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Designing the Back of Your Jewelry (Video)

Jewelry and Coffee with Rena
Video Episode 26

by Rena Klingenberg.

Do you ever add special touches to the back side of your jewelry? Some people will definitely notice them:

Transcript of This Video:

Have you ever noticed that when people pick up a piece of jewelry out of your display, they often turn it over to look at the back side of it?

I was talking to a jewelry artist friend about that once, and he said, “I always wonder – when they flip it over, what are they looking for?”

Well, I think a lot of people want to see how the back of it is made, how you’ve put the piece of jewelry together, and what’s on the other side of it.

Other people are interested to see if there’s a sterling silver mark, or some sort of a maker’s mark that would be worth seeing to find out more about the piece of jewelry.

And I think for some people, it’s a tactile experience – the flipping it over in their hand. How does it feel as they turn the piece over in their hand?

But whatever their reason for turning the piece of jewelry over, why not give them something interesting to see when they’re looking at the back side?

Not necessarily something major, but just some small detail or small touch.

There are a lot of little details you could add to the back of a piece of jewelry to make it worth flipping it over to see.

Here’s a pair of earrings where I’ve done something like that.

I made these earrings from Chinese coins that are a thousand years old:

Here’s the back of them:

The special touch I added to these is on the wirework at the top and bottom of each coin – I finished off the ends of these wires by creating a decorative little rosette instead of just clamping the wire ends down flat against the coin.

It’s just a small detail, but it’s something that makes it worth seeing when you turn the coins over to see the back of the earrings.

So why not include some sort of interesting detail on the backs of your pieces – such as a bit of wirework, some metal stamping, or a tiny unexpected bead.

People are often delighted to discover these secret touches when they flip the jewelry over.

And it’s the kind of lovely handmade touch that adds charm, a story, and some perceived value to your work.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on putting something special on the back of a piece of jewelry to make it worth seeing when people flip it over!

Thanks so much for joining me today, and I’ll see you next time.

The Jewelry Rena’s Wearing
in This Video:

Necklace – From the Aztec Bib Necklace tutorial by Rena Klingenberg. Brass, leather, wood.

Earrings – By Rena Klingenberg. Faux coins with 14k gf earwires.