Puzzle Clasps

By Michael Boyd
Intermediate necklace clasp project.

The concept of these clasps is one I've used in jewelry making for decades. Using a rail pass in Europe in the late '70s, hopping from city to city, I saw at a museum in Athens a collection of wonderful Etruscan animal trappings, interlocking buckles in cast bronze, thousands of years old. Variations of these interlocking puzzle forms using stones have served me well in everything from belt buckles to earrings.

Editor's note: To learn more about Michael Boyd's design concepts, see “Elegant Vessels,” page 20 in the March 1999 Lapidary Journal.

Fine-tipped permanent marker 18-gauge sheet silver Bezel wire (appropriate size for stone you are using) 14-gauge round silver wire Stone (I used a 12mm barrel-shaped dalmation jasper)	Jeweler's saw Callipers (in millimeters) Pliers Torch Pickle, tweezers, and any other soldering equipment Hard and easy silver solder
For information on supplies, please see the Annual Buyers' Directory.

STEP 1. Making the bezel.
Cut, solder, and shape your bezel to your stone. Solder your bezel to the center of your plate using hard solder. I used a 30mm square piece of sheet.

STEP 2. Defining the shape of the clasp.
Using the marker, draw a line around the bezel, leaving a 1mm space from where the bezel connects to the plate. Attach a 3mm triangle to each of the north, south, east, and west points, 3mm out from the bezel line. Outline the shape of this form. From the tip of the southernmost triangle, draw a line straight off the plate. This is your starting line for cutting.

STEP 3. Cutting out the shapes.
Using a sharp, preferably new saw blade (dull blades tend to wander) and carefully starting at the line you drew in STEP 2, cut through the outer line to the tip of the southern triangle. Now cut the circumference of the inner line, keeping the triangles attached to the inner form. The center piece should now fall out and fit back in like a puzzle piece. Back out to the outer line and repeat the same process. You should now have the 2 pieces that will form the body of your clasp, the inner shape and outer shape.

STEP 4. Making jump rings.
Wrap a length of 14-gauge silver wire around a 3mm rod (I use a cut piece of a nail, although wooden dowel rods work also), forming a spring form. Cut through the length of your spring, creating individual rings.

STEP 5. Finishing the outer shape.
Solder a jump ring to the south end of the outer shape where you cut through to the inner shape in STEP 3. Solder the jump ring to the outer shape, then solder the outer shape back together. File, sand, and polish.

STEP 6. Finishing the inner piece.
Using hard solder, solder 2 20mm 14-gauge silver rods together. Solder a jump ring to the end. With pliers, form a C-shaped curve on the opposite end of the jump rings. Using easy solder, solder the butt end of the bar to the back of the inner shape. Polish. Your clasp is now ready to be attached to a necklace.

Michael Boyd is a Salida, CO-based jeweler. He explained bezel making in Technically Speaking, November, 1998.

________________________________________________________________

Feature Stories & Artist Profiles | Step-by-Step Projects & Workshops | Technique Articles | Business Articles | New Products | News, Conferences, & Deadlines | Take our Reader Survey

Articles & Workshops | Bead Fest | Jewelry Classes | Show Calendar | Search for Products & Suppliers | Classified Ad Deals | Advertising Rates & Information | Media Reviews | Store - Books & Back Issues | Contact Us | Links | Site Map