MOM'S NECKLACE [Dec 2011]

My mom and I recently went to an International Jewelry Expo in Santa Monica, CA. She purchased a multi-colored necklace made of Emeralds, Rubies and Saphires made from India. The seven strand necklace forms a pattern when placed together.

My mom didn't like the rope clasp that was provided with the necklace. She took it to other jewelers to see how much it would cost to change the clasp. Changing the clasp would require re-stringing the entire necklace. One jeweler was going to charge $200. I thought that was ridiculous and probably something that I could do myself so I offered to do it.

I first went to Michael's Arts & Crafts Store to see if they had any clasps for 7 strand necklaces. They didn't. Next, I went to the The San Gabriel Bead Company in Arcadia, CA. I found a clasp for a 5 strand necklace which would work.

With this being my first time really working on jewelry, I wasn't sure how I was going to approach this and asked one of the employees for suggestions. She provided me with a clear handout on how to re-string the beads, what wire to use, how to close and secure the ends and how to connect the clasps to each strand. Since it was a 5 strand clasp, I had to double up on two of the links on the clasp.

I secured the ends with crimp beads and crimp bead covers using a bead crimper.