Briolette stones display necklace
Now this is a nice departure from our stereotypically wire wrapped briolette stones. The artist, rather than fussing with the wire wrap issue, took numerous briolette stones and strung them on a sturdy wire.
The stones were capped on either end with a bead, which also helps keep the stones tight against each other, thus ensuring that they will stand up in odd manners as opposed to just lining up in a typical alternating fashion. On the other side of the flat bead is a crimp bead, and the wire was bent into a loop, giving the necklace chain a place to anchor.
As I discussed previously on the ivy necklace, a true strength in this piece in knowing when to end the focus. Rather than overloading the necklace with briolette stones all the way around, after a strong center piece was established, the rest of the necklace fades back into a simple chain. It is a great way to center the piece and draw attention to your gorgeous stones. And as a good jeweler’s trick, it helps keep the necklace turned around the correct way because all the weight of the piece is in the front of the necklace which keeps the chain from turning on your neck.
I know so many people hit this blog looking for ways to wire wrap briolette stones, and as lovely as that style can be, it is also getting extremely repetitive. As a jeweler, I am always experimenting with new ways to use that gorgeous cut myself, so seeing new possibilities and other artists branch out into new methods of use is very exciting.
Buying multiples of briolette stones is financially possible now, thanks to places like eBay (still my number one supply house, where even with access to my super secret jewelry supply sources, I can usually find things much cheaper. There are things I simply won’t buy on eBay, but for my basic stock, I usually can swing a pretty decent deal, especially when I buy in bulk). And since weekend jewelers have access to such fantastic stock, making necklaces like this as gifts is absolutely possible.
Can you imagine opening this on Christmas Day? Talk about a WOW moment! And really, the construction is not that difficult. Just make sure that the briolette stones are snuggled up nice and tight and that the crimp beads are anchored in well to keep the briolette stones standing up at odd angles.
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