Bails are used to hold a bead or pendant on a necklace or chain. Bails are generally made of sterling silver metal or wire, but can come in gold and other materials as well.

Gold filled beads and gold plated beads are two separate kinds of beads.

A karat is used to measure the value of gold, diamonds and other gems, and precious metals. Originally, a karat was the weight of a Mediterranean carob tree seed. However, there are two meanings today for the term karat.

Having a jump ring open up after you've closed it is a common problem in jewelry making, often due to the fact that the ring was not closed properly. Here are a few tips to ensure that the rings stay closed.

There are several methods you can use when opening a jump ring. Grasp both ends of the jump ring with your needle nose or flat nosed pliers and gently twist one side towards you and the other away from you.

Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% alloy metal, typically copper. Silver beads are never pure silver, as silver is too soft a natural material to be useful in silver jewelry making.

Liquid gold beads and liquid silver beads are thin and tubular and can be either straight or twisted.

These simple clasps use a hook to latch onto a small hoop (the eye) on the other end.

These clasps are sturdy and secure. It is a metal clasp which resembles a lobster claw, hence the name.

These jewelry clasps are used with fine jewelry because they offer additional protection. There is a sliding clasp to hold the necklace or bracelet together, then there is an extra piece of metal which is used to secure the sliding clasp and ensures the piece will not fall off and be lost.

Gold filled beads have a 10 karat or better layer of gold mechanically bonded to a metal.

This unique jewelry clasp has one piece that slides into another piece, holding the necklace or bracelet together.

These jewelry clasps are very commonly found in necklaces, and use a small spring to open and close the clasp.

These clasps are used to make necklaces or bracelets. One end is a small metal bar and the other is a metal loop.

Two common anti-tarnish finishes for silver are rhodium and Fine Silver.

The kind of jewelry clasp to use in your jewelry making endeavors depends on the purpose of the clasp and what you are making.

Many different metals can be alloyed with gold, but a common combination copper and silver together, because the bright gold color is less affected by them.

We constantly receive questions about Copper Beads and Jewelry care. We've tried to summarize what we've learned about this wonderful material.

A measurement of weight that is commonly used for weighing precious metals like Sterling Silver. A Troy ounce is about 1.097 standard ounces.