Peridots Are a Girl's Best Birthstone

May 7, 2018 9:48 AM

I've got a string of peridot chips I want to use to make into a necklace similar to the one in this photo of actress Sierra Boggess. But my jewelry making skills may not be up to the task so I'm turning to the jewelry makers of MeFi for tips.

I've made a number of simple bead necklaces but this one's much more complex. I think my specific questions are:

1. How do I achieve those graduated strings in front? I assume that I would suspend the shorter strings of beads from the ones above it, but I'm not sure how I'd secure the wire.

2. How can I achieve the effect of the conjoined metal sleeves at the side? I assume those gold sleeves are custom made pieces and I would have to improvise. I'd like the metal pieces in my necklace to be bronze or silver. Could I use some sort of wire and twist it around repeatedly to get that effect? How do I secure the ends of the beads in it?

3. Can I somehow add the clasp to the metal sleeves or should I just add a clasp at the back?

Please feel free to offer any other tips that you have, and point me to any tutorials/books that might be helpful.

posted by orange swan to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Answers for 1 and 2 possibly - you would use multistrand necklace findings like these or these. These allow you to attach multiple strands of beads and in her necklace, instead of placing the finding in the back, it is very decorative and placed at the side of the neck.
posted by Squeak Attack at 10:18 AM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]

#1: head pins

#2 possibility: spacer bars
posted by adiabatic at 10:29 AM on May 7, 2018

The search term for "little metal bits that hold jewelry together" is findings. That necklace has five strands, but it looks like they may go to a three-hole spacer, with two extra strands just before the bottom one; the beads from those don't go all the way to the end.

Could I use some sort of wire and twist it around repeatedly to get that effect?

If you don't have substantial practice with wirework, it will look like a child's tangle if you do this. (Beginning wirework involves a lot of thinking "but I bent it LEFT" and "dammit, shouldn't this part be more flexible?") But you can buy ornamental findings in a broad range of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Can I somehow add the clasp to the metal sleeves or should I just add a clasp at the back?

The clasp will be part of, or hidden by, the metal bit on the side; there's no way to add a clasp at the back without doing weird things with more spacer bars and throwing off the look. (The clasp or clasps would need to be on all five strands.)

To keep it looking like that, it'd have to be carefully made with the heavier stones off-center like she has, and the cluster of stones on the side (probably done with head pins) would need to look more substantial than they are; otherwise, that part will tend to slide to front and center.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:56 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you're using smaller beads ("chips" makes me think like, lentil-size), you could probably just string them up in progressively longer strands and shove the ends into big end caps/cones, like so.
posted by yeahlikethat at 12:10 PM on May 7, 2018

A 3 or 4 strand terminator would work. It's finding were multiple strands can all come together and be attached to either a single strand or a clasp. Check out firemountaingems, they have some tutorials that may help as well.
posted by porkygrrl at 12:44 PM on May 7, 2018

Go to Fire Mountain Gems for all your jewelry clasps and fiddly bits. Check the "Resources" tab for hundreds of projects with detailed instructions and shopping lists. Look at the various ways of terminating multi-strand necklaces and find one that fits your taste and technical skills.
posted by irisclara at 2:18 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

It could very well just be the light and quality of the photo, but the spots of gold I'm seeing along the edges make me wonder if it's constructed something like a bracelet I once had, which achieved a very tidy multi-strand effect by stacking stones on a eyepin and threading elastic through the loops at top and bottom between spacer beads. It had oblong stones, drilled on the short axis, but with each stack sitting almost touching, they could've been taken for being strung end-to-end on the long axis.
posted by EvaDestruction at 7:06 PM on May 7, 2018

Here's a closeup of the original necklace I found on google, [picture]looks like those are emerald cabochons and it's the prongs of the settings you see-- search for "Verdura Scarf Necklace", it's apparently got quite a history!

It looks like it's all rigidly attached rather than strung beads (I think the look could be done easily with beads, I just mean the closeup doesn't really help much as far as clues to doing a bead version).
posted by Poogle at 11:03 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]