Mission Leather, German Silver, and Other Emulationisms

 

A Collection of Misleading Trade Names, Product Euphemisms, and Related Folklore

 

 

Emulationisms are trade names or terms that sound like something precious or valuable but are in fact only cheap imitations. Most of these terms were created in order to deliberately mislead the public for marketing purposes but a few are merely humorous names from folklore.

 

Since there is no term that refers to this type of name, I coined the term emulationism. To be a true emulationism, or emulationary name, a term must contain at least one word or partial word that relates to a precious or sellable commodity (ivory, jade, apricots, etc.) and it must be employed, at least by some individuals on some occasions, to fool the unwary or to improve the "image" or salability of the commodity.

 

Please email me (Alan's Used Books) if there are any emulationisms I have missed and I will add them to this page. Thanks!

 

~A~

 

Alaska Diamond. hematite (iron oxide).

 

Alaska Sable. skunk fur.

 

Alaska Strawberries. dried beans.

 

Albany Beef. Hudson river sturgeon.

 

Animelles. ram’s testicles, as an edible.

 

Arkansas Diamond. quartz.

 

Atlas Pearl. imitation pearl made of gypsum.

 

Australian Jade. quartz dyed green.

 

Australian Ruby / Adelaide Ruby. garnet.

 

~B~

 

Beekite. fossil coral.

 

Black Diamond. hematite (iron oxide).

 

Bohemian Diamond. quartz.

 

Bonded Leather. a mixture of pulverized leather and glue, having an impressed texture resembling animal hide.

 

Brazilian diamond / Bristol diamond. quartz.

 

Brazilian saphhire. blue tourmaline.

 

Britannium / Britannia Metal. another name for white metal: a cheap alloy made mostly of tin.

 

~C~

 

Calf Fries. calf’s testicles.

 

California Moonstone. quartz.

 

Cape Cod Turkey. dried salted cod.

 

Cape May Diamond. quartz.

 

Ceylon Diamond. another name for zircon.

 

Chatham Emerald. a type of synthetic emerald.

 

Chatham Ruby. a type of synthetic ruby.

 

Chatham Sapphire. a type of synthetic sapphire.

 

Chicken of the Sea. tuna.

 

Chinese Gooseberry. kiwifruit.

 

Colorado Jade. feldspar (a very common mineral).

 

Cowboy Caviar. 1. a sauce, similar to salsa, made with chili beans and/or black-eyed peas, peppers, garlic and/or other spices. 2. calf’s or bull’s testicles.

 

Cultivated Pearl. another name for cultured pearl.

 

Cultured Pearl. a pearl produced by an oyster after a bead was implanted inside the oyster for the purposes of growing a pearl. Invented in 1896 by Kokichi Mikimoto, they are also called artificially-induced pearls and cultivated pearls. Unlike most products with emulationary names, a cultured pearl nowadays is nearly as valuable as the genuine article.

 

Doublet. general term for a modified gemstone in which a thin sliver of a genuine gem is pasted to a glass body of a matching color. The unscrupulous dealer will try to pass this off as the real thing.

 

~E~

 

Ebonite. vulcanized black rubber.

 

Esmerelda Emerald. green tourmaline.

 

Evening Emerald. peridot (a green gemstone known also as poor man’s emerald).

 

~F~

 

Fabulite. strontium titanate, a diamond look-alike.

 

Faux. a French word meaning false or fake, pronounced “foh.” Attached to many products such as faux fur, faux diamonds. Hopefully this impressive sounding prefix will fool only the most ignorant consumers.

 

French Grey. another name for German silver, a silver-colored cheap alloy containing no silver.

 

French Ivory. imitation ivory made of celluloid (plant fiber), invented by John Wesley Hyatt about 1875.

 

French Jet. imitation black onyx made of glass.

 

Fukien Jade. soapstone.

 

~G~

 

German Lapis. quartz dyed blue.

 

German Silver / French Grey / New Silver / Nickel Silver / Gun Metal. a cheap, silver-appearing alloy, somewhat similar to pewter, made of nickel mixed with copper and zinc, and sometimes also having small amounts of lead or tin. There are many different formulas, none of which contain any silver.

Gilson Opal. synthetic opal.

 

Girasol Pearl. imitation pearl.

 

Goldstone. glass mixed with glittering copper crystals.

 

Greenland. this enormous arctic land mass -- which has only a small sliver of green during the summer months -- was named Greenland around the year 985 by Erik the Red of Iceland in order to lure settlers there.

 

Gun Metal. another name for German silver, a silver-colored cheap alloy containing no silver.

 

~H~

 

Hawaiian Diamond / Herkimer Diamond. quartz.

 

Honan Jade. soapstone.

 

Horse Mackerel. tuna.

 

~I~

 

Indian Jade. aventurine quartz.

 

Irish Apricots. potatoes.

 

~J~

 

Japanese Amethyst. synthetic amethyst.

 

Japanese Opal. fake opal made of plastic.

 

~K~

 

Kenya Diamond. rutile (titanium oxide).

 

Korea Jade. serpentine (magnesium iron silicate).

 

~L~

 

Laguna Pearl. imitation pearl.

 

La Jausca Pearl. imitation pearl.

