Jewellery words that begin with the letter C

Continuing our jewellery terminology glossary. Here are the jewellery terms beginning with C.

Cabochon - A stone cut into a curved or smooth round shape with a flat surface and not faceted.
Cairngorm - Brownish/yellow variety of a smoky quartz.
Calcite - Harder than Halcite semi precious stone and has a glassy sheen that can come in blue, clear or orange.
Cameo - A shell or other material with a raised relief profiled theme. It can be carved or manufactured.
Cape Emerald/ Cape Chrysolite - An attractive milky green mineral called Prehnite.
Carat - The unit of weight of a precious stone or metal. 
Carbuncle - A garnet cut as a cabochon not faceted.
Cat's Eye or Cats Eye - Varieties of chrysoberyl that allow light to reflect.
Carnelian/Cornelian - Rich orange semi precious stone. May have some banding.
Celestite/Celestine - Soft grey-blue mineral that has been used in making ceramics and glass. .
Chakra - Spinning vortex of subtle energy.
Chalcedony - Grey - blue and sky blue quartz with micro crystalline varieties of quartz.
Chalk - Soft white porous rock
Champleve - Enamel work where metal is engraved and then filled with enamel.

Charm - Usually a small attachment to a chain bracelet. Now charms can be attached to necklaces and other pieces of jewellery 
Chasing - Surface texturing of metal by hammers and punches.
Chatelaine - Pin or claps with hanging chains for items of continual use, such as keys, watch, scissors, etc.
Chaton - The central ornament of a ring.
Chi - Chinese term for life energy.
Chrysoberyl - Species of semi precious stones to which Cat's Eyes and Alexandrites belong to.
Chrysolite - Pale yellowish green stone. A variety of Peridot.
Chrysoprase - Light green semi precious quartz.
Cinnabar - Soft and porous rock in a rich red colour. Beware of fake Cinnabar from China in recent years.
Citrine Quartz - Uncommon with warm tones of yellow sunlight. Today it is produced from a more common quartz amethyst which turns a golden yellow when heated.
Claw Set/Coronet Setting - Term used for setting a stone where the claws project from the base of its setting. A Coronet Setting is always round, whilst a Claw Setting might be square.
Clear Quartz - Also known as Rock Crystal.
Clear Topaz - Clear - blue stone that can look like Sapphires.
Clear Zircon - Hard stone that imitates a diamond.
Clip - Mechanism used in earrings and scarf clips to hold in place.
Cloisonne - In enamel work where metal separate the coloured enamel filling.
Cocktail rings - In 1925 heavy elaborate rings of unusual design were given this name because they were suitable to be worn to a cocktail party.
Collet Setting - Method of setting in which a precious stone is held in place by wrapping it in a rounded band of metal.
Collier - Wide statement necklace which encircles the neck from throat to chin
Copper - Chemical reaction between other minerals and solutions forms copper.
Coral - Formed from the skeletal remains of small sea creatures. Red is the most valuable. Now rare due to its over harvesting.
Corbeille - Gifts made by a bridegroom to his bride.
Cordonniere - Girdle twisted to resemble cord. It is tied in the front with long ends hanging down.
Cornelian - Clear red Chalcedony stone.
Corundum - Species of semi precious stone of which Ruby and Sapphire belong. Next down from a diamond in hardness.
Costume Jewellery - Fashion ornaments in non precious materials - also known as fashion jewellery.
Crackled Quartz - Also called Star-Burst Quartz. Clear quartz is heated and cooled to give a cracked effect. Dye is absorbed to give a very sparkly appearance. 
Creole Earrings - Hoop style that has a thicker base than top.
Crystal - Mineral with regular planes and faces reflecting a regular internal structure. It can also refer to glass as in Swarovski Crystal. Where the glass is highly reflective.
Cubic Zirconia - See clear Zircon.
Curb - The most common pattern for gold chain bracelets.

Updated May 2022

Clip backs to clip on earrings.

Babycham charm 1970s

Crystal beads in glass in this brooch

Hat charm bracelet by Avon

Turquoise coloured stones called cabochon in this Czech brooch.

 Loss of costume jewellery in a fire - Absolutely gutted.

A couple of months ago, we had a major fire in the storage unit that we had stored lots of our stuff in anticipation of moving in a few years time. The whole unit burnt to the ground. There is an investigation ongoing that it was arson. I am convinced it was as the whole building burnt so fierce and there was suppose to have been a sprinkler system! 

Anyhow we lost so much, yes we were insured but very much under insured. Gone now is the collection of vintage costume jewellery that I had built up over the last 20 years. My whole inventory of jewellery books that I used for identification and reference - along with many other things that meant a lot to me and hubby. 

Can I go on collecting and researching costume jewellery?

I now find it very difficult to actually look at any jewellery. In the last few months I have brought just a few pieces to add to my own personal collection. The jewellery that I have on eBay was the boxes that I still had at home. I don't think I will every buy anymore jewellery just for resale again. 

Brought this pretty Cloisonne unicorn brooch to add to my Gothic/fantasy collection. Circa 1980s of age. Wiggle to the pin at the back.

Art Deco style brooch from the 1980s. In green and gold colours. Copy of the Pierre Bex brooches but this one was made in China/Asia

Silver marcasite swallow bird brooch circa 1960s with a rhodium plated back.  

 Floral Iris or rainbow glass vintage brooch circa 1960s. The rhinestone are in shades of blue, pink and clear. 

Niello jewellery featured in this fabulous blog post

Niello Jewellery and Nielloware.

You may have seen the black and silver Nielloware jewelry produced in Siam now Thailand. Popular with the army folk who sent this distinctive tourist Thai Niello jewelry back to their loved ones as gifts – 1930s to 1990s. Niello is a black- grey mix of copper, silver and lead sulphides that is inlayed onto another metal usually silver that has first been shaped and engraved.

Most have a mark either sterling silver or Siam. Here we are show casing some of the items we have sourced and are available on our website.

The jewelry features the Thai god and goddesses including Mekkala.

A floral leaf brooch of Niello onto silver.

An ancient technique that is unfortunately a dying trade, because since the 1990s it has not been produced as the craftsmen are no longer around. This makes this very collectable.

Above is a 1920s camel brooch with a Niello border in silver with black.

Pair of clip on earrings in Nielloware.

Dress clip in Niello black and silver

Back of dress clip

Dress clip and earring set in Nielloware.

Just a few pieces I have found over the last few years. I do not sell jewellery anymore. These are just for information.