Wire Wire for jewelry making and crafts can be either used as a connector or as a significant component in the project. We offer ColourCraft wire on spools, a permanently colored copper wire, which is most often used to create wrapped or twisted jewelry components such as beads or drops rather than as a stringing material. At this time, we do not offer bulk wire other than ColourCraft. Also included in the wire category of jewelry supplies on our web site are headpins, jump rings, split rings, and French wire (bullion.) Headpins are used to create bead drops, as the head on the wire acts as a bead stop and the plain wire end can then be wrapped into a loop for connection to other components. Gemstone beads, crystal beads, and glass beads are often added to jewelry with headpins. Jump rings are used to make connections between components such as clasps and string. Split rings are similar to jump rings, but are circles of wire that are wrapped around more than a single circumference. The advantage of split rings is that they do not have a gap like jump rings and can hold a very thin string or wire better than a jump ring where the string or wire might slip through the gap. French wire is like a very fine spring. The wire is wrapped in a circular way to form a long tube, which will encircle thread or stringing material where it is exposed. French wire, also called bullion, has long been used to enhance the value of jewelry by making the appearance of exposed stringing material more consistent with metal components. It only takes 1/4 to 1/2 inch of bullion to cover the connection to a clasp. (c) Copyright 2003 Sun Country Gems |
