Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

How to Use Snap Set Findings and Make Snap Set Jewelry

Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:42 AM PDT

Ever want to make your own pronged gem jewelry without doing any metal work or knowing anything about gem setting? If so, consider using commercially available snap set findings. Some brands include Snap-Tite and Sure-Set which you can buy from many jewelry suppliers. There are many types of mountings which you can use for earrings, pendants and rings.

This video tutorial by JTV shows how easy it is to snap a a mounting onto the gemstone. You can also do the reverse and place the mounting prongs up and press the gem into place.

Some general tips :

use double sided tape (or a circle of scotch tap with ends taped together) on the surface to keep the gemstone steady
don't place the gemstone on a good surface without some sort of protection because harder gemstones might scratch the table.
faceted gems are easier to set for a beginner than a cabochon because the former has a flat "table" unlike a rounded cabochon
round faceted gems are easier to set than rectangular and square ones because there is no possibility of getting the setting crooked

While earring snap set findings have handy posts to hold onto, press down on the main body of the mounting not on the post which can bend and break. Use tweezers as shown in the next video also by JTV. Alternatively, hold the earring post in the fingers of one hand and snap in the gem with the other hand.

Depending the type of mounting, there might be space between the mounting and the gemstone. So take advantage of it and make wire rings and embellished pendants.

Check out this snap set pendant wire work tutorial from Art Jewelry Magazine which I have featured before. (You have to subscribe for free to get it).

If you like wire wrapped rings, then the easy beaded solitaire ring video tutorial by Rachel Murgatroyd which uses a snap set gemstone. It is similar to how I made my Swarovski montee ring tutorial but has lovely round beads added.