Bead Quest

Jewelry Making with Cold Connections

2012-02-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

Jewelry Making with Cold Connections

There are many options when putting a piece of jewelry together and an alternative to soldering is cold connections. Riveting is a forming of cold connecting because no heat is applied to the metal to join multiple pieces together. There are two different styles of riveting—

Wire Rivet: Is where a piece of wire is used to connect multiple pieces of metal.First, drill a hole in the material you wish to rivet, using a drill bit the exact diameter as the wire. Second, place wire through pieces lining them in desired order and rest the piece(s) of metal on a steel bench block and gently tap the top of the wire a few times with an angled end of a riveting hammer. Third, turn the piece over and repeat, working both sides evenly. Working both sides creates a “mushroom-like” cap on both sides. For example, in the "All Gear Up" necklace (shown below) showcases the use of multiple wire rivets in one piece and these rivets not only hold the material together but also add interest to the design.

Tube Rivet: Similar to the wire rivet, create a hole in your material according to the size of the tube rivet. Second, fit the tube into the hole lining the desired pieces and take a mallet and tap both sides of the piece until both sides have rolled down evenly. For example, "Sprocket and Gear" beads (shown below) showcases domed gears cold connected using a tube rivet to form a bead. Since the tube rivet provides a hole through the piece, it can be used in necklaces, bracelets, or earrings.

Tube Rivet

Wire Rivet

3 Precious Metal Wire Types

2012-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Choosing the right hardness of precious metal wire can be difficult when creating handmade wire jewelry. For example, sterling silver wire comes in three types of hardness such as dead-soft, half-hard, and full-hard. The hardness property of wire pertains to how easy the metal bends.

Here is an overview of each type of wire:

1. Dead-soft wire: Is easily bent, extremely soft, and pliable. This type of wire is great for making shapes. However, if not properly handled the finished piece could be bent out of shape.

2. Half-hard wire: Is slightly stiffer than dead-soft wire. This type of wire is great for making loops or for wire wrapping objects. Compared to dead-soft, the half-hard wire makes more of a permanent piece that will keep its shape.

3. Full-hard wire: Is very stiff and hard to form components because the wire tends to spring back after being bent. When using full-hard wire a hammer is sometimes required to form the wire into certain shapes, making it more difficult compared to half-hard wire to create wire jewelry.

Although, the hardness of each metal can be changed by the metalsmithing technique called annealing or by work hardening. However, each type of wire hardness shows that it has an advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of wire wrapping or wire jewelry design.

Fresh Water Pearl Trunk Show

2012-01-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Only 3 Days Away!

Fresh Water Pearl Trunk Show

Saturday, January 28 - Saturday, February 4

Here are a few photos of some pearl strands...so much more 14in-16in pearl strands at the show!

Fresh Water Pearl Show

2012-01-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

Coming Soon!

Fresh Water Pearl Show

January 28 - February 4

Bead Quest will present a pearl show showcasing a variety of radiant and elegant pearls, such as:

-Round

-Coin

-Potato

-Keshi

-Baroque

-Biwa Sticks

& More!

Make sure you stop by and pick up your favorite strand(s) of pearls.

Pictures Coming Soon!

Special Terms for a Pearl Necklace

2012-01-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

Did you know? The length of a pearl necklace has a special vocabulary.

Collar - measures 10 to 13 inches and sits directly against the throat and does not hang down on the neck.

Pearl choker- measures 14 to 16 inches and nestle at the base of the neck.

Princess length - a strand of pearls measuring 17 to 19 inches and lays just below the collarbone.

Matinee length - measures 20 to 24 inches and falls just above the breasts.

Opera length - measures 28 to 35, which reaches the breastbone.

Pearl rope - measures more than 45 inches.

Coming Soon!

Fresh Water Pearl Show

Jan. 28 - Feb. 4

More Information Coming Soon!

*reference Wikipedia

Jewelry Making Using Metal Folding

2011-12-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

Creating jewelry using metal forming or fabrication uses a varied of different techniques such as sawing, filing, shaping, hammering, and other techniques used to form metal piece(s) into a desired shape. There are endless possibilities to creating jewelry using these techniques.

Metal Heart Pendant Workshop
Thurs. January 12 at 6:00pm
Instructor: Brea Moser

For instance, the Metal Heart Pendant workshop, new for January features a technique called metal folding. In this workshop students fold a piece of metal and cut out the desired shape such as a heart. They will then anneal and hammer the piece of metal with texturizing hammers to form a personalized pendant. After forming the metal into the desired shape they will then smooth out the edges by using a dremel tool. Also in this workshop, students will also learn how to do a torch patina and have the option to add chain, jumprings, and clasp to the piece.

See a sneak peek of the Metal Heart Pendant Workshop

by clicking the video below!

Coming Soon!

2011-12-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

January 2012!

Bead Quest Blog

Sharing unique ideas, hot trends, interesting facts & so much more. Make sure you stop back the first week of January for our first post. :)