Jewelry Glossary - M

• Main
  A principal facet.
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• Malleable
  The property of metals to be formed without breaking.
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• Mandrel
  A tapered spindle for sizing and shaping items such as rings.
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• Marquise
  A double pointed cut for a faceted stone.
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• Married Metals
  The Mexican term for lamination of several metals in one piece of work.
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• Massive
  Material not occurring in external crystal form.
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• Matrix
  The rock in which the gemstone occurs, often polished with it such as matrix opal or emerald-matrix.
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• Matrix Mount
  Preparing a fossil for display, usually without removing it from the original matrix in which it was found.
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• Matte Finish
  A velvety, non-shiny finish.
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• Media
  Abrasives embedded in plastic used in vibratory tumblers.
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• Mesh Size
  A measurement of particle size in grinding or polishing powders.
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• Metric Weights
  A system of weights used particularly for facet material.
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• Mirror Finish
  A bright, glass-like finish.
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• Mizzy Wheel
  Small heatless grinding wheels for use in flexible shaft tools for carving.
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• Mohs Scale
  A commonly used scale of relative hardness of minerals. 1. Talc. 2. Gypsum. 3. Calcite. 4. Fluorite. 5. Apatite. 6. Feldspar. 7. Quartz. 8. Topaz. 9. Corundum. 10. Diamond.
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• Mokume
  A Japanese method of texturing metal to resemble wood grain.
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• Monel Metal
  A nickel copper alloy.
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• Mordant
  Etching solution of acide and water.
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• Mosaic
  Pebbles or pieces of cut stone cemented to a base to form a pattern or picture.
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• Motif
  The theme of a design.
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• Mount
  To rebuild a fossil skeleton for display.
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• Mourning Jewelry
  Victorian fad often done in black or featuring portraits.
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• Mud
  A mixture of water and grit used as an abrasive for sawing.
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• Mud Saw
  A revolving steel wheel which cuts with silicon carbide abrasives mixed with water.
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• Muriatic Acid
  A dilute acid which is sometimes added to a polish slurry (only a few drops) for such soft cutting materials as calcite.
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• Muslin Buff
  Multiple circles of unbleached muslin are sewn together for a high speed polishing buff.
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• MX Wheel
  Cut-off wheel of aluminum oxide-impregnated muslin for cutting metal.
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