Wire gauges for jewellery making
Wire gauges for jewellery making
When you start to use wire in your jewellery making projects the wire gauge system can seem confusing at first. Here I am going to explain the different gauges of wire available and their equivalent size in mm. I will also provide notes on the type of jewellery projects that each wire gauge is suitable for.
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18 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 1 mm diameter | |
| 18 gauge wire is the thickest wire that I use for jewellery making. I personally find anything thicker quite difficult to work with. | ||
| Wire of this gauge is suitable for making chunky jump rings which are unlikely to pull apart, clasps, frameworks for beaded cuffs and armatures for wire-wrapped pendants. | ||
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20 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 0.8 mm | |
| 20 gauge wire is also useful for creating links, clasps, and armatures. Other items that can be made with this wire gauge are headpins, eyepins and ear-wires. Any framework made with wants to be for smaller ideas such as wire-wrapped pendants. | ||
| If you find it difficult to work with 18 gauge wire try 20 gauge instead as it will put less strain on your hands. | ||
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24 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 0.6 mm diameter | |
| Compare the photo for 18 gauge wire with this one for 24 gauge wire and you can clearly see the difference in size. I would not recommend using this thickness wire for armatures because they will simply bend under any pressure. In certain situations it may be suitable to use this gauge for the base of a wire-wrapped pendant. I always try using thicker wire first and only use finer wire if I feel it is necessary. This ensures that you will create a strong piece of jewellery. | ||
| More delicate jump rings can be made using this gauge of wire but they are more likely to pull apart so I would suggest this gauge to be most suited to making wire-wrapped loops headpins, eyepins and ear-wires. | ||
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26 gauge wire equvalent to approx. 0.4 mm diameter | |
| 26 gauge is really quite fine and very easy to bend. | ||
| It is suitable for making wire-wrapped loops, headpins, eyepins (especially for beads with small holes such as freshwater pearls), wrapping and coiling. 26 gauge wire is also useful for creating bead sprays to be applied to tiaras and haircombs. | ||
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32 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 0.2 mm diameter | |
| 32 gauge wire is extremely fine and I never use it for making any kind of finding, it is just too thin. | ||
| This gauge of wire is best for knitting and bead crochet. You can also use it for beadweaving when you want your final creation to maintain stiffness. Additionally it is good for binding bead/floral sprays to tiara bands and haircombs. | ||
You can of course find wire of both bigger and smaller diameters. I have listed here the wire gauges that I personally use and believe to be the most useful to the jewellery maker.
It is also possible to get different profiles of wire such as square, triangular and half-round. However you can usually only find these types of shapes in sterling silver or gold and they are quite expensive. The square and half-round profiles are used a lot in the wire-wrapping styles of Preston Reuther and other US jewellery designers. These types of wire are much harder to acquire in the UK.
When trying a project out for the first time I always feel it is best to have a go with cheaper craft wire. This can be silver-plated, gold-plated, brass, copper or even coloured. Such variation obviously brings many opportunities for expressing your own creativity.
Note concerning sterling silver wire
Purchasing sterling silver wire can be confusing at first as you will most likely see it described as ‘hard’, ‘half-hard’ or ‘dead soft’. I would not recommend buying ‘hard’ as you will find it extremely difficult to work with. Different designers have their own preferences regarding ‘half-hard’ and ‘dead soft’ and it is best to have a go with both if you can. ‘Half-hard’ needs less work hardening and will retain its shape more easily to start with but ‘dead soft’ is more malleable.
A work of caution regarding the ‘dead soft’ option: you may wish to use nylon jawed pliers as this wire is more susceptible to being marked by your tools and you will need to work harden it using a ball-pein or rawhide hammer and anvil.
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