How to Make Imitation Jewelry
Semi-precious stones, crystals, freshwater pearls and glass are a few materials suitable for making imitation jewelry. The cost is significantly lower than authentic jewels, such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. By selecting an authentic jeweled piece to imitate, such as a pendant necklace, a designer can choose stones that resemble authentic jewels in color, size and type, as well as stringing material, such as wire.
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Things You'll Need
- Half-hard wire, 24-gauge
- Ruler
- Flexible tape measure (optional)
- Wire cutters
- Dead-soft wire, 28 gauge
- Semi-precious stones
- Findings (optional)
- Clasps (your choice)
- Chain-nose pliers (optional)
- Round-nose pliers (optional)
Instructions
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Wire Wrapping Tutorial
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1
Choose your wrapping wire by selecting the color tone for your imitation jewelry. Wrapping wire is available in gold, sterling silver, brass and copper tones. There are three degrees of wire hardness: hard, which is very stiff and challenging to wrap; half-hard, which bends and forms loops with pliers; and dead-soft, which is soft and well-suited for wrapping.
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Measure 30 inches of a 24-gauge half-hard wrapping wire with a ruler or flexible tape measure.This is your core wire, which is a term used for the wire around which you wrap.
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3
Cut the core wire with wire cutters.
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Measure 40 inches of a 28-gauge dead-soft wire and cut it with wire cutters. This is your wrapping wire, used to wrap around the core wire. The length will vary according to your design. The higher the wire gauge, the finer the wire.
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Wrap your dead-soft wire around your core wire. Hold the two wires ends with your fingers and gently lift the wrapping wire up and over the core wire, looping it around the core wire. Continue wrapping the dead-soft wire until the core wire is completely covered.
Making a Stone Pendant
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Choose a large stone as your central pendant by selecting a semi-precious stone that resembles the authentic jewelry piece you are replicating. Make sure the stone has a pre-inserted singular wire loop to dangle the pendant from the necklace wire. Have a reference of the authentic jewelry, such as a photograph, to refer to as you develop your beading pattern.
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Wrap your core wire two to three times around the base of the stone's loop.
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Wrap your wrapping wire around the core wire as you shape it around the stone. In "Designer Style Jewelry: Techniques and Projects For Elegant Designs From Classic to Retro," Sherri Haab states, "Rotate the stone as you wrap and continue wrapping around the other side of the stone until you have completed the circumference of the stone."
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Wrap the wrapped wire end around the base of the loop two to three times again to lock it in place. Your large central stone pendant will be fully encased with the wrapped wire.
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Cut the excess wrapped wire with wire cutters.
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Insert two separate stringing wires into the pendant's loop. Wrap one wire at the right side of the loop and the other wire at the left side of the loop. Keep in mind that your encased pendant will be centered and dangling from your semi-precious stone necklace.
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Wrap each end around the loop several times to secure it in place. You will be sliding your beads onto this stringing wire to create your necklace in the next step.
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13
Slide the remaining semi-precious stones in your design's pattern onto each of your stringing wires until your pattern is complete. You can opt to include complementary decorative spacers, cones or connectors, which are referred to as findings, into your imitation design.
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Attach a clasp that complements your stone pendant's style and weight. Clasps such as loop-and-toggle, lobster claw, hook-and-eye and barrel are varying types of clasp options. Your clasp selection will determine the type of tool needed to attach it, such as chain-nose or round-nose pliers.
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