Silver Wire For Jewelery Making

Wire-wrapping is one of the oldest forms ofpopular as a means of creating connections
jewelery-making. It is also one of the mostbetween the components of a piece and round
popular in modern times, being relativelywire is the most popular shape for creating loops
inexpensive and relatively easy to learn at a basicand other more intricate designs.
level. Of course, the more adventurous youThe hardness of gold and silver wire also has
become as an artisan, the more expensive andsome bearing on its uses; wire comes in varying
skilled it can become, but wire-wrapping can bedegrees of hardness: full hard, half hard and dead
one of the most rewarding forms ofsoft. Full hard and half hard wire are used to
jewelery-making there is.create more robust pieces that may have weight
Gold and silver wire are measured and sold in ato them; perhaps the wire supports a stone in
wide range thicknesses and shapes e.g. round wirethe piece or is used in jewelery that is primarily
ranges from 0.3mm to 6mm diameter. millimetresmade of wire. Because of its hardness, half hard
The diameter of the wire determines its suitabilityor full hard wire will require more tools to
for certain applications; 0.8mm and 1mm wire ismanipulate it than dead soft wire. Dead soft wire
widely-used for creating wire shapes, whereas thecan be manipulated using your hands, but it is
thinner gauge wire 0.3mm is more suitable forbetter to use pliers for precision work. Dead soft
adding decoration or even threading beads.wire can accommodate light beads and can be
Gold and silver wire also come in different shapes;bent to create intricate designs and pieces, but
square, round, half-round and oval. Square wire isthey are likely to be very delicate and not
generally used for wire-wrapping designs, such asrecommended as jewellery to be worn on a daily
the creation of a bracelet, half-round wire is mostbasis.