How Do I Choose the Right Jewelry? - Chain Types

The use of chain in jewelry design has always been an important element.  One of the most common uses of chain is as a foundation for holding a pendant.  From the single diamond to an intricately woven wire pendant, chain has graced the necks of many women and men throughout the ages.  In more recent years, chain has become more popular and has, as a result, taken on new dimensions.  Here are some samples of the types of chain available on the market.


Cable chain:  also known as link chain, this chain consists of the same size round or oval links. This is one of the most popular styles for displaying a pendant or gemstone.

Ball chain:  also known as bead chain, resembles round beads evenly spaced along a piece of chain with a small space in between each bead.


Rolo chain:  this chain consists of round links usually the same size and connected together.

Figaro chain:  this chain has flattened links of several sizes, laid out in a repeating pattern.  Usually the pattern is 2 or 3 short links then a longer link.

Curb chain:  also known as gourmette chain, this chain closely resembles cable chain, but the links are usually lying flat.

Chain comes in many metal finishes and colors.  Fine silver, sterling silver, gold and silver plate are the standbys. But newer types of metals and finishes are being used too.  As the price of silver and gold increased,  additional types of chain were created for use in jewelry making: silver filled, gold filled, nickel, aluminum, steel and rhodium.

The chain category also includes more elaborate chain types, often combining forms of chain with other elements. For example, cup chain  includes a crystal or pearl in a setting that has been attached to chain in the form of a link.
Silver silk capture chain consists of fine wire knitted around tiny ball chain, capturing the light that reflects off the ball chain and adding strength to the knitted wire.

iKandies Unique Custom Jewelry incorporates many different chain styles and colors into their custom jewelry pieces.  Below are two examples of how we do this.

 Hundreds of tiny copper plated leaves dangling from antique copper plated chain serve as the backdrop for pearls and Swarovski crystals in our Copper Pearly Waterfall Necklace.  


 In our Copper Leaf Necklace, large copper oval links joined together with smaller round links provide the chain base for a copper leaf and boro glass.

To see more ways that iKandies Unique Custom Jewelry uses chain in their necklaces, bracelets and earring designs, please visit our shop at Etsy or our website at www.ikandies.com.

These Boots Were Made For More Than Dancin !

A recent search by iKandies on Pinterest for interesting shoe designs resulted in this page of Shoe Decorating Designs http://www.pinterest.com/linzifer/shoe-decorating-ideas/.  Some of these are quite unusual  You can decide if you like them or not, but regardless of your decision, we're sure you'll agree adding "eye candy" to shoes and boots is definitely the "in" thing to do!

iKandies noticed the trend and decided to add a few Boot Bracelets to our line of jewelry to test the waters.  We're happy to report that they've been a popular item: not only showing up at the top of our Search list on our iKandies Etsy Site site, but we've also sold several of our designs.  Although they may be simple designs, they're very flexible because they can be worn on any number of boot styles. 

Our designs range from simple copper chain

 

..to more ornate chain with charms

 ... to a leather buckled strap with Swarovski crystal accents

We'll soon be enlarging our boot bracelet offerings by adding a few fun designs. So no matter what your preference, you're sure to find something to make those ordinary boots do more than dance!

Out of the Lab and onto the Jewelry Designer's Bench

 Those new to Jewelry design usually begin with simple components - Czech glass and plated metal beads, stringing wire, crimp beads and a clasp.  But as they soon discover, beading includes a wide array of options that often surprise and inspire the designer to attempt new techniques and materials.  Often, they are surprised to learn the background of some of the materials commonly used.  For instance, iKandies often uses boro glass in its designs.  Boro glass teardrops were used in our Copper Leaf and Glass Autumn Necklace and boro glass cubes were used in our Raspberry Seed Bead and Boro Glass Necklace.  What is boro glass?  


Boro glass is borosilicate glass, a type of glass that consists of about 10% boric oxide. The boric oxide makes the glass resistant to extreme temperatures, and also improves its resistance to chemical corrosion. This glass is very popular in the manufacture of scientific instruments and in the scientific lab. This glass is also used for reflecting telescope glass mirror components because the optical surfaces change very little with temperature fluctuations, resulting in very precise measurements.


Borosilicate glass is thought to have been created by a German glassmaker in the 19th century. In 1915 a famous line of borosilicate kitchen products was released under the Pyrex label.  Borosilicate glass is usually without color, but colored borosilicate was introduced into the market in 1986 and is used by jewelry design artists today.

iKandies is blogging again!

Well, it's been a long time since I posted on iKandies Beads on the Block blog. Been working on our website and Etsy site, and boy, did they need a remake!  Our website, iKandies, has been reduced to just a few informational pages.  A sample of our jewelry designs that are for sale appear on the home page but traffic is being redirected to our Etsy site.  The iKandies site provides information about our company, our designers and our shop policies.  We also feature new designs we've added to the Etsy site. 
   Over 60 items are now available for sale on our Etsy site.  We've added newer, more descriptive photos of our designs.  We are featuring a sale at least once a month and are offering special coupons for first time buyers once they make a purchase. 

Abalone and Sterling Necklace

Fall Acrylic Necklace

Here's a sample of two of our newer listings:






We plan to add new items on a regular basis so please visit  iKandies and our Etsy shop today!