Common Jewelry Store Abbreviations And Why They Are Used

Long before the internet, everyone sold their sterling silver and gold finery in small boutiques and shopping malls where price tags are small and turned upside down so that the prospective buyer had to ask the attendant to see the item in which they were interested. This practice also kept would-be thieves from knowing the value of the item when staking out a future heist. This may very well have been the start of the abbreviations for the jewelry business, a task put into place in order to fit as much information as possible for the store assistant to explain when showing the purchaser their newest possessions.

Our jewelry store is no different and we find ourselves inventing and re-inventing ways to display as much information to a prospective buyer as possible in a short, limited amount of space. Now, however, we are reaching more viewers than ever before due to the rise in internet sales. The need for perfecting the short descriptive title has become quite the undertaking since most titles are less than 55 characters (the maximum allowed by eBay).

The auction is our biggest challenge, since the emotions of the viewer tend to run higher because the gain can be higher as well as the risk. Thus, we have put together a list of common abbreviations that we hope auction novices as well as store viewers will find before taking the plunge into the fast moving chain of jewelry auction listings.

Keep in mind that these abbreviations may or may not be used by other stores and our list is only the beginning of a vast number abbreviations used in the world of internet jewelry sales.

A couple of important rules of bidding in general are:

1. Never ever bid on the title only! The title is an abbreviated version of the complete description of the item in the listing

2. Read everything and give yourself the time to read everything or simply pass on the bidding if there is not enough time to do this. Shipping, Terms of Sale, Delivery Estimations, Payment Options, etc. We find it astounding at the number of eBay customers that have based their purchase heavily on the feedback of a seller and have abandoned the practice of reading the fine or even bold print below the title. Some abbreviations are used less often because the search methods of finding an item, like Google and Yahoo, normally does not include that abbreviation, such as the diamond, yellow gold and white gold. So you probably won’t see as much of these abbreviations in the titles.

Some abbreviations can have two meanings such as SS for Sterling Silver which can also mean Stainless Steel. This is why we use the official stamp of sterling silver which is 925. Abbreviations must be taken and determined by context in which it is used, such as 925 SS as opposed to just SS.

We hope you find this short common list of value while living in the fast lane of auctioning!

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10k (10-karat)

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14k (14-karat)

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14k/925 (14-karat gold over Sterling Silver)

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18k (18-karat)

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18k/925 (18-karat gold over Sterling Silver)

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24k (24-karat)

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925 (Sterling Silver)

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999 (Fine Silver)

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9k (9-karat)

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Bez (Bezel-Setting)

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CERT (Certified)

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CFW (Cultered Freshwater Pearl)

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cm (Centimeter)

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Crtd (Created)

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ct (Carat)

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ctw (Carat Total Weight)

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CZ (Cubic Zirconia)

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Doublet or Dublette (Double layered)

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EGP (Electric Gold Plating)

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FAUX (Imitation)

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FW (Freshwater)

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Gen (Genuine)

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GF (Gold Filled)

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GIA (Gemalogical Institute of America)

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gr (Gram)

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HGE (Heavy Gold Electroplate )

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In or " (Inches)

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k (karat)

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L (Long or Length)

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LC (Lab Created, Creation or Created)

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mm (Milimeter)

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MOP (Mother-of-Pearl)

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NAT (

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Natural)

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Over (Overlay)

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Pdnt (Pendant)

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PLAT or PT (Platinum)

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Prin (Princess-Cut)

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RGP (Rolled Gold Piece or plaqué d'or

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laminé)

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Rnd (Round-Cut)

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Sim (Simulated)

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SOL (Solitaire)

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Sq (Square)

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SS (Stainless Steel & Sterling Silver)

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SW (Salt Water)

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Sz (Size)

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TDW (Total Diamond Weight)

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TGW (Total Gemstone Weight)

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Triplet (Triple Layered)

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Vin (Vintage)

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W (Wide or Width)

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w/ (With)

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WG (White Gold)

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YG (Yellow Gold)