Here's my limited
knowledge, and what I can remember, about my preferences on wire-wrapping issues
when buying or making jewelry… and in no particular
order.
Material
I prefer to work with and to buy products made
with either Sterling Silver or Gold-Fill (or solid Gold, but that's quite
expensive).
There are craft and other wires that have lower silver
content and/or are plated. Ugh! Plating wears off.
"German Silver" (aka "Nickel Silver" or even "Alpaca") is copper, nickel, and
zinc (sometimes a bit of tin). No silver. Surprised? Hmph! Then you haven't been listening to me gripe about all
the misnomers in the jewelry industry. Heh. The
stuff's cheap, though. But be careful because about 5% of the population is
allergic to nickel.
And just to confuse matters more, there's also a
"German Silver" wire that is also know as "silver-fill". It is 40% sterling,
bonded to a copper core…. Just as "gold-fill" is a certain karat of gold bonded
to a base metal core.
There's also a "non-tarnishing Sterling Silver
wire", with which I have no experience. It is
There's "gold color" wire,
which is usually made from Brass (can also be found in the coated,
non-tarnishing variety).
There's "German Gold" which is 10 parts gold for
40 parts base metal. (Gold-Fill is generally 14 parts gold for 20 parts base
metal.)
BTW, as far as Gold and karats thereof are concerned, here's a
mini lesson… oh, but first, it's "karats" not "carats"… "carats" are the weight
of gems; and another "btw"… when gold is referred to as "solid gold", it means
the item is solid and is made from an alloy like those listed below; not plated
or filled or washed or anything else…. Sold gold is the good stuff, the
long-lasting stuff.
• 24k Gold is also called "pure gold" because 100% of
it is gold.
• 18k Gold is 18 out of 24 parts gold, so about 3/4ths gold; can
also be marked "750", for being 75% gold.
• 14k Gold is 14 out of 24 parts
gold, so just over ½ gold; can also be marked "585", for being 58.5% gold.
•
12k Gold is 12 out of 24 parts gold, so ½ gold.
• 10k Gold is 10 out of 24
parts gold, so just under ½ gold; can also be marked "417", for being 41.7%
gold.
24k Gold isn't used for much because it's just too darn soft. It
needs to be mixed with other metals to make it stronger and harder. When it's
mixed, that's called an alloy.
Gauge
Did the jewelry maker use
an appropriate gauge of wire for the item?
If the wire-work involves
charms that are dangling off a fringe bracelet, the wire should be of
substantial enough gauge so that the charms don't continue to bend at weird
angles. If they do, they may eventually break off.
For the record, 24 and
26 gauge are relatively thin…. 20 and 22 are most often used… 18 and 16 is
pretty darn thick.
Also, certain beads (like Lampwork, which is glass,
and therefore heavy) should be on a thick enough gauge wire to sustain the
weight of the bead.
Hand-crafted clasps should DEFINITELY be made from
the thicker gauges of wire.
Finishing/Edges
Okay, these next
two are biggies for me.
When the jewelry maker clips the wire, did she
clip it at an appropriate angle so as not to leave a sharp, pointy
end?
Did she file the sharp end down if it needed?
Did she tuck
the end of the wire into the piece or leave it sticking out to invariably get
snagged on that $100 sweater you wanted to wear the jewelry with?
And….
It takes time to tuck, so know that if you're buying a well-made charm bracelet,
you'll also be paying for the jewelry designer's time. It takes time to get a
dangle on the bracelet, wrap it nicely, then finish it professionally… moving on
to the next dangle then.
Detail/Neatness
This goes along with
the above.
Look at the wire-wrapping.
Are the wraps even or are
there gaping spaces every couple of wraps?
Are the wraps tucked in
tightly to the wire onto which they're being wrapped, or do they lump and bump
out in an uneven mess?
Are the wraps similar or does one dangle have two
wire-wraps and its neighbor has six?
Is the wire-wrapping tight? The wrap
should be from the base of the loop to the top of the bead… there shouldn't be
room for your bead to slide up and down on the headpin. It should be snug, and
there shouldn't be any straight length of wire between the top loop and where
the wrapping starts.
Am I beginning to sound a bit too obsessive about
this stuff?
Heh
Hey, it's all about
quality and a professional product. Do you want to buy something that will last,
or do you want to buy something that you can wear a couple times before
something goes wrong?
One last thing about wire-wrapping… if you go to
the trouble to wire-wrap to ensure long-lasting security of your item, don't
then attach that wire-wrapping item onto the jewelry using a jumpring. It's only a matter of time until there's enough
pulling on a jumpring (unless it's a REALLY heavy
gauge) for it to open enough to let whatever it was holding slide out.
I
am REALLY REALLY REALLY hard
on my own jewelry… jewelry I wear. I'm not a dainty and graceful lass… I run
into walls and furniture and get caught on anything in my path… I skateboard and
ride motorcycles and play hockey… quality jewelry is imperative to me, and I
want to give nothing less to my customers.