Antique jewelry glossary

Welcome to our extensive antique jewelry glossary with around 1,500 jewelry related entries.If you feel you are missing an explanation, feel free to let us know and we will add it.

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Orthodox cross

Also known as Byzantine, crosses are worn by Eastern Orthodox Christians, both Greek and Russian. In addition to the slanted footrest, they feature the "IC" and "XC", which are shorthand in Greek for "Jesus Christ".

The "IC" is the first and last letter of ISOUS; the squiggly line indicating that this is an abbreviation. The "XC" is the first and last letter of CHRISTOS.