Radiant cut: A rectangular gemstone
with a total of 70 facets
combining the shape of an emerald
cut and the sparkle of a Brilliant
cut.
Ratchet bezel: A bezel
that can turn clockwise or counterclockwise and clicks with a
ratchet action as it rotates.
Red Gold: See Rose
Gold.
Red Jasper: An opaque,
rust-red color of jasper.
Refraction: The action of
changing the direction of a light wave, so the light enters the
object in one direction, and leaves it in another.
Refractory: A material with a
high melting point, which makes it useful as a barrier between
the heat source and a material that you don't want to melt, like
the sides of an oven, etc..
Regard: A kind of Acrostic
jewelry, meaning jewelry
where the first letter of each type of stone spells out a word.
In this case, a ring or brooch
set with a Ruby, Emerald,
Garnet, Amethyst,
Ruby, and a Diamond
so that the first letter of each gemstone
spelled out "Regard".
Relief: A kind of decoration that
protrudes from the surface, like a cameo.
Renaissance: The period in
western Europe from the mid fifteenth century to the industrial
age. The word means "rebirth" and was characterized by
a radical development in the arts, medicine, politics and
sciences.
Repoussé: A method of
embossing a metal sheet by
punching and hammering a design from the back, then polishing it
up in front with a chasing hammer, producing a three-dimensional
bas-relief surface.
Reverse Crystal Jewelry: (also
called Essex crystal) A clear crystal is cut
as a cabochon. A carving
is made on the flat side, like an intaglio,
and painted with a thin layer of mother
of pearl to produce a three-dimensional effect.
Rhinestone: A faceted
stone made of glass.
Rhodium: A metal
that is part of the platinum
family but is liquid in its raw natural state not not solid like
platinum. Rhodium can be
applied to base metals, gold,
sterling silver, or some
other alloy, to give it a
shiny white surface like platinum.
This process was popular in the 30's and 40's, is very durable,
and very expensive.
Rhodochrosite: A medium to
light pink opaque stone with
cream or creamy-pink banding resembling a pink version of malachite.
Rhodolite: A rose-red to pale
violet variety of pyrope garnet.
Rhodonite: a glassy, opaque,
pink to rose-red mineral,
often with black inclusions,
composed of crystalline manganese
silicate. Named after the
Greek word "rhodon" meaning "rose". It is
found in the former Soviet Union, the U.S., India, and Australia
and is usually used as an ornamental stone.
Rhombohedral: Resembling a
prism with six four-sided facets.
Ribbed: An undulating ridged
texture, like a person's rib cage showing through the skin.
Ring: A piece of jewelry
worn on a finger. See Band, Betrothal
Ring, Bridal Set, Charm
Ring, Cigar Band, Claddagh
Ring, Class Ring, Cluster
Ring, Cocktail Ring, Comfort
Fit, Compass Ring, Dinner
Ring, Engagement Ring,
Eternity Ring, Faith
Ring, Fede Ring, Poesy,
Poison Ring, Prayer
Ring, Ring Guard, Ring
Size, Shank, Shoulder,
Signet, Stack
Rings, Three Stone Diamond
Ring.
Ring brooch: A type of brooch
similar to a penannular
brooch, but with a complete ring to which is usually hinged
a horizontal pin slightly
longer than the diameter of the brooch.
The point of the pin rests on
the ring opposite the hinge, and the brooch
is worn by pulling the fabric up inside the ring, passing the pin
through it twice and then pulling the fabric tight so that it
holds the pin in place.
Ring guard: A ring worn above
another ring to keep it from slipping off
the finger.
Ring Size: A measurement of how large the ring
needs to be to fit on a person's finger. The average ring
size for women is 6. The average ring size
for men is 10.
Riveting: A method of joining
two flat objects together by making a hole in each piece, then
passing a pin with a large flat head, (composed of the same metal
as the piece), through the holes. The pin is then pounded flat
to secure it in place. This process was used in jewelry
instead of soldering when
it was not advisable to use heat or when one part was intended
to swivel.
Rivière: A necklace
composed of a single strand of gemstones
of the same size and cut,
usually Diamonds.
Rock Crystal: see Quartz.
Rolo link chain: A chain
composed of individually linked round or oval rings resembling a
standard cable chain, but
with thicker rings.
Rondella: A round metal
disk, sometimes studded with stones, that is strung on a necklace
as a spacer between beads.
Rope chain: A series of small
oval-shaped links that are arranged in such a way that they make
a spiral design resembling woven rope.
Rose Cut: A style of diamond
cutting that produces a gem
with a flat base and triangular facets
that rise to form a dome. This style of cut
has been in use since the 16th century.
Rose finish: Jewelry
finished so that it has the look of Rose Gold,
but no actual gold content.
Rose gold: An alloy
of gold mixed with copper,
which gives it a red tint.
Rose Quartz: A translucent
milky pink variety of Quartz.
Rotating bezel: A bezel
that can be turned to perform different timekeeping and
mathematical functions.
Rotational Axis: See Axis
of Symmetry.
Round Brilliant Cut: See Brilliant
cut.
Rubellite: Red Tourmaline.
Ruby: One of the four precious gemstones
along with Diamonds, Emeralds
and Sapphires. Ruby is a
member of the corundum
family whose color comes from chromium
oxide in the stone. Although corundum
can come in many colors, rubies are, by definition, red. Rubies
have been synthesized since at least 1890 and can only be
distinguished from natural rubies by trained gemologists. Rubies
are extremely hard, a 9 on the Mohs
scale, second only to diamonds.
Fine rubies of good color can be more valuable than diamonds,
For centuries, rubies have symbolized beauty, charity, love,
passion, power, and royalty. In some countries, engagement rings
are set with rubies instead of diamonds.
The ruby is the birthstone
for July.
Rutilated quartz: Quartz
crystals with inclusions
made up of rutile crystals, (which resemble fine reddish-brown,
red, and sometimes yellowish hairs), imbedded in the quartz.
