Wire Wrapped

Wire Wrapped

What type of wire is best for wrapping stones for pendants?

I want to make sterling, wire wrapped pendants, using a number of crystal points and smooth, tumbled stones I have. I want the wire to be fairly easy to bend but not overly thin. I see "half hard" and other choices, so I'm a bit confused. Any advice?

"Strong thin wire," my eye!

It all depends on the size of your stones. Larger stones call for a heavier wire just to look right. 24ga to 18ga is usually good. I would use dead soft for this application. If you have small ones you're making into earrings, get some of the halfhard wire to use to make your earwires. It's not hard at all and costs much less than buying ready-made ones, especially in sterling.

You may want to order a little if a few sizes of wire to experiment with. For a stone of up to about 25mm, I would suggest 24ga or 22ga wire. Bigger ones should get 20ga or even 18ga. (Yes, the smaller the gauge number, the larger the wire.) If you can, get nickel silver wire or red brass wire for practice. You'll be surprised at what a difference that makes.

I'd recommend the Santa Fe Jewelers Supply (www.sfjssantafe.com) for your wire. Fire Mtn Gems (yep, www.firemountaingems.com) is great for beads, but charges the earth for wire. SFJS doesn't have the best prices on beads, but their wire prices are wonderful. Customer service is excellent there, too, if that matters to you. SFJS has a great selection of 'base metal' wires for practice, and a broad selection of sterling silver wire for 'real work.'

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