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Alabastrite
American Gallery Gifts Product line name for polyresin items. Alabastrite is made from oxylite and polystone, which forms a stone-based material that can be intricately molded and will allow paint to adhere. Cold-cast. Clean by dusting; do not wash with water as they are painted with water-soluble paints.
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Bone China
White clay with bone ash added. Bone ash content must be at least 25% by U. S. guidelines. Fired at 1800 degrees. The translucent material is finished with a glaze or under glaze (matte). Lighter, stronger, more expensive than porcelain.
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Cubic Zirconia
The most successful simulated diamond. Properties such as refraction, hardness, and specific gravity are remarkably similar to diamonds. Cubic Zirconia are very hard to distinguish from diamonds; sometimes a jewelers loop will be needed to see the difference.
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Diamond
Extremely hard, highly refractive colorless or white crystalline of carbon. Diamonds, like all gemstones, are judged in terms of Carats, or weight (different from Karats, as in gold purity).
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Dolomite
Usually gray, pink, or white mineral, essentially used as a construction and ceramic material, a furnace refractory, and infertilizer. A magnesia-rich sedimentary rock resembling limestone.
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Frosted Acrylic
Acrylic items are given the French Lilac process, (used on glass), to achieve the distinctive frosted look. The drama of frosted glass without the weight.
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Gemstones
Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, often treasured as birthstones (your WOP catalog lists birthstones at the back page). Gemstones are priced and graded by Carat weight.
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Gold
The ultimate precious metal. Virtually indestructible, amazingly malleable, doesn't rust or tarnish. Graded by purity; in the U.S. a scale of 24 is used, so 24 Karats (24K) is 100% pure. 18K is 18 parts gold and 6 parts alloy (other metals), and so on. 10K is the legal minimum for Karat-graded gold.
The word "Plumb" indicates the exact purity of the piece.
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Gypsum
Gypsum is made for a white mineral, which is usually used to make Plaster of Paris.
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Hong Tze
Items are created using a special stone found in China, and known for its deep red color. The stone is pulverized, mixed with a binding agent and molded, much like alabastrite. Hong Tze pieces are highly polished, further bringing out the intense deep red of the stone.
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Jade Porcelain
Jade porcelain is a type of porcelain made with a finer clay. Usually no glaze or only a colorless glaze will be applied at the final firing to show off the very smooth surface and to preserve the translucency. Jade Porcelain is used for night-lights because of its high degree of translucency when lit.
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Patchwork
European designer fabric is stretched over Ceramic figurines, and then coated with twelve layers of lacquer. Each application of lacquer is hand-polished, for a rich shine and an ultra-smooth finished texture. The texture of the fabrics can only be seen in the final pieces, not felt, because of the twelve layers of lacquer covering them.
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Pearl
Smooth, lustrous, variously colored round gemstone originally formed as a deposit around a grain of sand in the shells of certain shellfish. Pearls may be formed naturally or "Cultured" through an artificial implanting process.
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Porcelain
Fine ground white clay, molded and fired in an oven for eight hours at 1200 degrees. Finished with a glazed, under glazed, or "bisque" finish. Glazing produces a high gloss; under glaze produces a matte finish. Bisque is a matte finish without glaze. After finishing, the item is "cooked" for six hours at 800 degrees.
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Sterling Silver
To qualify as "sterling" a given piece must be composed of a least 92.5% pure silver.
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Stoneware
White clay with fine ground stone. Working with stoneware demands great expertise, and is in fact becoming a lost art. Stoneware is safe to use in microwave and conventional ovens.
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