How to Repurpose Jewelry Findings in 5 Fresh New Ways

Repurposing Jewelry Findings in Your Jewelry Designs

By Erica Stice

Repurpose jewelry findings in new ways and watch your design possibilities soar. In the last six months, I’ve chopped, changed and reimagined many of our conventional components. I’ve gathered a collection here of favorite hacks which I think you will enjoy. Watch the materials you know and love become something completely different.

1. Charms & Links to Solder Ornaments

It’s easy to snip off the rings or loops from charms and file down the burrs to create versatile solder ornaments. Sweat solder them to bangles, collars, rings or backplates. Solder-on simple posts to make trendy earring studs to wear solo; or, use an intact charm as a dangle or jacket to take them up a notch. Use your new ornaments alone or in clusters. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.

2. Bead Cones to Cap Settings

Bead cones look gorgeous nestled on the ends of round beads, but, how will they look as crystal point cap settings? This quick little project uses wire, an earwire, a touch of adhesive and, of course, a crystal point. Cones are a quick alternative to fabricated gallery wire settings. Fast, fabulous and fun.

3. Beaded Heishe Spacer Beads to Bezel setting

Spacer beads work great on an assembled necklace to break up the repetition of the beads, however, did you ever imagine one soldered on a finger ring with a CZ setting in the middle of it? Beaded rings and findings are popular, so with this piece you’re bringing Bohemian style into the mix with a CZ set in the center. You will need a large hole heishe. It’s a fun ring to make!

4. From Blanks or Charms to Chandelier Links

Need a hole? Make your own! Use a flex shaft or drill press to quickly add attachment holes to blanks or charms. Abracadabra—new chandelier earring links! Or, use this technique to change one-hole charms into simple two-hole links.

5. Innovative Settings

How can you attach a cabochon to a sterling silver back sheet and still keep the ocean theme of a piece? I decided to use the long arms of a starfish to do the job. I bent the arms with nylon pliers, soldered 4 out of 5 of them to the sheet, slipped in the cabochon and then hammered the starfish down onto the cab with a rawhide hammer. Ocean themed pendant!

For the second necklace shown here, I added prongs to a filigree pendant to create a window setting for a low dome cab. I shaped the piece to lie flat against the surface of the stone and tightened the back prongs to secure it in place.

Imagine what other pendants or charms you could repurpose as settings!

Photos courtesy of Erica Stice and Halstead.

Jewelry Arts Awards: Tucson Show Guide Cover Competition

Your best work could appear on the cover of the Tucson Show Guide! Three categories include Gemstones, Metalsmithing, and Sterling Silver.

Show us your best work in sterling silver jewelry. From wirework, fabrication, piercing, engraving, texturing, and all techniques in-between, we want to see what you can do with sterling silver wire and sheet as the primary materials. Are you a polishing pro? Or a patina master? Share a favorite work or use this category as an incentive to make something new. Thank you to our sponsor Halstead.

Originally published 7/23/2018. Updated 9/27/2022.