Most Common Jewellery Findings To Connect Jewellery Components

Jewellery findings are components that jewellery designers use to connect little pieces of jewellery to make a complete saleable piece. For instance, if you are making a string of beads, you'll need small components to bring the beads together and tie them to make a string. Most of the findings are made up of different types of metal but depending on the material of the jewellery and the look desired, they can also be made up of stone, wood and other materials.

Here, we will have a look at some different types of findings that are often used in making complete pieces of jewellery:

Jewellery Findings

      1.   Jump rings: These jewellery findings are simple wire loops that are often used to connect parts of jewellery, such as attaching a clasp to a string of beads. They are opened by pushing the one end left and the other end right. If you push both the ends too far apart, the metal may become weak and it may split. These rings are not a perfect fit for repeated use, as they may break if they are pushed again and again repeatedly on every use. Most of the jump rings are round, but you may also find in ovals, too. Depending on your purpose, you can choose from closed or open jump rings. Open rings have splits in them, which may be pushed to open using jewellery pliers. On the other hand, closed rings are soldered, and they cannot be opened. Once the jewellery component is fixed in it, it is soldered to shut it permanently. This is a stronger and safer connector if you are handling heavy or precious jewellery.

2.  Bails: These jewellery findings are the ones that are used to connect a pendant with a necklace. There are different types of bails often used by jewellery makers. Some are designed to clip on the pendant, where others have a mount that sticks to the pendant, while some are fixed to a ring attached to the pendant. The main aim of bail is to keep the pendant straight and flat when hung on a necklace.

3.    Headpins and eye pins: A headpin look similar to a tiny nail. After putting a few beads into a headpin, the jewellery maker bends the loop situated at the top of the pin. This makes a dangle that can be attached to an ear wire to make an earring. On the other hand, an eye pin has a loop instead of a nail-like head. It can be used to add a dangle to a beaded component. Headpins ad eye pins are made up of wire and are often used to connect different jewellery components in handmade jewellery pieces. Apart from these, there are paddle headpins too that have flattened paddles on the end. Some headpins also have decorative embellishments to look attractive, such as spiral headpins.

4.    Bead caps: These jewellery findings are handy caps that are often used for decorative purposes to accessorise the beads in jewellery pieces. Whether you want to give a decorative detail to your beads or want to cover any imperfections, bead caps at one or both ends of a bead can be of great help. They are also highly successful in hiding threads and knots in bead strings. A plain bead instantly turns into a piece of attraction when it is embellished with a decorative bead cap. Bead caps are available in a variety of metals, shapes and sizes, which you can choose as per the beads you want to cover and the type of look you want.

5.    Ear Wire: This finding as a metal ball, a loop and a coil that can be used to make an earring. Available in a variety of finishes and compositions, these jewellery findings can be easily used to complement gold, silver, brass, still and copper jewellery pieces.

Jewellery Findings

This was just a partial list of jewellery findings used to make complete pieces of jewellery. There are many more with varied purposes. So, find a good quality finding as per your jewellery design and make a sturdy piece to last long.