Wire Wrapped Stone Pendants

For anyone who has been following my projects for more than 6 years, this title may sound familiar. Back in April 2014, I published an Instructable titled "Wire wrapped stone pendants". Six years later, I decided to revisit the project. While my jewellery-making skills and knowledge have definitely improved in that period of time, the simplicity of the first version was still something I wanted to take with me in this version. A limited amount of materials and tools necessary, and a limited amount of time needed.

After initially trying to stick to a technique much closer to the original version, the pendants pictured above are what this project resulted into. I personally think they are so much fun to make, and while using the same technique for all of them they all turn out so uniquely different!

Something that is also a bit different in comparison to six years ago is my own handmade (jewellery) business that I run through Etsy. I am currently selling these pendants in my shop here, so if you're curious feel free to check it out!

- pliers (this project uses round nose pliers, cutting pliers, and flat nose pliers)
- a tumble stone (most of the ones I use are around 1 - 1.25 inches / 2-3 cm in height.
- a necklace (I like using chain necklaces with a lobster clasp, but you could for example also use string for this!)
- wire (I am using silver plated copper wire of 0.8 mm / gauge 20)

When it comes to selecting stones, what works best for this technique is stones that have straight surfaces. The second picture shows examples of stones that fit this criteria. The amethyst stone I ended up using is not ideal, but it still has a small flat surface - this definitely makes the process easier.

The amount of wire you need is a bit of an estimation. It is dependent on the size of the stone, as well as how encased by wire you want the stone to be. I cut off approximately 50 cm of wire to make sure I'd have the freedom to shape the pendant as I went along.

As you can see, the wire holds quite a bit of its original coil after being cut. Gently straightening the first part makes it easier to move on to the next step.

As you can see, the straightened part of the wire lies flat against the surface of the stone. Let it extend past the stone a few centimeters. Take into account that the corner you choose for this will be the top of the pendant.

Gently bend the wire around the stone, holding it tight against it with your fingers. Once it reaches the top wire, bend it around to start the second part of the frame. Following the outlines of the stone again, these two lines of wire should hold the stone between them. Once you get to the top again, click through to the next step.

Just like the first time, bend the wire around the top wire. This creates the wire frame base of the pendant. If you are not satisfied with the position of the stone with regard to the wire, this is the point where you can still make small alterations.

Holding the stone and the wire frame pinched between your fingers, continue bending the wire to create a coil around the top. Slowly bring this down to let it cover the top part of the stone.

Once you are satisfied with the way the top looks, it is important to decide on what will be the back of your pendant. Continue bending down, and past the back of the pendant make a line towards where you want the bottom part of the wire to be. Keep wrapping the wire around the stone a few more times to secure it at this height as well.

To secure the wire, what I have found to be the sturdiest way is to let the wire go back to the top of the pendant. Again making sure to do this at the back of the pendant, bend the wire up and look for a place it can go. In my case, I noticed there was some space in between the wire wrapping on the top.

Before wrapping the wire around it, use the straight part of wire to create a loop on top of the pendant. Take your round nose pliers, bend the wire back towards the pendant, and put it at the right angle towards the pendant. After all, this determines how your pendant is going to hang from your necklace.

As mentioned before, I used the top part of the wrapped wire to work away the remaining end. Going along with the coiling, let it go up to the loop created last step. Once its there, carefully wrap it around the bottom part of the loop and cut off the excess wire, leaving a small part to still work away.

Coil the wire around one of the sides of the loop, and make sure the ending does not stick out. If necessary, cut off a small bit extra. The wire can be secured extra by clamping it down using your flat nose pliers.

The last thing to do is turn the pendant into a necklace! I like to make a little 8-shape for this, but a regular jump ring will do just fine as well!