Water sapphire
"Water sapphire" is not a true sapphire, but is iolite, a more common, softer, and much less expensive mineral. It is a transparent, violet-blue, light blue, or yellow-gray mineral. Iolite is pleochroic; a single stone will show many colors (in the case of Iolite, violet-blue, light blue, and yellow-gray). Iolite has a hardness of 7 - 7.5. Iolite is found in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar and Burma.

Wax Pearl
Wax pearls are hollow glass beads that are filled with wax and resemble pearls.

Waxy
This is a term used to describe the luster of gem. Some gems that exhibit a waxy luster are: carnelian, chalcedony, turquoise.

Wedding cake beads
Wedding cake beads are lampworked glass beads that are decorated with intricate, colorful glass overlays, often of roses and decorative swirls and dots. This type of bead was originally made in Murano, Italy.

Weld
Welding is a process that joins two pieces of metal using very high heat. Rolled gold is formed in this fashion.

White Gold
An alloy of gold made with nickel. Sometimes the jeweler also mixes palladium or zinc in the alloy. White gold has a brighter and whiter color than silver due to the nickel content.

White Metal
Any combination of alloys of nonprecious metals such as lead and tin. Also called "Pot Metal".

White Onyx
A form of agate from the chalcedony family which is semi-translucent with white to yellowish-white banding.

White Quartz
A translucent white mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form. White Quartz is basically clear quartz with a high degree of cloudiness. It is usually uniform in terms of the color, but has areas of more or less opacity.

Wholesale
Of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods in large bulk or quantity for resale by a retailer or jobber rather than directly to consumers.

Width
The horizontal measurement across the widest area of an item of jewelry.