Elegant Garnet Briolette Necklace

We love apatite, that amazing blue-green gemstone. And we really love it paired with garnet. So dramatic! Bring these elegant colors together in this Elegant Garnet Briolette Necklace.

How To Make An Elegant Garnet Briolette Necklace

Materials

7 Faceted, top-drilled briolette beads, garnet, 7mmx7mm
22 Faceted rondelle beads, blue apatite, 3mmx4mm
1 Lobster clasp, gold plate, 10mmx6mm
17″ Rollo-and-oval link chain, 4mm, gold plate
22 Ball-tipped headpins, gold plate, 24-gauge
Beading wire, gold plate, 26-gauge

Tools

Round-nose pliers
Chain-nose pliers
Wire cutters

Steps

1. To get started making the necklace, slide an apatite rondelle onto a headpin and finish with a wrapped loop. To make the wrapped loop, grasp the headpin with round-nose pliers and bend the tail over the pliers to make a 90-degree angle. Shift the pliers and grasp the headpin just above the 90-degree turn. Grab the tail with your fingers and wrap it around the pliers to make a partial loop. Reposition the pliers and finish pulling the wire around to complete the loop. Wrap the tail around the headpin twice. Trim the tail.

Here’s a video we made showing how to make a wrapped loop.

Video How-to: Wrapped Loops For Jewelry

Repeat to make 21 apatite bead dangles.

2. Cut a 4” length of wire and slide a briolette onto the center. Bend both sides of the wire up over the top of the briolette forming an X. Where the wires cross, bend one end straight up with the chain-nose pliers to form a neck and bend the other end slightly to form a 90-degree angle. Wrap that end of the wire around the neck two times and trim the end. Grasp the neck with the round-nose pliers just above the wraps. Bend the wire around the pliers to make a partial loop. Feed 3 bead dangles onto the partial loop. Stretch out the chain on your work surface and find the center. Slide the partial loop onto the center link of the chain and finish with a wrapped loop.

3. Repeat step two to add 3 more bicone/bead-dangle components to the chain, skipping 3 oval links between each one.

4. To attach the clasp, start by cutting a 2” piece of wire. Grasp the wire ½” from the end with the round-nose pliers and bend the tail over the pliers 90 degrees. Grip the wire with the pliers just above the 90-degree turn. Grab the tail with your fingers and wrap it around the pliers to make a partial loop. Slide the loop into the end of the chain. Reposition the pliers and finish pulling the wire around to complete the loop. Wrap the tail around the wire twice. Use the wire cutters to trim the tail. Slide an apatite rondelle onto the wire, then make a partial loop, slide on the lobster clasp, and finish the loop with two wraps. Trim the tail. Clasp the lobster onto a link at the other end of the chain.

We love how this necklace turned out. So pretty! And you can wear it with a dress or blue jeans!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty