How to Make a Cabochon
Cabochons are usually made of cut and polished stones. The stone can have a smooth rounded surface, or it can be faceted on one side. The underside of a cabochon is flat, so that it can fit into a bezel cup (a casing or setting made of some kind of metal made in the exact shape of the cabochon) which is then used to mount the cabochon on a ring, or to use it as a pendant or charm for jewelry. Instead of using stone, you can make a cabochon out of polymer clay. Polymer clay like Fimo or Sculpey can be molded, cut and shaped into anything you want, and then baked in your home oven until it hardens. Once it cools, it is hard and ready to set into a setting.
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Things You'll Need
- Fimo or Sculpey brand polymer clay brick (about 3 inches square)
- Shaping tools or aids (optional potter's tools)
- Plexiglass (a small 2x2-inch piece - or any suitable work mat)
- Razorblade for cutting
- Glass baking pan
- Oven
- Bezel cup with a loop for hanging
Instructions
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Choose your clay
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Fimo is a German-manufactured polymer clay and comes inbright vibrant colors. It is the firmer of the two clays, and harder to work with. Sculpey polymer clay is softer to begin with and also comes in many nice colors. Both clays cost between $1 and $3 a brick in 2009.
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Begin by pinching a small amount of polymer clay about the size of a grape. Start kneading it between your hands to soften it; this action plus the heat from your hands will make the clay pliable to work with. Your cabochon can be any shape you like, as long as you have a bezel cup to put it into. Its edges should be about 1/8-inch high, just enough to fit into the bezel cup. But you can also make a dome-shaped cabochon whose edges blend down to 1/8 of an inch.
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Finish the cabochon by smoothing your fingerprints and any other blemish marks off the top of it, and then put it into the bezel cup, smoothing any marks that may appear. When you are happy about the way the cabochon looks, it's time to finish it.
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Bake your cabochon. Preheat the oven to approximately 220 degrees and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Place your cabochon that is now in the bezel cup, into the pan, then place the pan into the oven. Let the clay bake for 20 minutes.
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Cool your cabochon. Use a pot holder to take the glass baking dish out of the oven. If you touch the clay it will be hot, but will still seem a little pliable. When the polymer cools completely it will harden further and it will be permanently set into the bezel cup setting. You can shine the cabochon by polishing it with a soft rag until it achieves the luster you like.
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String your cabochon onto a chain by its loop, and wear your new creation.
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