How I Choose Gemstones For My Wire Wrapped Jewellery

CHOOSING GEMS FOR WIRE WRAPPING

I have been asked how I choose gems. It starts with buying. I am attracted to some stones more than others. Being a lover of bright colours I naturally buy more of those than any other. I buy what I consider 'drab' colours at my wife's insistence or because they were part of a bundle of rocks. Because I love to make pendants I pick the sizes of gemstones that are best suited. I do buy smaller stones either for dainty pendants or for rings. I buy many of my gemstones from www.jewellerymaker.com 
 as they are good quality and well priced. I do buy individual stones from suppliers in India and China either through direct contacts that I have built up or through Ebay.

When I want to start work I go to my stash of gems and look through them until I find one that 'speaks' to me. A stone that I am excited to wrap. In fact I will pick 2 or 3 stones and sometimes more to work on at a time depending on how I feel. 

I don't have a plan or a design in mind beyond the type of wrap I will use as I find it stifles my creativity. Once I have created the settings for the gem I start to have fun bending wires in interesting shapes until I am happy with the result. This keeps my designs fresh and constantly evolving. No two designs are ever the same using this method and I get to play with the designs. 

This is the reason that I very rarely take orders or commissions. I make what I please, creating shapes that appeal to me. I do sometimes get asked to recreate a design and I am usually happy to do so.

That's the basics of how I choose gems, on their beauty alone and where I get most of them from. Next I will go into the wires I use to wrap them. Where I get them from and why I use them. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have or if you would like me to go into greater detail on certain things. As I go along with the way I work and answering questions I will start to incorporate pictures, instructions, patterns and maybe even videos. Best wishes - Mark xx

Wires Used Most Commonly In Wire Wrapping

Wirewizards shared a link

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November 6

Copper Square and Half round Wires

WIRE WRAPPING WIRES:

You will come across 3 main types of wire in wire wrapping but in many different gauges, hardnesses and colours. The 3 main types are round, square and half round. Largely, square and round wires are interchangeable and more a matter of preference than anything else though there are differences that I will go over with you. 

Half round wire is what I would consider an essential for my type of wire wrapping. Half round wire is 'D' shaped. That is to say flat on one side and round on the other. The advantage of using this wire with either round or square is that it lies better on the wires giving a firm, even wrap that is aesthetically pleasing too. You will see it in action when I come to basic wrapping techniques. 

Personally I use round and square wire in gauges (thickness) of 1mm (18 Gauge) and 0.8mm (20 gauge). I had to buy many different types and sizes of wires to find what I liked to work with best and what suited the type of wraps I wanted to make. You will probably go through some experimentation yourself before finding your ideal sizes. I like to use square wire whenever I can as I like the way it bends and twists more than round wire but you will have your own preferences.

Next is hardeness. Wire is available in different strengths. Hard, Half hard, soft and dead soft. For a beginner, dead soft is probably better to use. Some people only ever use dead soft but like gauge you will find your own preference. I use a mixture of Half hard to dead soft, sometimes even mixing them on a single piece. You can make dead soft wire harder by working it to give greater strength to your pieces.

Colour is more than just silver or gold these days. Wires can be had in almost any colour imaginable and can really bring out the beauty of the gemstones you will be working with. The more traditional colours used in wire wrapping are silver, gold, copper and antique bronze.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive explanation of all the types of wires  and their uses but as an introduction to be used with the next posts on basic wire wrapping techniques. As usual I am always available for questions or to clarify points of interest for you. The tools I have found most useful, how to avoid common mistakes and where to buy materials at good prices will all be in future posts.

I buy my round wires from www.wires.co.uk

 and www.jewellerymaker.com

 as they are good prices and the wire can be bought in larger quantities (100 metres and more). Another good source of wires is www.palmermetals.co.uk

 and I use them for most of my square and half round wires.

Best wishes - Mark xx

Wire Wrapping Designs and Basics

 Solar Quartz

WIRE WRAPPING DESIGNS

When I first started making border wrap pendants they would take me an entire afternoon. I have found ways of speeding it up and now take around an hour instead due to preparations. I would make the setting and fit the stone and then I would start to sweat it. 

You see, I may have been happy with what I had done so far but making the bail and twisting the spare wires into interesting shapes is where it could all go wrong. I didn't enjoy it much and breathed a sigh of relief when it was finished. I felt like a used tea bag - all used up. It was mentally draining! 

The act of cleaning and polishing the finished piece was like a come down for me allowing me to relax again. It was a wild ride and I was hooked. Quite a few pieces had to have the stones snipped out and ended up in the waste bin. 

As I went along and grew more confident in my abilities that last part that had worried me so much became the best part. 

I never know what I am going to do with the bail and wire bending until I do it. I found that if I planned it out too much I would have to follow my plan which left me open to self criticism if I didn't follow the design perfectly. I had to learn to let go and follow where the wires wanted to bend instead of where I wanted to bend them. 

I have enjoyed my wrapping enormously ever since and each one is a joy to make. This approach has served me well and allowed me the freedom to create wonderful freeform shapes. 

I make up bundles of wires in the quiet times, often when everyone else has gone to bed as I am a bit of a night owl. 

In one of my next posts I will show you how I measure a gemstone and calculate the amount of wire to use and how making up bundles can save you heaps of time when you are ready to start making jewellery.

Best wishes - Mark xx

My Biggest Wire Wrapping Critic

Wire Wrapping Critics

My best (or perhaps worst depending on how you look at it) critic is my Son Tom. When I hand him a finished piece he points out every little error, every slight asymetry when I go to great lengths to make my pieces asymetrical, and any small mark my tools may have left on the wires. As I try to explain to him, a little of me goes into everything I make. A little artistry, perhaps even a little personality. I am not a machine that can recreate anything perfectly. I make unique, hand made jewellery. 

Every gemstone I use is different and has to be as they have all been created by mother nature herself. I feel that this has a certain value that mass produced items do not. If your goal is to make your own jewellery everything you make will be special. Anyone can buy a string of gems, put a catch on it and call it hand made and they will be able to make it over and over again. Developing your own style is important so as you do not get lost and confused with every other jewellery maker but when you are just starting out you will need to copy patterns almost slavishly to learn the techniques you will need for the future but do not make a habit of it. Make the designs your own. Improve them wherever you can and make things in your own style. 

We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us to one degree or another but before you know it you will be creating your own designs.

Wire Wrapping As A Hobby

Wire wrapping can be a great hobby to get into. You need a few tools wires and stones of some description and you can be playing away to your hearts content!

Wire wrapping can be a very addictive hobby and even a very lucrative one too. Selling your creations online can more than pay for all your materials and it gives you a great sense of satisfaction too. Here is a pendant I made today for my daughter with an oval Agate gemstone, 1mm square wire and .8mm half round wire.

It did take about 2 hours but it was well worth the effort and my daughter loved it! I've only been wire wrapping for a few weeks but as you can see the results are impressive. Don't do as I did and waste money buying cheap tools as they are a waste of time. Get decent pliers etc from the start and they will serve you well.

There's a huge number of free sources online to teach you all about wire wrapping. You tube is a great place to start with video's like this one -

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