Alambre Wire Wrapping for Cabochons

In the part one of this post, I talked about my Viking knit adventure and the different variations and techniques that I explored. In this post, I want to showcase some of the other wire projects of the Alambre collection where I have done Wire Wrapping for Cabochons.

Free Hand Wire Wrapping for Cabochons

This was inspired by the Nizam necklaces of Hyderbad, where strands of pearls where used in conjunction with emeralds set in gold. The Nizams were patrons of beautiful jewelry (esp pearls) and some stunning pieces were created during their times. Here I used 6 strands of seed pearls with wooden peacock beads (another common nizam jewelry motif) and big pearls. The pendant on the other hand is a contemporary setting. It starts off as a simple multi wire bezel but I have swirled the remaining wire around the stone (green calci known to possess many healing properties), making the pendant look like an octopus. Its one of my favourite pieces from the collection and the one that got sold immediately. nizam necklace in green

In the first necklace I have wrapped a black onyx stone with a combination of 20g silver filled wire and 28g artistic wire. It was really very difficult for me to create a frame for the rounded rectangle stone. After 5 abandoned designs (crochet, viking bezel, different types of wire bezels) this one finally held the stone without it moving or falling to the floor. If anyone knows what the best method of creating a bezel (without soldering) for a rounded edges(esp square/rectangle) please inform me about it.

The second Eclectic warmth, on the other hand was a spontaneous design made by looping and bending wire with my fingers. Even though no tools were used to make the loops, they came out perfectly.

Regular readers of this blog, would have seen the above 2 earrings in my Modahaus pot. The first one is made by coiling 26g brass wire (loosely) and then inserting a 18g wire to make the frame. I have used a gold rimmed black glass bead to accentuate it. The second is also a free form wrap where a frame of pearls hold the cabochon along with the criss cross wraps. Even though the earrings were stable I somehow didnt like wires going at the back ( I didnt want it irritating a customer’s sensitive skin) so I backed it with leather.