Comments on: Help With Jewelry Party Returns Due to Breakage!

By: Kerrie Venner

Kerrie Venner — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 09:13:50 +0000

Polymer clay beads breaking…..I agree with previous comments. Oven temperature is crucial to strength. All brands have their recommended temperatures, but your timing must begin once the oven has regained its settled, pre-heated temperature. In addition, yes, a reliable thermometer in the oven ( I infact have a newish oven thermometer, plus a digital probe to be certain next to the beads). Always have a small sample of translucent in the brand(s) you are using, medium thickness, to test once the curing has finished. Bend it. Yes, bend it. If it snaps, it is under cured. When cured correctly, polymer clay is slightly flexible, which makes it resilient and hard wearing. Test drive your bead batch… bounce ’em on the floor! There are also plenty of testers out there researching curing temperatures which makes very interesting reading ( I recommend thebluebottletree.com which I find very interesting). Good luck and never give up…

By: Dianne

Dianne — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 01:51:00 +0000

This too was my biggest fear. I have been making and selling beaded jewelry for 8 years now and have only had one piece returned and I do some pretty heavy beadweaving. Here is what I use, no exceptions.
I use 49 strand .019 wire only. I have used several brands and find I like Accu-Flex the best. I also always, always, always use wire guards. When crimping make sure you don’t let your wires twist as they naturally will…every time. I use 2 crimp beads (not tubes) so that my crimp cover fits over them. Also it is best not to crimp too close to the guards. Have you tried oval jump rings? The tension on a round jump ring always find its way to the closure whereas with the oval jump rings the stress is not on the opening…take a peek at those, I swear by them now. Even with slightly rough edges on your gemstones, the wire should not break if you are using good wire, don’t skimp here. Also, before a piece leaves my studio, I abuse it… pulling and twisting to make sure everything is nice and tight. I would rather have it break in my studio than on the customer.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 14:30:11 +0000

Hi Fiona!
When you’re working with gemstones, the weight of the stone is a factor you’ll need to consider. You may need to buy heavier-gauge wire or double-wire your piece. You might also have wire that is too stiff. If you’re worried about sharp points at the holes, a diamond-tipped bead reamer is helpful.
It matters where the damage is. Is the crimp slipping off? You might have the wrong size, or may not be getting it tight enough. Is the break at or near the clasp or crimp? Could be you are clamping the crimp too tightly, or that the clasp is weak, or that the connecting points are not strong enough, or that tou have friction. French wire or crimp covers can help with some of the friction. Or is it the wire itself that is snapping mid-string? In that case, you probably have a combination of too much friction & too fragile a wire.

I don’t use tiger tail myself, but you might find this chart on beading wire and break strength helpful:
beadstuff.com/beadwire.htm

By: FiFi

FiFi — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 18:40:59 +0000

Hello,

I create bracelets with semi-precious gemstones, I absolutely love creating them but recently had concerns as I have had two returns due to the wire breaking (I created a new bracelet for free and gave my sincerest apologies).

Please can you recommend the strongest wire mm/strands I can work with to ensure the product is of the highest quality?

The two women have had the bracelets for 9 months to 1 year. They wore the bracelets every day without fail. Both women were distraught that the bracelets had broken, and I want to avoid this happening nor cause the same distress in another year time. Is there a life expectancy of a bracelet that I should be aware of?

Has anyone got any tips to working with gemstones?

I currently use beadalon tiger tail style wire, they mention on their website that there is potential for the wire breaking due to the gemstone abrasion:
beadalon.com/faq2.asp .

Is there a tool that you know of where I can smooth the edges to prevent the abrasiveness of the gemstone? I always ensure the gemstone chip beads I select are smooth to touch so not to injure anyone.

I will always try to provide the best service and repair any bracelets that are returned, although my heart sinks when I hear of a bracelet breaking (it may be the nature of the beast working with gemstones, but I want to do everything possible to increase the life of the bracelet).

Thank you for all of your help and guidance.

Love & Light,

Fiona xxx

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:11:01 +0000

Oh no!
Great advice so far. It comes down to quality, I’m afraid, and personally, I am beyond fanatical about that. I double-crimp almost all of my wire work. Make sure your crimps are the proper size, and test them by holding up the piece and putting it under a little gravity stress. A too-big crimp will slip over time. Crimp and wire quality matter, a lot.

If it is a heavy piece like a necklace with large stones, I will double wire it and mark it up slightly. If they ask why it costs a little more, then I can point out that it is made more securely and requires more materials.

Don’t use too many jump rings. I consider them weak points and avoid them where I can.

You mentioned broken clasps. Are they too small for the weight and proportion of the piece? Are they magnetic? Cheap magnetic clasps, for example, are the worst. I had a piece break BEFORE I sold it! You get what you pay for.

How is the fit on your customer? If the piece is the wrong size for them, it could be stressing the item unnecessarily.

How well are your customers treating the clay pieces? They need to know that the jewelry is fragile and they cannot simply throw it down on a dresser, it needs to be gently put away.

The other thing I would say is that you need to be up front with your customers about your personal repair policy. Do you guarantee your jewelry? Will you fix it for free if it breaks within a specified time frame? (Or do you have a minor service charge to help cover the cost of new silver, beads, etc.?) It doesn’t matter so much what your policy is, but you should have one and make it clear at the outset.