Glossary

A decorative piece of jewellery that is fastened to clothing with a hinged pin or catch. 

Golden hollow convex amulet. Often of Etruscan or Irish Bronze age origin. 

The Byzantine Empire, also known in history as Byzantium or even the East Roman Empire was founded by Constantine I circa 330AD. The name Byzantine is said to have derived from the original name of the capital city Byzantium which was renamed Constantinople. Over the centuries this empire included a vast land mass which at times included modern day Italy, Greece, the Balkans, Turkey and Northern Africa. Although influenced by the traditions of the territories encompassed within the kingdom, the conversion of Emperor Constantine I to Christianity made any other form of worship void. 

Spanning from 330AD to 1453AD, at the height of its power Byzantium is said to have housed the richest, most lavish and most important christian city in the world, its capital Constantinople. 

Jewellery from this era is often found in high carat yellow gold and silver, granulation and wirework in relief are used as decoration, whilst christian motifs such as crosses, saints and other heavenly symbols are staples in the jewels found from this era.

A highly polished smooth, unfaceted stone. 

Design cut in relief.

Fine gold or silver thread twisted into decorative patterns, often inculpating shell or floral motifs. Similar to filigree although more three dimensional. Popular in the first half of the 19th century in France. 

i) An oblong oval containing the names of Egyptian royalty in hieroglyphics.

ii) A small decorative plaque that allows a jewel to be suspended on a pendant 

A cross with four arms that has a circle (or nimbus) around the intersection of the horizontal and vertical.

A series of linked rings usually made of metal.

A sloped edge. A surface created at 45° between two adjoining faces which eases otherwise sharp edges. 

A technique that used to decorate metal through indentation rather than engraving.

Parisian jewellery firm founded by Etienne Nitot in the 1780s. The first recorded location for this firm was a small jewellery store in the Rue St Honoré. Perhaps the greatest achievement of the firm was gaining Napoleon I as a client, which supposedly happened after Nitot rescued the Emperor from an accident involving his carriage. In 1802 Chaumet became the French Emperor's official jeweller and went on to create bespoke pieces for both of the Emperor's weddings, the Coronation Crown and even the hilt of his sword.

The business continued to be run by Nitot family until the fall of the Empire in 1815 when it was purchased by Jean Baptiste Fossin. The Fossin family continued in the tradition of creating fine jewels for the elite in society. Amongst their important clientele included Louis-Phillippe, King of France and Princess Mathilde Bonaparte. With such a prestigious list of clients, Chaumet was expanded abroad and the Fossin's opened a boutique in London entrusted to Jean-Valentin Morel and his son Prosper Morel.

Soon their wares were celebrated by Queen Victoria and they recieved the much coveted Royal Warrant. The control of the firm continued in the hands of the Morel family. In 1889 Chaumet fell into the hands of Prosper's son-in-law Joseph Chaumet and stayed in the Chaumet family until it was sold in 1987 by Investcorp and eventually LVMH in 1999.

Through the Art Deco period Chaumet were recognised as trendsetters of the new style, showcasing at the famed 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Their use of quality gemstones and unusual designs make them a formidable and historic jewellery house.

The first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.

Decoration achieved through deep cuts.

A classic single string of graduated pearls.

An approximate date. 

A method of casting by making a wax model which is then covered in clay and baked in a kiln. The wax melts away leaving a mould of the model which can then be filled with molten metal to produce an object. 

Small metal grips that hold a gemstone in place. 

A style of ring traditionally used as a wedding band. The band is uniform all the way around with softly rounded edges. 

A style of chain where links have been twisted and flattened.

A crown. 

An item of jewellery worn from the ear. 

 A cut of gemstones with an octagonal table, eight crown facets and eight pavilion facets. Often used for smaller diamonds. 

A naturally occurring alloy or gold and silver. 

Cloison ; a design is outlined with thin metal strips on a metal base. The spaces contained by the wire (cells) is then filled with coloured enamel and fired. Once cooled the surface is polished to make a smooth and flush veneer. 

Champlevé ; channels are gouged in a thick piece of metal and then filled with powered enamel before being fired.  Channels remain separated by thin ridges of metal left in place. Once cooled enamel is polished to form a smooth surfaces with these ridges. 

Basse-Taille ; similar to champlevé although recesses are often chases in low relief and then flooded with translucent enamel allowing light from the metal to be reflected back at the viewer. This produces more depth of colour and aims to create more three dimensional modelling in figurative scenes. This type of enamelling is not smooth but rather the enamel lies in various thickness on the object.

Émail en Ronde Bosse ; enamel applied to a rounded or high relief objects.

Painted enamels ; a techniques originating from 15th century where a layers of enamel would be applied to a thin sheet of metal as a wet powder an fired. This would be the background and more layers are applied on top to create a scene. A small needle would be used to draw through the wet enamel before firing allowing to more detailed work to be completed. 

Filigree enamelling ; similar to cloison although cells are created by filigree instead of thin metal strips. The enamel used to fill these cells will not create a smooth surface when fired. 

A decorative texture on metal produced by using a special mechanical lathe.

Cutting decoration into a surface with the use of a sharp tool.

Tremble.  Settings are placed on tiny springs allowing the piece to move with the wearer. 

Named after Sir William Essex who painted miniature animal portraits for Queen Victoria. Essex crystals are pieces of rock crystal cabochon where an image is carved in reverse onto the flat base before being painted. This created the impression of a three dimensional image when viewed from above.