So the vintage Christmas ornaments bug has bit you in the behind and you've decided to build your collection, but as you scroll through listing after listing, you begin to notice oddball words that just don't seem to make any sense.  Have no fear, and relax my dear, I am here to save you.  The words and phrases below are commonly used descriptive terms for vintage ornaments, and you'll need to learn them to built that knock out collection that's been frolicking through your head.  I will not only tell you what they mean, but often how they are misused and confused.  Do remember I am mostly involved with ornaments of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and my guides will reflect as much!

Off we go!

Manufacturers and Origins

• Shiny Brite - refers to a particular brand of ornament, not a style as many would have you believe!  Very popular during the 50s and 60s, and can be found by thousands on Ebay.  Come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. 
• Premier - also refers to a particular brand of ornament.  Often confused with Shiny Brites because of shape and color similarities.  These gems were also popular mid century, but they are some of the harder to find ornaments on Ebay. 
• Made in Poland/Poland Ornaments - refers to a place of origin not a company.  Made in Poland ornaments are very common on Ebay, and they are also among the most coveted.  A lot of these ornaments were hand blown and hand painted, because of this, no two ornaments are exactly the same.  Mostly found in ball and teardrop shapes, and many have indents and glitter.
• West German/West Germany - again we are referring to a place of origin, not a particular manufacturer.  These ornaments are not found in the same numbers as Poland and Shiny Brite ornaments, but are still fairly common.  Most of the W. German ornaments I have come into contact with are shaped as balls, and bells.  Its typical for these ornaments to have lots of black glitter and white mica snowflakes.

Ornament Attributes

• Figurals - basically refers to any ornament that is not in the shape of a ball, teardrop, or icicle.  Figural ornaments come in many shapes and sizes.  These include, but are by no means limited to, trumpets, houses, animals, flowers, tops, Christmas trees, pinecones, baskets, acorns, etc.
• Fancy Shapes - subset of figurals, but used to describe Shiny Brites only.  I'm not sure how this came to be exactly, but I believe the Shiny Brite Co. marketed some of their ornaments under the term fancy shapes.  Shiny Brites come in several mid century shapes that can be hard to describe with any certain term because they are more abstract in shape than defined.  You'll see many sellers refer to these shapes as inverted Christmas trees, tops, satellites, twirls, lanterns, etc, but rarely do these terms accurately describe the shape. 
• Mini's - can refer to any ornaments smaller than 1 inch across.  Again, this term is usually attributed to Shiny Brites, but you'll also see it attached to other small ornaments as well.
• Feather Tree Ornaments - another term that is used to describe ornaments smaller than 1 inch across.  This term is one of the most misused in the realm of vintage ornaments.  True feather tree ornaments were lighter in weight and fancier than your everyday Shiny Brite minis.  Most were figural and made prior to the 1920s.  Though the Shiny Brite minis may be the perfect size for a feather tree, they were not made to decorate them.  But I must confess, I misuse it too because the misconception has been cast in stone.
• Indent - refers to a concave feature in the design of the ornament.  Indents are decorative holes, if you will, in the body of an ornament, that are used to reflect light.  They are as varied as the ornaments they decorate.  Some are very shallow, while others are so deep that they touch the interior glass of the ornament's opposite wall.  Some have stars, flowers, etc. at their center and others just come to a point. Indents might have a single level or have 2 or 3 to their design (levels can be determined by how many times the design steps down or changes). 
• Mica - another misused term, but refers to sandy or sparkly granules used to decorate ornaments.  I myself am a bit confused by the whole mica terminology. Most of the ornaments you'll come across will actually be adorned with glass glitter, not mica.  Again, I confess to misusing this term because it has evolved over time and come to mean something else to most people. 
• Pontil/Pontil Mark - small bump on the bottom of an ornament where it was cut from the cane of glass.  These marks are sure fire signs that an ornament was handmade.
• Aluminum Tree Ornaments - plastic ornaments made especially for mid century aluminum Christmas trees.  Two of the most common makers are Jewel Brite and Bradford.  Plentiful on Ebay to say the least.  Come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. 
• Stencils - refers to ornaments with solid color bases that are decorated with a white stenciled design.  The stencils are most common to Shiny Brites, but do appear on other ornaments.  They usually depict a scene or saying, and come in a wide range of sizes and colors. 
• WWII - refers to transparent ornaments that were produced during WWII.  All of these ornaments were unsilvered and produced with paper caps because of a metal shortage.  They are fairly common, but very collectible because of limited production runs.  Please read my Facts and Fiction guide for myths and misconceptions regarding these beauties. 
• Mercury Glass - common misused term in vintage ornaments, refers to the silvering of an ornament.  Many sellers call any type of silvered glass mercury glass, but they are very, very misinformed.  True mercury glass ornaments have two walls of glass with the silvering sandwiched in between them.  Please refer to my Facts and Fiction guide for more info. 

This list is by no means complete and will be updated periodically.  Should you come across a term that leaves you puzzled and you would like to see here, contact me and I'll be happy to add it!