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Daily Wire Tip Dec. 17: Where to Purchase Faceted Gemstones

By on December 17, 2009
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
December 17, 2009

Question:

I would love to purchase some faceted gemstones to let into rings and bracelets.  I am not looking for CZs, but true semi-precious gemstones. Any ideas?

Answer:

Wire-Sculpture does have a large selection of faceted, semi-precious gemstones, topaz included, that are available at our lovely gemstones page! I know this for a fact, because I hand picked about every single one of them! We also have cabochons available in a variety of gemstones, and some of these are faceted as well.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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11 Comments

  1. avatar

    Don Brady

    December 17, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Hi Dale; I have a few of your videos and you are a great instructor. But, refering to the above question, without soldering, how are we suppose to include faceted gemstones into our wire wrapped pendant? Thanks, Don

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 17, 2009 at 11:52 am

      Thanks for your kind words about my teaching methods. Some folks are mixed media artists and DO use soldering techniques to incorporate gemstones into wire designs. Although I often think I would like to learn to solder, I choose to remain a ‘purist’ in this art form, pushing myself to continuously develop new techniques without the use of anything but wire. As such, my book, ‘Wirework’ has several stepped-out patterns and photographed ideas showing and suggesting how to set gemstones of all sizes and shapes into wire designs, and my upcoming Advanced DVDs will share even more.
      To view my book:
      http://wire-sculpture.com/how-to-make-wire-jewelry/Wirework_An_Illustrated_Guide_to_the_Art_of_Wire_Wrapping_Dale_Cougar_Armstrong-6128-0.html

  2. avatar

    Gayla

    December 17, 2009 at 11:15 am

    I purchase my gem stones from the tv jewerly stores. The first order was for 500ctw of large stones and paid $200.00. I received a nice selection of gems. If I am looking for a specific stone I do a search on their site. They have a 30 day return policy if you don’t like the stones you receive.
    Gayla

    Folks, please be aware that when I edit out the name of a company or a website address it is because I cannot post replies that include competitive information. I enjoy and encourage you to respond with your assistance and comments for both me and others, however this is not a forum but a blog for our company.
    Thanks!
    Dale/Cgr

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 17, 2009 at 12:02 pm

      Thanks Gayla! But I do want to caution folks to really think about purchasing gemstone ‘lots’ by the carat weight as not all stones weigh the same and you could end up with a lot of very tiny, but heavy stones and not the selection of larger pieces you may have been hoping for.
      Dale/Cgr

  3. avatar

    SteveTaylor

    December 17, 2009 at 1:30 pm

    Semi-precious stones are also denoted by shape and size (length x width) in millimeters. If you know what you want this a better method than by carat weight. We recently ordered oval opals 8mm x 12mm to fit existing pieces. Ordering individual stones can be done on cable or satellite TV from reputable distributors ($25-30,000)for decent prices.

  4. avatar

    Denise

    December 17, 2009 at 2:39 pm

    Don,
    I’ve used (created?) a technique for pendants that creates a prong setting by twisting 24 gauge wire. Omit the bail portion and you could incorporate this into you wire wrap design.

  5. avatar

    Chris

    December 17, 2009 at 6:50 pm

    I would like to add that anyone using a gemstone in a ring or bracelet should always check its Mohs Hardness number. E.G., Talc, very soft, is #1 and Diamond, very hard, is #10. There are some lovely gemstones for sale on this site (and as soon as I get better at my wire wrapping, I’ll be back, credit card in hand, lol!), but some are best suited for necklace pendants (like Fluorite, Mohs #4, which is easily cracked), and others best for rings….like Topaz, Mohs #8! Rings and bracelets take more abuse in wear than a necklace…

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 18, 2009 at 1:05 am

      Thanks Chris!
      You are absolutely correct. Everyone, especially beginners, should always take the hardness of a gemstone into consideration. Most people do not know that WS has updated a LOT of information in our resource guide, including a great page all about gemstones! Scroll through it to see the basic properties of most gemstones, including their hardness: http://wire-sculpture.com/pages/gemstone_info.html
      Dale/Cgr

  6. avatar

    mary

    December 21, 2009 at 11:43 am

    In answer to Don’s last question concerning using faceted gemstones. Don, you can wrap them as Dale teaches and you can create prong settings (also thru Dale’s DVD’s) without having to create any type of bezel, etc. that requires soldering. The whole purpose of learning this style of wire artistry is the fact that you are not having to rely on jewelry bench techniques to create beautiful, one of a kind wire creations.

    Mary

  7. avatar

    Jim Meier

    December 26, 2009 at 1:37 am

    The information that was given by Sonja Kiser to Charley Key in the video Dec 14, 2009 had a flaw in that information.

    The File that was used was used improperly. The proper way to use a
    Jewelers File is on the push stroke, not the pull stroke that was demonstrated.

    It will only cut on the push stroke, and not the pull stroke. If you were making something out of Titanium or something hard, the pull stroke would be dulling the file.

    Jim Meier
    Wire Artist
    Rock Hound
    Sheet Metal Mechanic
    Aircraft Mechanic

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 26, 2009 at 12:04 pm

      Thanks Jim