Rose Quartz Wire Work Necklace with Peyote Beaded Bezel

Today’s post is less of a tutorial and more just me showing how I made this rose quartz wire work necklace with a peyote beaded bezel. This is because I was pretty much going with the flow when I was making it. I had a rough idea as to what I wanted to create as I had drawn it out in a sketch book but, as the camera filmed the making of it, it was also the first time that I saw my idea become a reality.

I have linked my video below of me making it and, instead of me chatting as I made it, I have added a voice over. I thought I would also share some close up photos of some of the details in the neckalce as I don’t feel like I captured it at its best in the video.

My Inspiration For This Necklace

Last year my family and I visited a local rock and gem fair. This is a reasonably regular occurrence as I have been obsessed (and no, obsessed is not an exaggeration! I have gem stones in various shapes and sizes in almost every room of my house).

On this occasion I was particularly drawn to two stall that were selling semi precious cabochons. I bought several oval ones, this Rose Quartz being one of them and Labradorite, Sodalite and green Aventurine being the others, and a stunning tear drop amethyst.

I bought them home and then filed them away in my beading box too scared to use them in case I wasted them!

That was until about a month or so ago when an idea that I had been mulling over got louder in my head. I knew that I wanted to use the Rose Quartz one with green beads along with copper wire. I wanted to make a necklace that combined bead weaving techniques with wire work techniques. I knew that I wanted to make a piece of jewellery that was more of a statement piece than a subtle pendant that would sit quietly against an outfit.

I wanted it have a feel of nature about it itna way that would suit the semi precious cabochon. I don’t know how else to describe it really. I really wanted it to look like something a wood nymph would wear as they flitted through a forest.

The pink in the necklace represent flowers, the green beads are leaves and the copper wire is to represent branches and trunks of trees.

I think pink and green is a stunning colour combination so I knew that my colour choices would look lovely. I hastily drew a quick sketch out of what I was hoping to achieve with this necklace so there was only one thing left to do; make it!

The Necklace Structure

I think of this necklace as being made with three distinct sections; the first section is the beaded bezel, the second are the wire work swirls to the side of the pendant and the third the copper and Rose Quartz chain.

I have covered each of these in the video so I will keep it brief here.

The Rose Quartz Pendant

In my mind, the Rose Quartz cabochon represented a large central flower. I wanted to bead a bezel that would hold the stone safely whilst allowing the natural beauty of the crystal to shine through. I used pink and green size 11 Delica beads to look like small flowers and leaves surrounding the crystal. I topped these with pale pink shiny size 15 seed beads to add some sparkle around the top of the stone and draw the attention to it.

The size 15 seed beads were used in a way on the top of the cabochon so that the stone could be seen through the beading. This allowed for more of the Rose Quartz to be seen.

The final part of the pendant was figuring out how I was going to attach it to the wire work side pieces. As you may have spotted, I missed this information out on my little drawing. I decided that a pink and green warped square would be a great option.

The Wire Work Swirls

The copper wire work swirls were a lot of fun to make. It has been a while since I did much wire work so at the start there was a period of time where I was just familiarising myself with the feel and movement of the wire.

I made two identical (or as near to identical as I could get them) ‘S’ shaped swirls. I knew I wanted to keep these as open and flowing shapes as they represent long swirling branches with pink flowers dotted down them with green leaves.

I hammered the wire to strengthen it and used the rounded end on my hammer so that when the light hits them they shine with a dappled light.

To tie them in with the pendant I added small Rose Quartz beads, that I already had in my beading box, to the centre of each swirl.

Copper and Rose Quartz Chain

I wanted the chain part of this necklace to tie in comfortably with the pendant and copper swirls whilst also being an important part of the overall finished necklace. I contemplated making it simply from linking Rose Quartz beads together but I felt that the chain needed more visual weight against the pendant and other details.

I decided to echo the ‘S’ shape of the copper wire to the sides of the pendant but in a tighter, smaller way. I made figure of 8 shapes with my pliers and hammered them to strengthen them. I also used the round side of my hammer to add texture.

To tie this in further with the pendant, I added the pink and green Delica beads and Rose Quartz beads on copper wire, each one finished with wrapped loops.

The really fun part was learning how to make a clasp for the finished chain. I looked at various images online and, once I had a feel for things, I made a simple hook and wrapped loop fastening.

How I Made A Rose Quartz Wire Work Necklace with Peyote Beaded Bezel Video

I shall leave you all now with the video showing the process of making this necklace. It really has been such a lovely project to work on and I look forward to inspiration striking for my other semi precious cabochons.

Thanks for reading,

Hannah