Santa Maria is the term used to describe a particularly fine quality of aquamarine with a deep blue color and avidly sought after. The name comes from the Santa Maria mine in Cear, Brazil. Brazilian aquamarines with other grades of quality are known as "Espirito Sant", "Martha Rocha", "Fortaleza" and "Marambaia". Beautiful aquamarine known as "Saint-Mary-African" are found in Mozambique.

This name can lead to careless bewilderment: the word "sapphire" comes from the Greek word for "blue". But sapphires, which belong to the corundum group, occur in every color of the rainbow. Sapphires can be green, yellow, pink or brown, and each bears the name of its color as a cognomena. When a stone is described simply as a sapphire and without further modification, then the blue variety of sapphire is typically referred to. The red member of the corundum family goes by the name "ruby", and the orange-colored member is called "padparaja". Sapphires are among the most sought after gemstones. Stones of a deep cornflower blue color are particularly precious. The most important sapphire deposits occur in Australia, Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Sautoirs are very long necklaces that hang elegantly and sensually up to the waist. With a length of 120 centimeters, sautoirs were especially fashionable in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Sautoirs are often made without clasps and often end in an ornamental pendant or tassel. In the past, the two ends of a sautoir were often pinned with a pin to the belt, shoulder of a garment, or two different positions on a dress. Other versions come with hidden closures so that the sautoir can also be worn as a multi-strand necklace or bracelet. The sautoir was Coco Chanel's favorite type of jewelry and is now sometimes also known as the "Chanel chain".

The Viennese mineralogist Friedrich Mohs (1773–1839) introduced the notion of "scratch hardness" as a way of classifying minerals. He defined the concept as the scratch resistance that a mineral shows when you try to scratch it with a sharp object. Based on this attribute, Mohs developed his hardness scale, which is the most commonly used system today to compare the hardness of precious stones. The Mohs scale assigns each mineral to one of ten degrees of hardness. (See also the Moh hardness scale.)

Gemstones typically embody the focal points of a piece of jewelry. During the long history of the goldsmith's art, jewelers have devised a variety of settings that hold the gem securely, while allowing it to optimally reveal its intrinsic color, light and fire. Although creating an environment is a task for a goldsmith, the actual insertion of a gem into its setting is performed by a specially trained craftsman known as a "setter". See also protrusion settings and frame setting.

The shuttle cut is a narrow, pointed oval shape reminiscent of a small ship, hence the name. The table of this module is elongated, pinned to twin points and is surrounded by facets. The shape of the shuttle cut is similar to that of the marquise cut.

Pearls are natural products. Although humans have learned to cultivate pearls and thus intervene in this natural process, the genesis of a pearl is still subject to the whims of Mother Nature. The cultured pearls grow inside bivalves grown in underwater "farms". Alterations in water temperature and natural variations in nutrient concentration in water affect the production of mother-of-pearl bivalves, which is the material that accumulates layer by layer to create a pearl. The serial accumulation of these layers often leads to the formation of the ridges or rings that distinguish a real pearl and that are considered signs of its natural growth.

Silver is a white, shiny, easily malleable and ductile metal. It has a number of superlative characteristics: for example, it is the most highly reflective of all metals and the best conductor of heat and electricity. Thanks to these attributes, silver is not only coveted for use in jewelry, but is also frequently used in chemical apparatus, as well as in medical and electro-technical applications. The chemical symbol for silver is "Ag";this abbreviation comes from the Latin name of silver, "argentum". Pure silver is too soft for most applications, so it is usually bonded to other metals. The phrase "sterling silver" describes an alloy in which 925 parts of pure silver are contained within every 1,000 parts of the alloy.

Like the reptile,the chain of snakes is elastic and flexible. Its surface is almost closed because the flat connections have the shape of scales closely connected but still completely flexible. Snake chains are particularly suitable for use as chains that carry pendants.

The word "solitaire" comes from the French language, in which it means "solitary", "alone" or "hermit". When used in the context of jewelry, the term refers to a piece of jewelry that features a single, usually large diamond as its focal point. The term is often used exclusively to describe a ring in which a solitary and majestic diamond is the undisputed focus of attention.

This phrase is a general term for all ornamental stones and stone-like materials. The term is sometimes applied only to less precious or non-transparent stones, but in most cases the phrase "jewelry stone" is used as a synonym for the phrase "precious stone". There is no clear distinction between the two terms nor any strictly defined meaning for the phrase "jewel stone".

No two pearls are exactly identical. Even if they come from the same species of bivalves, there can still be huge differences in quality. In addition to size, shape, color and gloss, another important criterion used to determine the value of a pearl is the nature of its surface. Uniform regularity is the most important criterion for the surface: the fewer ridges or indentations, the better the quality of the pearl. Pearls with perfectly immaculate surfaces are rare because, after all, a pearl is a natural product.

Humanity imitates nature: a synthetic is an artificial mineral that was created in the laboratory. Synthetics have the same chemical and physical properties as natural minerals. The first methods for the production of artificial stones were developed in the middle of the XIX century. The most common method is the melt-drip process in which the pulverized raw material is heated until it melts. Droplets falling from the molten material freeze into a pear-shaped body whose interior is identical to a natural crystal. Nowadays there is hardly any precious stone that cannot be imitated. Man-produced surrogates, however, must bear the additional designation "synthetic" when offered for sale.