Gemstone Briolette Necklace

This Gemstone Briolette Necklace gets its gorgeous look from the beads. These faceted pear shaped beads are made from real gemstones. The briolette beads are so beautiful! We think they do all the work. This necklace is made with wirework – just four wrapped loops! And we’ll show you exactly how we did it!

Here’s a video we made showing how we put the necklace together. Follow along then use the written how-to below to make your own!

How-to Video: Gemstone Briolette Necklace

We got our faceted gemstone briolettes from a bead show. If a bead show comes to your town, we highly recommend going. It’s so fun! And you can get some great prices on beads! If you don’t have a bead show to go to, you can look for briolettes at your local bead shop or craft store. Or you can buy them online.

Disclosure: This post has some affiliate links for products we think you’ll like. Even if you don’t want to buy the items online, we think it’s helpful to see what they look like, so you can buy them at your local craft store. If you make a purchase from one of these links, we’ll make a small commission. There is no additional cost to you at all, but it helps us a little so we can pay for our web hosting and the tools and materials we use in these videos and blog posts. All opinions are our own from our own personal experience.

How to Make A Gemstone Briolette Necklace

Materials

14 faceted briolettes, 5mm to 10mm (various gemstones)
2 crystal bicones, 3mm
2 pieces of gold chain 7” long each
26-gauge gold wire
Gold clasp
Gold jump ring

Tools

Round-nose pliers
Wire cutters

Steps

1. Arrange the beads in the order and design you like. We tried to space our colors out so we didn’t wind up with too many of the same color beads next to each other.

We also placed the largest briolette in the center and arranged the beads from largest to smallest going off to the sides.

2. Cut a 5-inch piece of gold wire using the wire cutters. (This doesn’t have to be precise.)

3. Slide the briolettes onto the wire in the order you arranged them. Be delicate with the beads and do not force them. If a briolette won’t slide easily onto the wire, save it for another project. These beads break easily!

4. Make a wrapped loop at one end of the wire, connecting it to the last link of a piece of the chain. It might help to watch the video to see how to make a wrapped loop if you don’t do it regularly. It’s really easy once you get the hang of it.

How To Make A Wrapped Loop

To make a wrapped loop, grasp the wire about 1.5 inches from the end with the round-nose pliers. Bend the wire towards yourself 90 degrees. Reposition the round-nose pliers on top of the wire, just above the 90-degree turn. Wrap the end of the wire over the top jaw of the pliers to start a loop. Reposition the bottom jaw of the round-nose pliers into the partial loop.

Bend the wire the rest of the way around to make a complete loop.

Slide the end of a piece of chain into the loop. Finish the wrapped loop by wrapping the wire tail twice around the neck of the loop. Trim the end.

5. Make another wrapped loop in the other end of the wire, connecting it to the other piece of chain.

6. Cut a 3-inch piece of wire. Make a wrapped loop and connect it to the end of the chain. Then slide a crystal bicone onto the wire, then finish the wrapped loop by connecting to the clasp.

7. Cut a 3-inch piece of wire. Make a wrapped loop connected to the end of the chain, slide a crystal bicone onto the wire, then finish the wrapped loop by connecting to the jump ring.

We hope you like this necklace! We get compliments on it every time one of us wears it! If you have any questions at all, just leave us a comment and we’ll reply. We are here to help!
Jennifer & Kitty