How To Measure Gemstones For Wire Wrapping

MEASURING GEMSTONES FOR WIRE WRAPPING

There are quite a few different ways to measure your gemstones for wire wrapping. This is the method I first learned and is a simple formula to work out how long your wires need to be. This works really well for me. Don't get too hung up on accuracy at this stage. A little out either way won't hurt - you just have to learn to work with what you've got. I will show you how to do a very simple wrap something like the one on the left here.

For this example I have chosen a piece of Rose Quartz measuring roughly 30 X 25mm. It's a nice familiar shape to work with. The process for measuring uneven and asymetric stones is no harder and uses the same steps.

The first way that I'm going to show you uses masking tape. I have since moved away from any kind of tape as I don't like the sticky residue that it leaves on my wires. Tear a piece of masking tape that is longer than the gemstone is round. You can always rip off any extra. Start at the top middle and wrap the tape around the stone until you come back to the top again.

Fold the tape back so that the two edges meet and cut off the excess.

Wind the tape around the stone again to make sure you have cut it properly and it fits right.

Lay the tape out flat on your work surface and measure it. In this case it measures roughly 92mm so lets round it up to 90mm. Like I said earlier total accuracy is not needed for this type of wrap. Just about is good enough. I am so used to the size of gems that I like to work with that I now have wire bundles made up in 240mm, 260mm and 280mm. When I want to start work I pick out a bundle that is about right for the size of stone and work with it.

If you are just starting out the use of this formula will tell you how long to cut your wires.

Take the total length of the tape (90mm) and times it by 2 which will make it 180mm. Add 50mm to the total making it 230mm to allow yourself plenty of spare wire to bend around your bail to make it interesting and attractive. You may find you need more or less than I use but this is a good starting point for you until you get used to the type of wraps you are going to attempt.

The method I most use nowadays does away with the tape altogether. It is MUCH faster than fiddling around with tape.

I take a piece of spare wire and bend it roughly around the stone and twist the wire together.

This leaves me with a nice outline the size of the stone. I cut the wire near the twist, give it a pull to with my fingers to straighten it and measure it the same as I did the tape.



You now know you have to cut your wires 230mm for this stone. Simple isn't it?

In the next post I will show you how I bundle wires for a border wrap and the tools I find most useful.