 

Lannyte Emerald. name for an emerald doublet.

 

Lux Sapphire. iolite (a gemstone of lesser value).

 

~M~

 

Madeira Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Majorica Pearl. imitation pearl.

 

Manchurian Jade. soapstone.

 

Mascot Emerald. name for an emerald doublet.

 

Matura Diamond. another name for zircon.

 

Melonette. kiwifruit.

 

Mexican Jade. calcite (calcium carbonate) dyed green.

 

Mission Leather. a mixture of pulverized leather and glue, having an impressed texture resembling animal hide. Also called bonded leather.

 

Mogok Diamond. topaz.

 

 

 

Monk's Gold / Monkstone. another name for goldstone.

 

~N~

 

Nassau Pearl. imitation pearl made of pink conch shell.

 

Naugahyde. fake leather made of polyurethane (plastic).

 

New Silver / Nickel Silver. other names for German silver, a silver-colored cheap alloy containing no silver.

 

~O~

 

Occidental Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Olive Jade. serpentine (magnesium iron silicate).

 

Oregon Jade. dark green quartz.

 

~P~

 

Palmeira Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Patona Pearl / Patricia Pearl / Pompadour Pearl. imitation pearl made of pink conch shell.

 

Pennsylvania Diamond. pyrite (iron sulfide).

 

~Q~

 

~R~

 

Radium Diamond. smoky quartz.

 

Rainbow Diamond. rutile (titanium oxide).

 

Ramora Ruby. a type of synthetic ruby.

 

Rangoon Diamond. zircon.

 

Reconstituted Turquoise. a mixture of powdered turquoise with glue or epoxy which, when dried, forms a fairly convincing turquoise-like substitute.

 

Red Sea Pearl. imitation pearl made of pink or red coral.

 

Rhine Diamond. quartz; the term evolved into "rhinestone."

 

Rhinestone / Brilliant / Paste. a sparkly, imitation gemstone made of glass, crystal or plastic glued to a shiny foil backing. Rhinestones were named for the Rhine River.

 

Rio Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Rocky Mountain Oysters / Prairie Oysters. calf's or bull's testicles, as an edible.

 

Rose Zircon. synthetic pink spinel (magnesium aluminum oxide).

 

~S~

 

Scottish Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Siberian Ruby. tourmaline.

 

Slocum Opal. imitation opal.

 

Smokey Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Soochow Jade. serpentine (a green mineral) or soapstone.

 

Sophisticated. refers to some repair or alteration of an antiquarian or collectible book; such alteration generally imparts a lower value.

 

Soude Emerald. name for an emerald doublet.

 

South Sea Cat's-Eye. an operculum (“door” of a snail shell) passed off as a gemstone.

 

Spanish Topaz. citrine (yellow-brown quartz).

 

Stabilized. refers to some alteration of a gemstone.

 

Stellaria. another name for goldstone.

 

Strontium Titanate / Fabulite / Wellington Diamond. a diamond look-alike.

 

Styrian Jade. pseudophite (chlorite).

 

Sun Sitara. another name for goldstone.

 

Sunny Peach. kiwifruit.

 

Suzhou Jade. serpentine (magnesium iron silicate).

 

Sweetbreads. the internal organs of a piglet or calf. The term encompases both the gullet and thymus gland and the stomach-pancreas.

 

Swiss Jade. dark green quartz or quartz dyed green.

 

Swiss Lapis. quartz dyed blue.

 

~T~

 

Tecla Pearl. imitation pearl made of pink conch shell.

 

Transvaal Jade. grossularite (calcium aluminum silicate).

 

~U~

 

~V~

 

Vine Pear. kiwifruit.

 

Virginia Jade. green feldspar.

 

~W~

 

Water Sapphire. iolite (a gemstone of lesser value).

 

Wellington Diamond. another name for strontium titanate, a diamond look-alike.

 

Welsh Rabbit / Welsh Rarebit. toasted cheese or cheese on toast.

 

White Metal. a cheap alloy made mostly of tin.

 

Wonder Fruit. kiwifruit.

 

~X~

 

~Y~

 

~Z~

 

Zerfass Emerald. synthetic emerald.

 

Zircon. not really an emulationism, a real mineral, but often confused for cubic zirconium, a type of artificial diamond.

 

 

---

references:

 

Gentleman Jim Arner, The Book Ranch

 

Matlins, Antoinette L., and A. C. Bonanno. Jewelry and Gems, the Buying Guide: How to Buy Diamonds, Pearls, Precious and Other Popular Gems with Confidence and Knowledge. South Woodstock VT: Gemstone Press, 2nd edition, 1987; 6th edition, 2005. (Many thanks to Ms. Matlins and to Kate Treworgy for sending me a copy of the 6th edition to help update this page.)

 

Content provided by Gwen Foss, Alan's Used Books

 

See more informative and witty pages by Gwen Foss here

 

TomFolio.com : A Cooperative of Independent Dealers

 

Find more books on gems, gemstones, jewelry and antiques here

 

A note about formatting. I struggled for over four hours with the EXTREMELY flaky editing program of this website and could find no way to fix these formatting flaws; in fact, they kept getting worse. Thanks for your patience! --GF