Samson Jewellery
Glossary

Macle A natural diamond crystal in the form of a flat shollow triangle.
Make The cut of a diamond.  The quality of th emake affects the value of the stone.
Malleability The ability of a metal to be hammered or rolled into thin sheets.  Gold is the most malleable of all metals.
Marcasite The name commonly given to cut iron pyrite crystals used in jewellery.  True marcasite is seldom used for jewellery.
Marquise cut A variation on the brilliant cut.  A marquise diamond is boat shaped.
Massive A micro-crystalline mineral in which the crystal form is not apparent to the eye.  Agate is a massive quartz.
Matrix The native rock in which metal and gem crystals were formed.
Milanese Small links of metal woven together to form a ribbon.
Melee An assortment of small diamonds under a quarter of a carat in weight.
Mixed cut A cut commonly used for coloured stones.  The table facets are the same as for a brilliant cut but the pavilion facets are the same as those of a step-cut stone.
Mohs' scale An arbitrary scale of hardness from 1 fro talc to 10 for diamond introduced by F. Mohs.
Mount The metal part of a piece of jewellery in which the stones are set.
Mother of pearl A sleek calcium carbonate layer taken from the inside of an oyster or other mollusc shell.
Nacre The crystalline calcium carbonate of platey construction from which pearls are formed.
Niobium A grey-white metal which can be tinted by chemical treatment.
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Samson Jewellery
Room 1013A-1015, Level 10, Landmark North, 39 Lung Sum Avenue, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong
Tel:  852-27284562 - Fax: 852-27250911