Wire work is my favorite technique. So I have a lot of wire. I use all kinds including the silver plated variety. They are cost effective especially when wire wrapping as that uses up a lot of wire. Silver plated wire is best for earring dangles and necklaces where the wear is far less than rings. I also like using good silver plated wire besides copper in prototype wire designs. If they work out, the pieces are also saleable!
Silver plated jewelry making wire is usually copper based. Note there is a difference between colored copper wire and silver plated colored copper wire. The former is matte in color while the latter has a metallic sheen because of the silver.
One brand I have been using for while, well before they even contacted me for this giveaway, is
Parawire, made by Paramount, a US wire company founded nearly 100 years ago during the First World War by first generation immigrants. They make all kinds of wire including that used for jewelry making. The wire is available through their website, other jewelry suppliers and at select craft shows.
The
silver plated silver wire I bought before and received recently for review, is a joy to work with. The core is soft copper. It is also comes coated in a range of colors and has another non tarnish coating on top. Not that unusual you say? What's different with other makes is that silver layer - it is
fine silver. Fine silver is almost pure silver (99.9%) while the silver of other makes is of unknown %. The fine silver plating thus imparts a really shiny appearance. Indeed some sterling silver jewelry is deliberately plated with fine silver to get that bright silver color.
The above picture shows the difference between 20 G wire I currently have in stock. I've always liked the
inexpensive Zebra wire from Fire Mountain Gems. While the colored ones are lovely, the silver colored (not silver plated) copper wire was noticeably grey. The Smart Wire is another inexpensive silver plated wire I got through a Canadian wholesaler (Beazu). I don't think its protective coating (if any) was effective as it was beginning to tarnish even in the package. So you get what you pay for! I now use these inexpensive wire as practice wire for when I teach.
So I have been happily using Parawire's silver plated silver wire for the recent tutorials. If you missed these, the links are under the photographs below. As this wire is so soft, work hardening with a nylon hammer is essential.
Just one thing. It's not obvious in reality but in photographs, parawire appears slightly yellow tinged when next to other silver metal (ear wires, chain). I am not sure why that is. It could be the light or maybe in combination the white balance of my iPhone camera. But it is a small point, one which you probably wouldn't have noticed had I not mentioned it. In my hands, the pieces look really bright and shiny!
Giveaway If you'd like to win $50 worth of
any wire from Parawire, please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.
Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.
This giveaway is limited to US and Canada. Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments.
It ends in a week's time at
6 pm EST Monday, September 7, 2015 . I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!
Disclosure Photography I used my iPhone 5, the camera+ app and the Modahaus Tabletop Studio TS400 in natural light for the wire spool and final product pictures. Click here for
more information on my How to Photograph Jewelry webinar. Before You Go: ______________________________
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