A unit of measure in the Metric system equal to 0.03527 ounce.
  
• head pin - A wire with a knob or flat end, like a nail.
  
• irradiated - Subjecting something to radiation. This is sometimes done to gemstone and pearl beads in order to change their color or clarity.
  
• jump ring - A circular wire loop that is cut at one point to allow connection with other wire loops or jewelry components.
  
• karat - A term that describes the amount of pure gold in an alloy. Pure gold is 24 karats (24K), 18 karat (18K) gold is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metal, resulting in 75% gold. 14 karat (14K) gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metal, resulting in 58.3% gold. 10 karat (10K) gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts other metal, resulting in 41.7% gold. 10k gold is the minimum karat designation that can still legally be termed gold in the United States.
  
• lampworked bead - Glass beads that have been formed by placing molten glass on a mandrel and shaping it with a torch.
  
• mandrel - A metal tube used to support molten glass as it is formed into a bead. The mandrel creates the hole in the bead.
  
• millimeter - A unit of measure in the Metric system equal to 0.03937 inch.
  
• nickle silver (German) - An alloy that contains 65% copper, 18% zinc, and 17% nickle.
  
• pendant - A jewelry component that hangs from a string or wire, usually as a focal point in the jewelry item.
  
• pickle - A chemical solution used to remove oxides and flux after soldering metal.
  
• polymer clay - Polymer clay is a manmade material that remains pliable for long periods, but bakes or "cures" to hardness at fairly low temperatures. It can be sculpted, carved, stamped, textured, sanded, buffed, painted, and used to create sculpture, accessories, figurines, dolls, or jewelry, or to embellish other surfaces.
  
• precious metal clay (PMC) - Finely ground silver, gold, or other precious metal, that is bound together with a maleable substance that disintegrates when heated, allowing the powdered metal to be shaped like clay.
  
• pressed glass beads - Glass beads that were formed by pouring molten glass into molds.
  
• reconstituted - Genuine stone is crushed then bound together again with an polymer resin. Sometimes dye is added to the mix. It is a man-made imitation material.
  
• resin - A plastic like substance used for casting a wide variety of items, including jewelry components, in molds.
  
• rice pearl - Pearls, generally freshwater pearls, that are shaped like rice.
  
• ring stand - A table-like device with a screen table-top that allows heating jewelry components from both the top and bottom during soldering or fusing.
  
• rondelle - A bead shape that is not a perfect ball, but rather a flattened ball or saucer shape. It is also often spelled "roundel."
  
• rough - The raw source material for gemstones, as it comes from the mine.
  
• roundnose pliers - Pliers whose jaws are round over their entire circumference, used to shape wire into loops.
  
• seed bead - Small round glass beads available in several sizes and a wide variety of colors.
  
• semi-precious stone - Any stone suitable for use in jewelry that is not a diamond, ruby, sapphire, or emerald.
  
• solder - A metal alloy that, when melted, fuses metal together.
  
• spacer beads - Small beads used as accents and to separate larger beads.
  
• split ring - A wire loop that has been wrapped into a circle twice, similar to a key chain loop, used to connect jewelry components.
  
• stabilized - The process of stabilization involves injecting a hardening agent, usually an epoxy or polymer, into stone to improve hardness. This is often done with turquoise beads using a vaccum process.
  
• stamping - A piece of metal whose design is created with the pressure of a stamp pressing into the metal to cut or emboss it.
  
• sterling silver - A silver alloy, usually a mixture of copper and silver, that contains at least 92.5% pure silver.
  
• synthetic gemstone - Chemically, optically, and physically identical to a natural stone, but created in a laboratory.
  
• tarnish - A discoloration of metal due to oxidation caused by exposure to air.
  
• thread conditioner - A substance, such as bees wax, used to coat thread to make it less likely to kink, knot, or fray during use.
  
• tiger tail - Strong bead stringing wire.
  
• torch - A device used to create heat that is hotter than the melting points of many metals via a flame fueled with propane, butane, or a combination of acetylene and oxygen.
  
• vermeil - Silver (at least 92.5 percent pure silver) plated with gold. Where the plating has not fully bonded with the silver, the silver will tarnish underneath the plating, causing darkened areas to appear over time.
  
• wire cutters - A tool similar to pliers with sharp edged cutting jaws (like sissors) used to cut wire.
  
• wire jig - A device with various shaped and sized pegs used to form wire into loops or other designs by wrapping it around the pegs.
  
• wrapped wire loop - A wire loop that is finished with one end of the wire wrapping around the other wire below the loop then trimmed flush with the wrapped part.

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