DIY Wire-Wrapped Pendant

When I acquire new jewelry, I put it in a basket on top of my wardrobe, to keep it separate from my old jewelry, until the first time I wear it. If it sits around in the basket for months, I know that it is of very limited use to me, and I might consider reselling it.

A certain pink agate pendant I bought from eBay landed there in April and sat there all the way through October, at which point, I finally realized I just didn't like it! There were a number of reasons for this. I had bought it primarily because I didn't have any pastel pink jewelry (except for a necklace set that was too fancy to wear with much of anything), but when I got it, I found it was less the powdery pink that I'd been expecting, and more of an uncooked-meat pink with purplish undertones. It wasn't an easy-to-wear color.

On top of that, I didn't like the setting. Though I foolishly didn't take any pictures before I went all DIY on it, it looked kind of like this picture here. It had a silver backing and 4 silver claws that reached around the outside edge to hold it onto the backing. The claws were really obtrusive, it looked unfinished and ungainly, and I just didn't want to wear it!

But I had paid a good $3.44 for it, and I certainly wasn't going to make that much reselling it, so I decided to try and make it more wearable before I gave up on it for good.

I've seen wire-wrapped jewelry before and always been a fan, so I decided to give it a try. The choice between silver and gold wire puzzled me for a second. Eventually I went with gold, mainly because I use it less and would like to get rid of the spool of gold wire that is unraveling itself all over my jewelry-making drawer. But I'm glad I chose the gold, because part of the problem with the original pendant was that it looked sickly on its silver backing. I think gold is a much better setting for this particular hue of stone.

To wrap it, I just pressed the wire into the back, and kept turning the pendant over until the wire was wrapped around it enough times to hold the loose end in. Then I kept wrapping until I felt like I was done. I cut the wire at the other end and wove it through the mess of wires on the back to lock it into place.

Then I took another short piece of wire, wove it into the back the same way, and twisted it into a loop through which I threaded the jewelry chain.

I have a feeling this is a very precarious arrangement. Already, one of the top strands of wire is lifting off the stone. I probably won't be able to wear this necklace more than once or twice, but for now, it's an improvement over being unable to wear it at all.

So it came out in public for the first time today. I paired it with a new blouse I just acquired in an eBay lot, a big brown corduroy skirt, and tall brown boots.