Starting The Wrap With Half Round Wires

Wrapping With Half Round Wires

If I am ready to start creating the setting for the stone I will cut off a length of around 12" of half round wire and making it roughly straight.  I learned early on that it is better to have more wire than you need than run out. You needn't worry about wasting wire as with my method hardly any wire is lost. As they arrive in the package they are often twisted and I need to run my nylon jawed pliers along them to get them straight.

Holding the half round wire with the flat side towards me I will grip the end of the wire with my round nose pliers. I then twist the wire inward towards me and slightly to the left.

This will create a small hook that we can then place on our square wires near to the middle line I marked earlier.

It's important that our wraps appear neat. It shows an attention to detail and a certain proficiency on our part. DON'T grab the end of the wire and pull it up. Precision in our bends is a must. To achieve this I place my thumb behind the wire and press the half round wire upwards.

Placing my index finger in front of the wire I push back and down. If you push the wire down and slightly to the left it will hit the wire next to it and slide off making a tight fit.

Repeat these steps until there are 4 complete turns. Snip off the half round wire just below the top and slide them onto the centre mark.

If the wires are a little apart it's easy to correct them with flat nose pliers.

This is how it looks on the reverse.

This wrap now needs to be fixed in it's place. This is done by giving it a firm squeeze with the flat nose pliers, turning it over and giving it another squeeze. This is usually enough to fix it in position. The guide wires on either side need to be moved closer for when we start to make our bends as they will support the wires and keep them together.

In the next step we will add another 4 wraps of half round wire so we can begin our bending to create the cabochon's setting.