Going for the Gold!!

From the day I started creating chain maille jewelry, I have pretty much worked with sterling silver or anodized aluminum because gold makes the cost of the piece jump up sharply, and I want my clients to be able to afford and enjoy wearing my pieces.  As it was, even the price of sterling silver kept rising for a while, but appears to have stabilized......at least for the time being.

In the meantime, several of my friends who wear more gold jewelry than silver were encouraging me to consider adding some gold items to my line.  So, I kept my eye on the price of gold for a couple months until I saw that it was dropping and decided to make the commitment.   Still considering the final cost of a piece, I made the decision to combine 14k gold filled rings with the sterling silver for now, rather than go with 100% gold, and I am pleased with the results.

Since I was creating a new and exciting combo piece, I thought I would share a little bit of the process of chain maille, so sit back and watch how I got from piles of jump rings to a finished necklace.

First I had to determine how many of each size and type of jump rings I was going to need to make the necklace.  For this project, I calculated that I needed a total of 271 rings, divided amongst three different sizes, and two different metals.

The next step is the one I like the least, which is opening all the hundreds of jumps rings in preparation for actually creating the finished piece.  This is a tedious task, but one that has to be done.  It is much more efficient to open all the rings at one time rather than stop and start as rings are needed.

So now the rings are all (finally) opened and I am ready to start the weave.  


Breaktime!!!!!

**Just a quick note to those of you who may be considering getting into chain maille.  It is very important to use good quality tools  if you plan to do chain maille on a regular basis.  Make sure they are comfortable in your hands to minimize strain and/or cramping.  For me, I use two wide width flat nose pliers with long cushioned handles.  They fit nicely in my palms and my hands don't feel tired after working on a piece for several hours.**

I have now begun the weave.  I will get it to the length I want before adding the extender chain and clasp. You may notice as you visit my website that I almost always put a 3" extender chain on my necklaces.  This allows my clients the most flexibility based on the neckline of the outfit that is being accessorized.  I know I always appreciate it.

And, here is the finished piece!!

It is off to the tumbler to give it a nice clean, shiny finish, and it will soon appear on my website, ready for purchase.

Being the matchy-matchy personality that I am, I also created earrings to match.  I hope you have enjoyed this step-by-step description of how I get from start to finish.  Feedback is always appreciated!!