Lovely Lapis Dangle Necklace

Royal blue with streaks of pyrite, who can resist beautiful lapis lazuli? I’ve been hoarding a few strands of these luscious stone beads which I purchased from South Pacific. Though I have already made one necklace for a special customer using these beads, I made sure I set aside some for myself. I finally decided to make my own lapis necklace using this dangle design.

To make one, you’ll need:

*16 inch sterling chain
8 - 6mm lapis beads
7 - 2 inch sterling head pins
1 ½ inches of sterling 20 gauge wire
round nosed pliers
flat/bent nosed pliers
wire cutters
jewelers’ files
ruler

*I used a finished chain that included the clasp. If you don’t use a finished chain, you’ll need to attach a clasp and jump ring to your chain. My chain is a figaro style, but you could use any type of chain you wish.

1. Start by make the dangle in the back of the necklace by filing both ends of your sterling wire.

2. Use round nosed pliers to curl one end of the wire, and roll the curl up a few times.

3. Slip on one 6mm lapis bead.

4. Bend the wire over.

5. Then use round nosed pliers to curl the bent part of the wire over.

6. Slip the piece onto the jump ring at the very end of your chain.

7. Keep the round nosed pliers inside the curled piece, and use bent nosed pliers to wrap the wire around itself.

8. Now you are ready to make your dangles. Start by adding a 6mm lapis bead to one of your head pins.

9. Just as with the end dangle already added, you need to bend and curl the head pin over. I measured about ¼ inch away from the bead, and bent it in this spot.

10. Now use a ruler to find the center of your chain.

11. Slip the curled part of your lapis piece through one of the links in the chain. Since I used a figaro chain, I had to use the larger loops in my chain.

12. Again, wrap the wire around itself to secure it to the chain.

13. Repeat the above steps to make more dangles.

14. Continue adding the lapis dangles to your chain. I counted links to determine where I would add each of mine, so there are 3 links between each of my beads, and this area measures approximately 1 ¼ inches.

I love how my new lapis necklace turned out. Even if you don’t have lapis around, you could make this same design using your favorite beads.

All graphics created by Tammy Powley.