Jewelry finishes glossary: polish, satin, patina…

The finish is the last thing done to a jewel and the first thing seen. These are the terms, with their Spanish equivalent.

Preparing the surface #

• Roughing (desbaste): removing excess metal and large marks with files or burs.
• Sanding (lijado): working through papers of ever finer grit to erase earlier marks. See filing and sanding.

Shine #

• Polishing (pulido): leaving the surface smooth and bright with abrasive compounds. See polishing and buffing.
• Buffing (abrillantado): the last stage of polishing, with fine compounds such as rouge. See tripoli and rouge.
• Mirror polish (pulido espejo): a shine so perfect it reflects like a mirror; it shows every flaw.

Without shine #

• Satin finish (satinado): a soft sheen with very fine lines. See matte, satin and brushed.
• Matte (mate): a surface with no shine, made by bead blasting or sanding.
• Brushed (cepillado): parallel lines made with a brush or abrasive in one direction.

Relief and color #

• Textured (texturizado): hammered, engraved or otherwise marked. See texturing.
• Patina (patinado): a layer of color, by natural or induced oxidation. See coloring of metals.
• Oxidizing (oxidación): controlled darkening, for example with liver of sulfur, to bring out relief.
• Antique finish (acabado envejecido): dark patina in the recesses and polish on the high points, which gives the look of an old piece.

Protection #

Finishes can be protected with lacquer or wax: see lacquering and protection.