Making a tin cup necklace

[Susan]

Hi there,

I'm a newbie to jewellery making and I fancy having a go at making a tin cup necklace for my mum as she's always admired the one sported by Mary Berry on the Great British Bakeoff. Unfortunately I haven't been allowed to post the link that I wanted to to show you what I mean.

The question is, how to set the pearls (on a gold chain)? I could use eye pins but is there something better? Is there a way of invisibly mounting them or just something a bit nicer looking than an eye pin?

Many thanks :)

[Dennis]

I Susan and welcome to the forum. Here is a link showing several versions of the basic idea.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Mary+Berry+tin+cup+neclace&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=6teYV-WtNPHU8gfD2pO4Dg

You say that you are a beginner, so I shall assume you dont have many tools. Starting with some wire which will pass trough the chain and also the pearls, or using some dreaded eye pins, simply interrupt the chain where required and attach the pearls. You will need some flush cutters some flat pliers and some round pliers to make the second eye.

Alternatively you can use very thin ready made chain which can be threaded through the pearls. You would need to cut off the jump ring at one end, thread the pearls and when they are in position apply a tiny drop of superglue on a needle to fix them.
The problems I foresee are:
1. Holes in pearls might need enlarging. A diamond bead reamer might do that. Find them on line.
2. The chain might need stiffening to thread it through. A little superglue applied with a needle might do that.
3. The end jump ring will need re-attaching. Normally that is done by soldering, but you might find a crimp with an eye to do that. Dennis.

[pearlescence]

Hi.
You want metal chain (gold, silver, plated whatever) and matching wire no bigger than 0.6mm diameter (because pearls are drilled 0.7mm), which will also go through the links in the chain. I have a couple of videos on my website which show the wire wrapping technique you will use (earrings and rosary) and many examples of finished station necklaces also listed. I can see I need to make another technique video!
Mary Berry does indeed have some stunning station and other pearl necklaces She is one of our pearl goddesses

[Susan]

I Susan and welcome to the forum. Here is a link showing several versions of the basic idea.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Mary+Berry+tin+cup+neclace&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=6teYV-WtNPHU8gfD2pO4Dg

You say that you are a beginner, so I shall assume you dont have many tools. Starting with some wire which will pass trough the chain and also the pearls, or using some dreaded eye pins, simply interrupt the chain where required and attach the pearls. You will need some flush cutters some flat pliers and some round pliers to make the second eye.

Alternatively you can use very thin ready made chain which can be threaded through the pearls. You would need to cut off the jump ring at one end, thread the pearls and when they are in position apply a tiny drop of superglue on a needle to fix them.
The problems I foresee are:
1. Holes in pearls might need enlarging. A diamond bead reamer might do that. Find them on line.
2. The chain might need stiffening to thread it through. A little superglue applied with a needle might do that.
3. The end jump ring will need re-attaching. Normally that is done by soldering, but you might find a crimp with an eye to do that. Dennis.


Thanks Dennis. When you say - 'interrupt the chain and attach the pearls', do you mean thread the wire through the pearl, form loops on either end, feeding the loops through the chain and either solder or crimp closed?

Thank you for the list of tools I'll need - that was really helpful too.

[Susan]

Hi.
You want metal chain (gold, silver, plated whatever) and matching wire no bigger than 0.6mm diameter (because pearls are drilled 0.7mm), which will also go through the links in the chain. I have a couple of videos on my website which show the wire wrapping technique you will use (earrings and rosary) and many examples of finished station necklaces also listed. I can see I need to make another technique video!
Mary Berry does indeed have some stunning station and other pearl necklaces She is one of our pearl goddesses

Thank you for the advice. The tip on the wire diameter I need has saved me from ordering the wrong size so that's brilliant and I'll check out your videos. Yep, Mary Berry rocks!!

[Dennis]

Thanks Dennis. When you say - 'interrupt the chain and attach the pearls', do you mean thread the wire through the pearl, form loops on either end, feeding the loops through the chain and either solder or crimp closed? Thank you for the list of tools I'll need - that was really helpful too.

You cant solder with a pearl threaded, but if you go to the Pearlescence website, then look at videos on the home page top right, you will see Wendy forms a loop and then winds the wire to wrap it in place.

Thank goodness we have all sorts of experts here. Dennis.