Findings: What are they and how are they used? Earrings

What is a finding?

It would be an extremely lengthy discussion to cover all findings that are available. For instance, in jump rings alone there are round, oval, square, triangular and just about any other shape you can imagine. They can be made of sterling silver, argentium, brass, copper, niobium, titanium, or gold. They can also be gold filled or silver filled, and of course they can virtually any size.

Let's dip our toes into the shallow end and talk about the earring findings at Divella Designs jewelry and what they are used for.

Jump Rings

The jump rings I use are sterling silver, 14 karat gold filled, copper or niobium. The oval jump rings I purchase, the round jump rings I make myself using different gauges of wire in the above metals. Jump rings are used to join two components together in lieu of soldering. They are very helpful when you want to maintain movement. Depending on the material and the piece, they can be soldered closed or open and twisted together to form a close and tight fit.  

Ear Wires

Ear wires are pretty straightforward, they aer the part thet goes into the ear. As with jump rings, they can be made of many materials. I use only sterling silver, 14k gold filled, niobium or titanium. Niobium and Titanium are both hypoallergenic so I use them in some of my enamel and copper earrings. Some of my ear wires I make myself and some I purchase already made.

Post Earrings Findings

Post earrings are made with 2 pieces, the post itself and the clutch or ear nut. The post is soldered onto the earrings which go through the ears and the clutch is out in behind the ear to hold it on. I use only sterling silver.  

Head Pins

On occasion I will use head pins or wire to add a little dangle or some small adornment to a piece. In the example below I wanted to add some small gemstone beads to the earrings.

In the next blog we'll talk about the findings commonly used in pendants and necklaces, including chains.