 Our second project will be to make a pendant style necklace using one of our simulated gemstones. Making the pendant itself is very simple and requires just a simulated gemstone and a pendant snap-fit finding in the same size. Adding this to a necklace requires 18 inches of commercial chain, a commercial clasp, 6 inches of 21 or 22 gauge wire and two 3mm round metal beads. The steps for making this pendant necklace using a snap-fit type of setting follow.
Step 2: Position your snap-fit pendant finding on top of the
gemstone as shown at right. Hold the setting in your non-dominant
hand. Be certain to use a setting that matches
the size of your gemstone.
Step 3: Using the thumb of your dominant hand, push down gently and symmetrically on the setting until all 6 prongs snap into position. The only error that you can make is to push too hard. If you push too hard it will flatten the finding and you will need to re-shape it as we describe in blue, below.
Step 4: As we did for the earrings, you will need to squeeze each
Step 5: To complete the necklace, we need to cut 18" of fine or
medium commercial chain. Using the gold-filled pendant setting shown
here, the links of the chain must be 2mm wide or smaller
so that they will
fit through the loop in the setting.
Step 6: We need to connect a clasp to the end of this chain.
We make this connection using about 3" of 21 or 22 gauge wire on either
side. 1/2 hard wire is preferred if available. Connect each
side of the chain to your clasp, using a wrapped bead link and a 3mm metal
bead. You can find
instructions on how to make the wrapped bead link here. The
clasp shown above-left is a 6mm magnetic
Please note that very rarely, the prongs in a snap type setting can be bent during shipping. This doesn't happen often, but it has happened. If this happens, in almost all cases, the prongs can be easily bent back into shape. If you have a pair of chain nose pliers, this is the preferred tool to use to straighten the prongs. If you don't have pliers, your fingers will work. Please note the position of the prongs in the above photographs. The six prongs should form a circle that is smaller than the gemstone that you are setting. In the following page we will discuss a different type of pendant setting. |
You
can purchase pre-made chain and modify it as discussed in
