Gems For Beginners
Like the title of this post states, this article is going to cover some basic information about gems and mineral specimins for someone that is just getting into wire wrapping!
Lets begin by covering the differences between rough gems, cabochons, and facets
Rough/Crystal - Simply put, this is what is pulled straight out of the ground. These can be terminated or non-terminated crystals but the main takeaway is that they have not been altered. They have not been cut or polished in any way.
Cabochon - A cabochon is a gem that has been altered to be completely flat on one side, with the other side usually having a rounded dome. In our opinion, cabs are easier to set in wire, as well as a cheaper option (depending on the type of mineral). This makes them appealing for beginners.
Facets - A faceted gem is what most people picture when they think of a diamond. Facets are gems that have been cut at specific angles based on the minerals optical properties. Many wire wrappers love using smaller facets to bring life to pieces and play with the color of a piece. Larger facets are also used by many artists but they can get expensive as the beauty of these faceted gems can come at a hefty price tag.
What to consider when buying gems for wire wrapping.
My personal suggestion, for someone very new to this artform is to stick with either rough crystals or cabochons. They will be easier to work with and they will be cheaper than buying nice expensive facets.
Hardness - The hardness of any stone can be found on the internet, but understanding how that applies to wrapping is what is important. Try to stick with harder minerals when you are first starting out, I would suggest a 6 or above on Moh’s Hardness Scale. It can be easy to chip, crack, or completely destroy a gem while wrapping it. A harder stone should be more resistant to any pressure put on it by the wire.
Price - When starting out I would advise using more inexpensive cabochons or rough crystals. This will allow you to get more practice since you’ll be able to buy more material to work with. If you have extra money to spend you’re better off investing in a variety of high quality pliers, a desk, comfortable chair, and light source so you can practice your art in comfort and in turn create better art and improve quicker!
Size - Are you making pendants, rings, braceletes, earings? Consider what you want to create and purchase the appropriate gemstones. For example, if you only plan on making earrings or rings, you aren’t going to need larger stones.
Additional Considerations - Price, size, and hardness are not the only criteria out there. They are just a few things that many people might not think to consider. You can also consider the geography (where the gems are mined), colors of gems, spiritual/metaphysical aspects, birthstones etc… there are so many things to consider, and as you learn more and grow you will find out what is important to you!
Where to actually buy from?
There are thousands of small business that you can buy your gems and minerals from on instagram. Our suggestion is to stick to instagram for most of your gem purchases, you can search the hashtag for whatever gem you are looking for. For example look up #amethystforsale if you want to purchase amethyst. You can get more specific and search for #amethystcabochon if you specifically want cabochons. Below is a list of some suppliers on instagram that we can vouch for as reliable, affordable, fair business owners:
We don’t receive any incentives for sharing these shops. These are just some of the people that we have dealt with for purchasing gems.
@the_kind_mind
This is a great source for ring sized cabochons. He has also a wide variety of crystals, opals, large and small, In a wide variety of prices. He can work with all different types of budgets and is a super friendly guy!
@billy_gem_collection
Billy is probably one of the most popular options for the instagram jewelry community to source gems. He has wholesale options as well as individual, hand selected parcels. We go to billy for all of our facet needs. He also has a massive inventory of just about any type of gem or mineral you can think of.
@eddywraps
Another very large account among the IG gem and jewelry community. We often see really beautiful tourmaline coming from this account. He carries much more than that and has got a multitude of gems and minerals, rough or cabbed, Eddy is someone you can feel comfortable making a purchase with.
@everascendinglight
Here is an account we have personally not done business with, but have seen and heard so many great things we felt we needed to include him on the list. At the time of writing this article he has a ton of moonstone and opal that he is offering for great prices. Large variety of minerals, not just jewelry sized. If you wanted to purchase for home decor, or metaphysical aspects, grid work etc.. he will certainly hook you up! A really positive beacon of light in the community!
Thank you for reading. If you’ve made it this far I hope that you have learned something new and are feeling more confident and secure in your ability to purchase gems for your jewelry. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments below!
