Some Common Abbreviations…and more!

You will see a lot of these abbreviations used in the jewelry world. You are probably already familiar with “mm” (millimeter), but have you ever run across “id?” Recently when shopping online for chain, I ran across this abbreviation, which I learned meant “inside diameter.” They were telling me the diameter within the links of the chain, something important to know if you plan to use headpins to make dangles, for instance. In addition to this list, I want to share with you one of my favorite online resources, the metric conversion website located at http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html.

I use this frequently because many of the items I sell come in either yards or meters, and I want my American customers to know how many yards on a 5 meter spool (5.47) and my European customers to know how many meters on a 100 foot spool (30.48.)

So here are a few abbreviations:

cc - cubic centimeter

cm - centimeter

dwt - pennyweight

ft (or ‘ ) - foot

in (or ” ) - inch

g - gram

id - inside diameter

kg - kilogram

m - meter

mg - milligram

mm - millimeter

od - outside diameter

oz - ounce