Unless you’ve been making your jewelry under a rock, you have probably heard of the new magnetic clasps that are now available. Most bead stores carry them, and they were recently featured in the new products area of Beadwork magazine. I’ve heard a number of jewelry makers mention these on the forum, and I was lucky enough to snag a few from a jewelry friend of mine so I could test them out.
If you haven’t seen them yet, they look like little buttons. There are two button magnets, and each has a loop on the end so they can be attached to bead tips, wire, or beading wire could also be attached to the loops.
So far, I had heard a number of negative and positive commends about the clasps, so I decided to add them to a bracelet and try them out for myself. I had this really cool, chunky bracelet I had gotten as a power bracelet kit from Beadshop.com. I had worn it to death, so the elastic was a little stretched, and I was worried it might break eventually. So, I re-strung it on some beading wire, and used this clasp to finish it off. I wore the bracelet all day. I ran errands and did a lot of general running around. I found the bracelet was very comfortable, and the clasp was secure.
One other problem with the clasps is that when I attached them to my bracelet, they kept wanting to stick to my round nosed pliers. This was a little frustrating but not too bad to deal with.
Therefore, over all I have to say I love these new clasps. Though I primarily like to use sterling silver, and these are plated, I know that for many people I make jewelry for these clasps will be appreciated. When putting on a bracelet, you just have to slip it onto your wrist and aim one magnet to the other and viola! They connect instantly. I plan to get the rest from my friend as soon as I see her! Hopefully, she hasn’t discovered how great they are yet.
All graphics created by Tammy Powley.