Glowing red jewel?

August 5, 2013 6:54 AM

I want to make a choker/necklace with some sort of glowing red "jewel" in the center for Halloween...

I'm going as Melisandre from ASOIF/Game of Thrones. I'm having a dress made, but spent a bit more than I budgeted so I'm trying to get the accessories together myself, cheaply.

In Game of Thrones, the necklace is made of gold elongated hexagons. I'd like something similar, but I'm not trying to do a direct re-creation. The main thing is that it should be gold(tone) and have a glowing red jewel. Being able to turn the jewel on and off would be great, but not required.

Asking around, a lot of people suggested LED "throwies", but I'm just not sure how to get that to look like a jewel and attach it to a necklace. I've found cheap LED rings with a jewel shape that I might be able to repurpose, but only in wholesale quantities.

For the necklace itself, I'm not really skilled at jewelry making but figure I can probably string some findings together (although gold hexagons do not seem to exist!) and attach a ribbon to the back. I'm also considering re-purposing a cheap goldtone necklace if I can find one.

I know it's early to be asking, but any help is appreciated!

posted by JoanArkham to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (13 answers total)

For the jewel itself, my instinct is to use a plastic fake gemstone, like one of these octagon-shaped fake gems, and drill a hole in the back to insert an LED, with the battery hidden behind whatever fake gold setting you come up with. The octagon shape looks close enough, and comes in red.
posted by jon1270 at 7:11 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

These plastic ice cubes are too big, but they're made of a clear plastic with a glowing led thingie inside (I learned about 'em a few weeks ago at a Tiki bar) and I think with some work you might be able to repurpose one to your needs. FWIW, the one I experienced glowed very bright and noticeable.
posted by barnacles at 7:11 AM on August 5, 2013

Bike light?
posted by crush-onastick at 7:23 AM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

I should add, I have the older version of the second one I linked and it's very lightweight. There are also lots of smaller ones that might work better.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:27 AM on August 5, 2013

Melisandre is really popular in the cosplay world. A cursory google search gets me a lot of hits and, depending on your craftiness, a lot of possible DIY solutions for the necklace itself.

And if you're casting your own jewel in resin then you can insert a space in the back for the LED and all of its parts. Also a semi-opaque jewel will glow better than a clear one, which would probably just shine through.
posted by elsietheeel at 7:32 AM on August 5, 2013

Response by poster: I should have mentioned...the resources I've Googled so far are all out of the realm of my current skills. (Resin or silicone casting, metalwork, etc.) I'm ok at assembling pre-made items, but not so much creating them from scratch.

Also, I'm not really hooked into the cosplay world. Is it more typical to share info or to keep "trade secrets"? I've seen a lot of photos, but not a lot of detailed instructions. Is it rude to ask?
posted by JoanArkham at 7:39 AM on August 5, 2013

A low-tech version of the necklace could probably be made using drinking straws+ string+ gold spray paint.

For the glowing stone's LED, one of those "flameless" candles might work well (easy on/off switch, not too bulky). For the red stone itself, I'm not totally sure, but the above ideas look great.
posted by Flamingo at 7:42 AM on August 5, 2013

Response by poster: Hmm, this might work but I don't think you can specify which shape you want. I'd rather not buy a whole box if I can help it!
posted by JoanArkham at 7:44 AM on August 5, 2013

Could you make a jewel using polymorph beads? You buy the beads and then heat them up in hot water, and the plastic stays moldable until it cools, so you could hand-shape a jewel or make a jewel-shaped mold out of some plastic packaging. While it's cooling there's enough time to stick an LED in the back and the plastic will hold it when it sets. You could use a battery-powered red tealight for the light. The plastic is semi-opaque so you get a diffuse light from the LED. I got this idea from one of the Iron Man arc reactor guides I used for a Halloween costume a few years ago, and dealing with the LEDs and the polymorph plastic was straightforward for me and my lack of crafty skills.
posted by penguinliz at 8:39 AM on August 5, 2013 [3 favorites]

this firejewel necklace could be a good start - I have one, and it's nice and bright.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:43 PM on August 5, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks! May look into those polymorph beads, although I'd also want the jewel to look red when not lit up. Maybe some sort of translucent red paint?
posted by JoanArkham at 7:00 AM on August 6, 2013

so what about getting some gold bugle beads, and stringing them into hexagons? you could get 2 different lengths for the long and the short sides of the hexagons. Then surround the glowing crystal from the necklace I linked above with a bunch of red glass beads, and you're set.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:40 PM on August 6, 2013

oh hey these might help. And these . This would totally go with the costume, too.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:48 PM on August 6, 2013