Things You'll Need:
- Wholesale license
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Step 1
Learn how to use sterling silver jewelry wire efficiently, and practice with copper wire first to conserve your use of the precious metal. If you're a jewelry designer, you'll find it useful to keep a regular stock of many sizes of the wire for making findings (such as ear wires, clasps, bails, and jump rings).
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Step 2
Buy wholesale sterling silver jewelry wire from a local or online jewelry supply stores. Some online bulk jewelry wire supply stores include FireMountainGems, ArtBeads, and wire wrapping supply stores.
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Step 3
Decide the most economical pricing structure at the time. Most stores sell bulk silver jewelry wire by the gauge of the wire and the weight of the silver, and the cost varies from day to day with metal markets. But others sell according to standard prices for reels that take into account the average prices.
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Step 4
Become familiar with the term "gauge." Sterling silver jewelry wire is sold by the gauge. Gauge, sometimes misspelled guage, means how thick the wire is. The higher the number, the thinner the gauge. Standard gauge of sterling silver wire to make eyepins for earrings is 20 gauge. The thicker 18 and 16 gauge sterling silver jewelry wire is good for making more heavy duty wire sculpture pendants or working with larger beads. Smaller gauges up to 24 gauge can still be used for single-link wire wrapping. When you're doing silver wire knitting, you'll want to go into the very high gauges, 26 gauge silver wire or higher.
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Step 5
Become familiar with the terms "dead soft" and "half hard." Every time you shop for wholesale silver wire, you'll need to choose dead soft or half hard. Dead soft jewelry wire is often too soft to be easy to work. Beginners should start with half hard jewelry wire, generally.
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Step 6
Check the metal markets online to see if wholesale silver is going down or up, and then buy when the time looks good. Keep in mind that you are usually charged for the market prices for when the items are shipped, not ordered.
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Step 7
Buy in bulk when prices are low to save money on wholesale sterling silver jewelry wire. Sometimes you have to buy a minimum quantity in order to take advantage of the wholesale prices.
