Glossary
Antiques & Collectables
Glossary of antique and collectable terms There are 856 entries in this glossary.
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| Term | Definition |
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| Tabasheer Opal |
Tabasheer, also spelled tabashir, or pearl opal is an organic stone that forms in damaged joints (nodes) of bamboo plants. This hydrated form of silica appears as a rounded mass of opal, and looks like seed pearls |
| Table |
The large flat surface or central facet at the top of the crown of a cut diamond (or other transparent gemstone), the sides of which surface are cut at angles depending on whether the table is square, octagonal, oblong, etc. If larger than normal, it is called an 'open table'
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| Table Cut |
The style of cutting a diamond (or other transparent gemstone) by removing the natural points of an octahedral crystal, leaving a flat square or rectangular table at the top and a similar but very much smaller parallel flat surface (culet) at the bottom, with four abutting isosceles-trapezoid-shaped facets sloping upward and four downward from the girdle (if the sloping facets are given chamfered corners, the number of sloping facets is increased from 8 to 16). This cut was introduced in the early 1400’s and continued until the introduction of the rose cut in the mid-1700’s. A later modification has, extending downward from the girdle, 4 triangular facets that meet at a point at the bottom instead of a culet. Such table-cut stones are described as 'thin cut' or 'thick cut', depending upon the depth of the stone.
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| Tahitian Pearl |
Tahitian pearls, also called black pearls, are dark-coloured pearls. They are produced by the large, black-lipped pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera, also called the Tahitian black pearl oyster, a mollusk found in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. Black pearls come in many colours, including many body shades and overtone tints including grey (light grey to almost black), peacock green (especially valuable), aubergine (eggplant), and deep brown. The colour of the dark nacre is determined by the minerals in the oyster's diet (plankton) and in its environment. Many "black pearls" are dyed or irridiated to enhance or change their colour; it is difficult to tell a natural pearl from a treated pearl. Tahitian pearls are graded on six factors:
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| Tall Case Clock |
A tall, narrow clock with a base that sits on the floor. Also known as a grandfather clock or in the United States a tall case clock See also Grandfather Clock and Long Case Clock
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| Tankard |
Mug with or without a hinged cover, usually for beer
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| Tanvorite |
Tanvorite is a trademarked name for a man made gemstone. This synthetic stone is a deep blue-purple stone that resembles tanzanite.
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| Tanzanite |
Tanzanite (strontium-rich Calcium-aluminum silicate) is a valuable, transparent, blue-violet type of zoisite resembling sapphire. It is often heat-treated in order to produce a deeper blue-violet colour. This mineral was discovered in 1967 by Manuel d'Souza, an Indian tailor, south west of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Tanzanite has a hardness of 6
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| Taper Stick |
Small candlestick for holding a taper (thin candle) for lighting pipes and melting wax.
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| Taxco |
Taxco is a town in the State of Guerrero in Mexico that is famous for its silver jewellery production. The American silversmith William Spratling, set up shop in Taxco in 1929, and many other silversmiths followed. Early Taxco jewellery is avidly collected. Modern pieces are distinguished by a registration mark of two letters followed by a series of numbers, this mark was required by the Mexican government since 1979. |
| Tazza |
A tazza, Italian, "cup", plural tazze, is a shallow saucer-like dishor bowl either mounted on a stem and foot or on a foot alone. The word has been generally adopted by archaeologists and connoisseurs for this type of vessel, used either for drinking, serving small items of food, or just for display
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| Temper |
To temper is to strengthen or harden metal or glass by heating it or by heating then cooling it. Harder tempers are stronger, more spring-like, and brittler so when they are bent, they may break. Softer tempers are weaker but bend easily. |
| Tennis Bracelet |
A tennis bracelet is a simple, flexible, in-line diamond bracelet. The name tennis bracelet was first used when the great tennis player Chris Evert dropped a diamond bracelet during a tennis match in the summer of 1987 at the US Open Tennis Tournament. She had to stop the match until she found her bracelet. Since then, that style of bracelet has been called a tennis bracelet
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| Tension Setting |
A tension setting uses the metal's natural tendency to spring back to its original position to hold the stone in place. The metal is spread apart, and the girdle of the stone is seated into small grooves in the inside surface of the metal. This type of setting requires special alloys of metal that are strong enough to create and withstand the necessary pressure to hold the stone firmly. Tension settings are only appropriate for very hard stones Hardness of 9 to 10: diamond, ruby, sapphire, cz or moissanite as the setting can exert up to 12,000 lbs. of pressure per square inch on the stone's girdle. The tension-setting was developed in the 1960s by Professor Friedrich Becker, Niessing in Vreden, Germany. Metallurgist Steven Kretchmer of New York (ring at top, center) holds several recent patents for his advanced techniques in heat-treating alloys to increase strength, hardness and elasticity.
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| Thermoluminescent |
Thermoluminescent minerals emit bright light when heated. For example, chlorophane is a varity of fluorite that emits bright green light when heated |
| Thermoset Plastic |
Thermoset plastic, also known as thermoplastic is a hard, non-rigid synthetic substance that cannot be melted by reheating. Thermoset plastic is formed under high heat or pressure by a process known as poly/condensation. Bakelite is a thermoset plastic |
| Thimble |
Many of the tools found in needlework cases are made in part from silver. Among the most collectable of these is the humble thimble. Needle women's fingers have been protected by these short metal caps since Roman times, when thimbles were cast in bronze. Steel thimbles were common in the 1700’s and 1800’s, and many were made of silver, although few are hallmarked. Thimbles have been produced in a variety of different materials including porcelain, enamel, ivory, bone, hardwood, Mother of Pearl, glass and bakelite. Many thimbles are decorated with a number to indicate the size, or with a trade name. Dorcas is one of the best known trade names found on thimbles. Some manufacturers produced thimbles in limited editions and these are usually marked and identifiable.
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| Tiffany Setting |
The Tiffany setting is a ring with a high, six-pronged solitaire diamond on a simple circular band. This design was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1886
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| Tiger's Eye |
Tiger's eye is a yellowish-brown to reddish-brown gemstone that has a silky lustre. This gemstone has bands of yellow and brown; when viewed from the opposite direction, the colours are reversed. Tiger's eye is usually highly polished and set as a cabochon or cut as a bead to display the stone's chatoyancy (light reflected in thin bands within the stone). Tiger's eye is a type of chatoyant quartz with fibrous inclusions (especially crocidolite). This stone is sometimes heat-treated. Green-grey varieties of this stones are called cat's-eye quartz. Blue-grey to bluish varieties are called hawk's-eye. Deep brown varieties of this stone are called bull's-eye or ox-eye. Most tiger's eye is mined in South Africa, but it is also found in Australia, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), India, Namibia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and the USA. Tiger's eye has a hardness of 7.0
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| Timepiece |
A mechanical instrument for measuring time, which unlike a clock does not strike. |
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