Style Up Your Jewelry with Glass Cabochons

Cabochons are the one-of-a-kind decoration items that are rounded from one side and flattened from the other. The flattened side is usually placed on the cabochon setting and glued there. You can use any sort of glue for fixing them on the cabochon setting. This type of decoration and jewelry items have been on from years and people admire it for the creativity and uniqueness it brings along. Amazing visual effects have been created with this kind of semi-precious stone. These are used in a lot of different projects apart from the jewelry projects.

When it comes to making jewelry with these, they are the best choice for making pendants. If you want to choose the types from their wide range then going for glass cabochons would be the perfect choice. These are one of the most beautiful types of semi-precious stones to work with. Anything made from glass is beautiful and so are they. Using any shade of a glass cabochon can light up the entire look of any ring, pendant, bracelet or necklace you want to make. Here are the reasons why a glass cabochon is the right choice for your jewelry making project:

The contemporary look

Anybody can buy the acrylic pieces which sparkle to enhance the look of the jewelry item. But cabochons hold a special significance that make them stand out in the crowd and give a luxury feel to the jewelry item they are placed on. They are often mistaken for semi-precious gemstones. However, they have got different price ranges coming along with them. If you want a gemstone like pendant but without spending excess money then having a cabochon pendant is the most appropriate choice. The cabochon is glued on a silver backing piece that folds in the stone. In this way, you can create a contemporary style pendant without having to spend a fortune on it.

Rich in colors

Cabochons have got amazing shades of colors that make any kind of jewelry item look incredible. The reason of its luxuriousness is why women prefer it in their jewelry. The cabochon pendants are the most famous jewelry item preferred by women. They are available in various attractive colors you can choose from. The glass cabochon pendants are great to make and possess.

Versatility

These glass stone type pieces are just beyond incredible and the perfect fit for any kind of jewelry item. Not only the jewelry items but these can be used in different items such as on trophies, boxes, wedding favors, furniture, pendants, invitations, plaques, books and much more. Along with this, cabochons are available in different sizes too. You can even place more than one glass piece cabochon on each item.

Durability

Another reason why people prefer these glass pieces is that they are durable as compared to the other glass, stones or beads. Due to the shape they possess they can take in more force than other kinds of glass pieces. They are less likely to break or crack. Glass cabochons can be easily placed inside their settings.

All these reasons make the use of a cabochon best for any kind of project. Make sure you are using them right. 

Guidelines for Making Glass Cabochons

You don’t have to spend a lot of money all the time buying glass cabochons. It is now possible to come up with your own customized cabochons and all the easy steps will be discussed in this article. If you understand the important role played by cabochons as far as jewelry is concerned, you will definitely put the information shared below into serious consideration.

• Your initial step will be having a piece of paper placed on kiln shelf. All the glass pieces you will require must be assembled in advance as well as a glass cap sitting on the dichroic. The dichroic layer must always face up while the clear cap has to be large enough to fit on the base.

• Follow that with setting the right temperature on kiln and medium is the most recommended level. If the kiln you are using is manual, allow up to fifteen minutes but it can be lesser in case it’s automatic. The level to which your glass fuses will be determined by temperatures set and time allowed so be very keen on that.

• When satisfied that your material for making glass cabochons has fused to the right level, turn off the kiln and then have its door opened. That is important to allow temperature hit the 1000°F mark which is a bit stable. You can then give time for it to cool down until temperatures reach 978°F.

• At this point, turn the kiln on again and allow the temperature to remain constant for a period of half an hour. Such a temperature will help to lower any stress or strains that might have occurred when fusing was going on.

• Finally, turn off the kiln and give it time for the glass to cool down. Remove the glass and your glass cabochons will be ready for use.

The good thing with making your own cabochons is the opportunity to personalize. It will make it possible for you to come up with a design of your own liking and meet all the personal needs you have. When doing this process, you need to be very careful because there are some minor hitches that will end up having huge negative implications to your final glass cabochons. For instance, you should try as much as possible to eliminate all air bubbles because they can easily be trapped in between the clear glass and dichroic layer.

Furthermore, fusing might not be very successful if some things like right temperature are overlooked. If that happens, you will experience some dichroic seeping out of the clear cap which will compromise the quality of your cabochons. The only solution to that will be making sure some amounts of dichroic layer that exist on the edge of the glass have been removed before embarking on fusing. It will go a long way in ensuring everything burns out seamlessly.

The bottom line when making your own glass cabochons is attentiveness to details and upholding good work ethics. It will kill off any chances of complacency getting in to affect your final product.