Labradorite Cabochon Wrapped In 925 Sterling Silver Wire

I selected two of the Labradorite freeform cabochons from the first batch I had recently created, I was looking for the two that had the best display of labradorecense. Having selected these it was time to set about wrapping them in 925, 21 gauge sterling silver wire. For these Labradorite pendants I used both square and half round wire.

I spent a lot of time finding the correct orientation for these cabs to ensure that there would be a good display of the labradorecense when they are worn as pendants, having established this it was time to start wrapping.

The first is an oval shaped freeform which presented some challenges in terms of securing the cabochon in a manner that prevents the wire from hiding the beauty of the Labradorite, as you can see from the picture below this was achieved by keeping most of the wire around the edges of the cab with just a few bends to actually hold the cab in place.

Labradorite Cabochon Wrapped In 925 Sterling Silver Wire
Large wrapped freeform Labradorite cabochon

This pendant is now for sale on http://www.jewellerybyshalini.co.uk

The second cab presented more of challenge because the best position to show off the labradorecense effect was a bit unconventional, but as you can see I settled on staying with the having the vast majority of the wire wrapping around the edges of the stone and then just a bend at each corner to secure the cabochon. The top of the stone did pose a few problems but by creating the bail first I was able to get everything tight and then just made a small bend at the front and back to secure the top of the cabochon in place.

Labradorite Cabochon Wrapped In 925 Sterling Silver Wire
Wire wrapped Labradorite Freeform Cabochon

Labradorite jewellery is perhaps one of the most beautiful one can create but because the labradorecense effect can only be seen in certain orientations, it offers many challenges both when creating the cabochon and the finished piece of jewellery, but these challenges are what make it such a rewarding stone to work with.

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Comments

    • Victoria Olson
    • April 10, 2013

    What lovely work you do. I’m a noob at it and I can only imagine how you do it. Very impressive and beautiful. Thanks for sharing your work, it’s an inspiration.

  1. Hi Barbara,

    thanks you for stopping by and for your kind words about my wire wrapping style. As you can appreciate it’s a busy time of year so I won’t be able to do this anytime soon, but I have added it as a mini project for the new year so watch this space. If there is nothing done by say the 10th January 2013 please feel free to bug the hell out of me in fact please do this.

    All the best and happy Christmas to you and yours

    Dave & Shalini

    • Barbara Trainer
    • December 18, 2012

    Hi Dave,
    I LOVE these wire wrapped Labradorite pendants. I have 3 very different pieces of the same stones and was wondering if you might provide the steps you used in wrapping the sort of triangular shaped one? If not, I completely understand. If you’d like to be paid, would you let me know what you’d need to share the instructions? Thanks so much. Gorgeous work! Barbara

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