Jewelry Making Supplies Wire

You need oodles of patience and practice if you want to use wire to create jewelry designs. The most cost effective and cheap wire that you can use as a beginner is 18 gauge copper wire. This wire is available in plenty at local crafts stores, hardware stores or online stores and you should first master and practice the fundamentals of wiring with this elementary piece before graduating to other varieties of wires.

Before deciding on the kind of wire, you need to make sure about the kind jewelry piece you will be creating, the type of metal, its color, hardness, cut, size of jewelry to be made and carat (10-24). Based on that you need to decide on the shape of the wire.

The diameter of the jewelry to be made will determine the size of the wire. Thinner the wire, higher is the gauge number. By gauge I mean the size of the wire. Gauge is a term used in USA.

You need a thick wire to create jump rings. A thinner wire will be sufficient for an earring wire. Gold wires are the toughest. Silver is much more soft, malleable and ductile. Sterling silver is more hard and durable. Fixed gauge copper wires are the softest and the most ductile of the lot. It is because of their immense malleability that they are recommended for beginners.

The hardness of the wire will depend on whether they are being used to make jump rings or connectors or clasps. You can choose from 3 degrees of hardness based on your needs – full hard, half hard and dead soft. The hardness will depend on whether you are using gold filled wire or a silver variety.

A wire will become harder and harder as you increase the number or frequency of times it is pulled through the tool. Dead soft happens to be the first variety of hardness. As the name suggests it is very malleable and ductile.

Half hard wires are comparatively stronger but they can still be bent into desired shapes with ease and are ideal for necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Full hard wires are used to eliminate the need for soldering pieces together.

The available shapes of wires are square, half round, round among others.

When you have graduated to a seasoned pro from a beginner, you can move on to more expensive wires like gold wires, white gold or rose gold wires having a carat of 14 or 18 or 22. 24 carat gold will be too soft.

You can also use the nylon coated wires.

Making Wire Wrapped Jewelry

Jewelry making involves various kinds of techniques and methods. One such off beat technique or process is making wire wrapped jewelry. Gemstones can be intricately wrapped by artisans using a wire which is of superior quality and tough enough to securely contain the stone.

This is called wire wrapped jewelry. The wires, in the next phase, have to be twisted and turned to give rise to novel designs and styles. The patterns that are created this way are unique to say the least and exclusive as well.

Wire wrapping can be used to create earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and rings. The jewelry pieces created in this way are minimalist in their approach. Wire wrapping method is popular with designers and jewelers for it can impart unusual and irregular shapes to statement pieces and make them peerless and unparalleled.

However the designs have to be blended into the stones that are being set. There is no need for any machine or adhesive or jeweler’s glue to stick the stones on to the piece. The wrapped wiring takes care of that.

As you can understand wire wrapped jewelry is a contemporary technique and belongs to the genre of contemporary jewelry. You can use any kind of wire in this kind of jewelry, as long as you feel comfortable with it.

If you are creating affordable and reasonably priced fashion jewelry, you should opt for copper coated wires which are strong yet malleable, available in a wide array of colors and in different types of thickness. Select one that is suitable for your purpose. Silver or gold wires in wire wrapped jewelry impart some much needed luster and shimmering shine to the finished product. Silver wires are softer than tough gold wires.

Besides silver is also cheaper than gold and looks elegant and classy when wrapped beautifully around gemstones.

Silver and gold wire wrappings suit all kinds of skin tones and match with various kinds of outfits. It is because of their attractiveness and versatility, that gold and silver wires are such popular picks for wire wrapped jewelry. They also look very fetching when they are encrusted with the colored stones.

However you should avoid gold plated wire since the coating peels off with wear and tear and the base metal is exposed in an ugly way.

The best thing about wire wrapped jewelry is that they can make you the cynosure of all eyes and make you the subject of whispered conversations in parties and balls, without burning holes in your pockets.