collet

American  

[kol-it] / ˈkɒl ɪt /

noun

1. a collar or enclosing band.

2. the enclosing rim within which a jewel is set.

3. a slotted cylindrical clamp inserted tightly into the tapered interior of a sleeve or chuck on a lathe to hold a cylindrical piece of work.

4. Horology. the tiny collar that supports the inner terminal of a hairspring.

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verb (used with object)

colleted, colleting

1. to set (a gem or other stone) in a collet.

collet British  

/ ˈkɒlɪt /

noun

1. (in a jewellery setting) a band or coronet-shaped claw that holds an individual stone

2. mechanical engineering an externally tapered sleeve made in two or more segments and used to grip a shaft passed through its centre when the sleeve is compressed by being inserted in a tapered hole

3. horology a small collar that supports the inner end of the hairspring

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verb

1. (tr) jewellery to mount in a collet

Etymology

Origin of collet

1520–30; < French, equivalent to col neck (< Latin collum ) + -et -et

Example Sentences

He pulled the bolt and bored out the collet with a hand drill and resleeved it with a section of pipe he’d cut to length with a hacksaw.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

These alterations are generally made by breaking off or letting out a small section of the inner coil at the collet.

From Rules and Practice for Adjusting Watches by Kleinlein, Walter J.

It will be noted that these two forms blend into the true spiral form of the spring at about one-eighth of the coil distant from the collet.

From Rules and Practice for Adjusting Watches by Kleinlein, Walter J.

The cylinder also carries a collet adapted for recessed plates so as to receive square or hexagon nuts of different sizes for tapping purposes, the taps being held in the rotating chuck.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua

Ung tableau fait apr�s le Roy de Dannemarcque, tenant une lettre en sa main, ayant une chemise � hault collet, pourtant la thoison d'or pendant � ung courdon de soye, le fond verd.

From The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria by Tremayne, Eleanor E.