A simple guide to jewelry findings

I have been talking about certain terms that you as a beginner would be confused about. If you haven’t done a little research and are still wondering what jewelry findings are and why are they even used? Well, if you have come across to my blog posts before then you must have noticed that there are certain objects repeating in nearly every project.

Today, you will find answers to your questions regarding them. Let me present you with a basic guide. The term “jewelry findings” stands of jewelry making materials that are not referred to as beads, wires, stones and etc. They are the pivots and fundamentals of any jewelry, and are basically the tools you work with. Some of the names include eye pins, jump rings, bails, chandeliers, ear wires and etc.

Historically, jewelers made everything out of their hands. They would find these findings from abandoned metal and then left them over. They were eventually named by them as findings.

So now, let us have a broad outlook into some of the most common jewelry findings:

Jump ring: It is applied as a connector. They are round shaped usually but you can come across to oval shape as well. The two kinds of jump rings are closed & open rings. Closed are shut all through, so that they are not opened by anyone. They are useful when you need to join a strong connector for a jewelry piece that’s heavy or worthy. Whereas the open rings, they have an opening in between and are vertically pulled by pliers to open or close them.

Chandelier:  A chandelier is usually brought into use as earring connectors. With them, you can make dangle earrings by simply putting beads or chain to the holes. You also have to fix an ear wire atop the hole that connects.

Ear wire: As mentioned above, they are the key element in making earrings. It goes through your pierced ear holes. To the hole connecting it, you have to add components like metal works, buttons or beads to make different styles.

Eye & head pins: These jewelry findings are usually incorporated with beads to form workings for bracelets, earrings, necklaces and etc. Take a headpin, slide several beads and use cutters and pliers to form a loop that would take you to join it to one more component that is the ear wire. The head pin anatomy is usually round or flat and works as bead stopper. Eye pins on the other hand, have a link that work as a connector. You can make longer jewelry pieces therefore..

Bails: Bails are used for fixing a component such as a focal bead to a chain to form a pendant. Through a bail, you can easily fix a pendant to your chain without any third party material, such as metal-smith.

That’s it! I hope my guide to jewelry findings proved informative and considerable for you in terms of deciding what you need and how to use. Keep reading more posts!

  

Different Types of Magnetic Clasps

You cannot undermine the important role played by magnetic clasps in jewelry projects. They are a must consideration whenever you are working on any jewelry project. You will be confronted by several situations where making hard choices will be a necessity. As such, you will be required to choose these clasps for your project and there are many types to have a look at before making the final choice. Go for those that match your preferred size, style, shape and color. That is the only way to get satisfied.

• Spring ring clasp- this is very common among users of magnetic clasps. It is made of metal and has the spring mechanism for functioning. It will close automatically once the lever has been released thus securing your chain firmly in place. You will like it for its high versatility as well as guaranteed security.

• Lobster clasp- this one is loaded with a spring and closes on its own. You will get these clasps in different styles and sizes to choose what best meets your demands. The stand out feature of these magnetic clasps is the swivel style that makes sure the clasp gets to rotate at 360 degrees without causing any disturbances to the jewelry.

• Barrel clasp- there are twin metal pieces that make up this clasp. They are screwed together to come up with something resembling a barrel after closing. In using the clasps, you will have to attach each end to the jewelry on its own. The good thing is that they offer a variety of finishes and sizes to make your choices easier. It’s highly versatile.

• Toggle clasp- these magnetic clasps will be the ideal selection for adding some elegance to your jewelry. They are designed using two pieces with one end coming in a “T” shape and the second end is circular or open. They come with multiple embellishments thus will be best suited to add some touch to the design of your jewelry pieces. You can use them on any type of jewelry that you feel like without interfering with your looks.

• S hook clasp- these qualify to be among the oldest clasps in the market today. They are very simplistic in their “S” shape and are used through attaching to single end of jewelry then they slide into a ring on the second end. These clasps are very basic and will be a good decorative option to consider for your jewelry. The hook must be completely tight all the time in such a way that they will not end up damaging your clothes with sharp cuts.

• Side lock clasps- you will get to use these magnetic clasps in multi-strand bracelets and necklaces. There is a long tube found on both ends plus rings to make it easy attaching to the jewelry. You can use a wire, chain, cord or thread to attach these clasps and the choice will be all yours to make.

Depending on how you make your considerations once in the market, there are all chances that you will not miss out on your favorite magnetic clasps.