How to Make a Hammered Necklace

Choose a hammer that will give you the pattern you want.

Transform an ordinary necklace into one that has been hammered for a textured piece of jewelry that is aesthetically pleasing. The hammering is done by using any hammer you like, from a metalsmith’s chasing or ball-peen hammer to a regular household hammer. You have complete control over the amount of hammering done on the metal, the length of the necklace and the clasp you choose. This makes it easy to customize the hammered necklace according to the recipient’s personal tastes such as silver or gold.

Things You'll Need

• Jewelry wire
• Wire cutters
• Wooden dowel
• Metal file
• Bench block
• Hammer
• Polishing cloth
• Flat-nose pliers
• Clasp

Instructions

1. Cut a long piece of wire and run your fingers through it several times to soften it. Wrap the wire around a wooden dowel or other round object that is the size you want your jump rings to be, keeping the rings close together. Pens and pencils also work great to form the jump rings.

2. Remove the wrapped wire from the dowel and clip each ring with wire cutters to separate them. File any sharp edges left behind from the cutters with your metal file.

3. Place one jump ring on your bench block and hit it with your choice of hammer. You will start hammering in one spot of the jump ring, and moving around the ring to make a hammered pattern. Continue hammering all of your jump rings then polish them with the polishing cloth.

4. Close half of the jump rings with flat-nosed pliers and keep the other half of them open to create your chain. Start with an open jump ring, slide a closed jump ring onto it and close the first jump ring. Attach an open jump ring to your closed jump ring, place another closed jump ring on it and close the open ring. Continue until you have completed your chain, finishing it off by attaching your clasp at the end.