How to Create a Watch Band Using Toggles

Salvage a working timepiece from a broken watch.

Toggles clasps are two-part fasteners used for jewelry and other wearable art projects. The main part of the fastener, which gives it its name, is a T-shaped bar. To close the clasp, you insert the toggle bar, one arm at a time, into an O-shaped ring. Once the toggle is through the ring, the arms of the bar catch on the edge of the ring and hold the clasp in place. Toggles are not as secure as lobster or barrel clasps, so they are generally reserved for costume jewelry.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Bead board
• Toggles
• Clasp rings
• Jump rings
• Watch
• Pliers
• Bracelet mandrel
• Cold weld kit

Instructions

Basic Form

1. Measure the circumference of your wrist. Add 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch to this measurement so the band is not too tight. For example, an 8-inch wrist would require a bracelet 8-1/4 inches long.

2. Find the marks on your bead board that indicate the necessary bracelet length.

3. Arrange the toggle pieces and jump rings on the bead board in the following order: jump ring, clasp ring, toggle. End the sequence with a toggle. Place a jump ring and the watch at the beginning of this sequence.

4. Connect the pieces from the beginning of the sequence to the end. Open the jump rings by gripping them with the pliers and twisting them open with your hand; the ring will resemble a C. Hook the jump rings onto the toggle and clasp ring that come before and after it. Close the jump ring by pressing the ends of the ring together with the pliers so that it forms a closed O-shaped ring.

5. Connect the beginning and end of the band; the first piece, to the immediate left of the watch, will be a jump ring and the last piece will be a toggle.

6. Open one of the clasps to put the watch on, then secure it by closing the clasp.

Weld

1. Follow Steps 1 through 6 in Section 1 to make a toggle-band watch.

2. Place the bracelet on a mandrel.

3. Apply part B of the solution to the same points. Allow the mixture to cure as directed by the manufacturer.

4. Remove the bracelet from the mandrel; the clasps will remain in the position they were in on the mandrel, making the bracelet stiff like a cuff.

5. Slide the bracelet onto your wrist like a cuff.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also use a single toggle clasp as the fastener for a beaded or chain link watch band. Instead of making the entire sequence of components out of toggles, place the halves of a single toggle clasp at the beginning and end of the sequence and then fill the middle with beads or links.

• Select toggles with long arms, at least twice the diameter of the accompanying clasp rings. These extra long arms will make the toggles difficult to open but more secure.

References

• "Jewelry Making: Tips and Tricks of the Trade"; Stephen O'Keeffe; 2003
• "Making Designer Seed Bead, Stone, and Crystal Jewelry"; Tammy Powley; 2006