Diamond Terms N

N Color

The color scale for diamonds begins with D and goes all the way to Z. After that you get into fancy colors. D being considered absolute clear and void of color, and Z being very very dull yellow. Here's how the list would follow.

D - absolutely clear
E,F - almost void of color
G, H, I - white
J, K, L - off white to yellow tint
M, N, - yellow
I'll stop there because the rest is self explanatory.

Natural

If you hear someone say "This is a Natural Diamond" they are referring to a diamond that has been mined and created from nature, and not man made. You may also hear clarity enhanced diamonds being described as natural. This is because they are. However the substance they are using to enhance the diamond is not natural, but man made, and this is the reason the diamond is "worth" much less.

Nailhead, Nail Head

When you look at a diamond and it seems awfully dark on top like a nail head is when you'll hear the term Nail Head. This is due to the cut of the diamond being inferior.

Natural Pearl

A pearl that was formed/created by nature. Not Man Made.

Necklace

A piece of jewelry that usually clasps in back that's worn around the neck.

Needle

When you look into a diamond sometimes you'll see something that looks like a feather, but it doesn't go off into different directions. This is usually a Needle. It actually looks like a cylinder rod embedded in a crystal of the diamond. The term "rod" makes it sound big, but generally, it's no bigger than a typical feather or any other inclusion.

Nick

A chip on the outside of diamond. A lot of times in these cases the diamond will lose tremendous value.

Nickel Free Alloy

This is referring to any piece of jewelry that has the metal Nickel taken out of it, or if it never had it in there in the first place. Nickel free helps alleviate allergic reactions.

Nugget

Usually referring to gold. It's basically just a piece or clump of precious / semi-precious metal.