Make Cubic Zirconia Earrings
Easy DIY Jewelry Instructions Using Pliers and Square-Cut Stones
These easy instructions create the opportunity to practice using jewelry pliers while making a stunning pair of square-cut cubic zirconia solitaire pierced earrings
The prior articles in this series discussed tips and techniques for inspecting pronged jewelry and taking expensive pronged rings to the jewelers for repair. Suggested for the handy was to use jeweler's pliers to periodically tighten ring prongs at home – saving the time and money involved in a trip to the jewelers.
But what about the rest of the time when the pliers are not being used to tighten the prongs? Rather than having the pliers sit around in a hardware drawer collecting dust, here are some simple instructions to make the fabulous-looking cubic zirconia earrings shown on this page.
Once the plier technique used in this article is perfected, the same instructions can be used to make pendants and rings. Honestly, doing it yourself saves about 75% of the retail cost of a pronged piece of jewelry. And the only initial outlay is the pliers themselves. Plus, there is the added bonus of getting in some practice time with the pliers prior to using them for store bought jewelry maintenance.
Let's Get Started!
- Decide which type of pliers you would like to use. It is suggested that you cut costs by initially using cheap bent-nose pliers that can be purchased at most craft stores. Live near a JoAnn Fabrics or WalMart? Buy them there – usually bent-nose pliers can be purchased for less than $10.
- Buy the cubic zirconias and the earring forms. More info on this is posted via a blog.
- Set aside 30 minutes when you will have good natural light. With a little practice, these prongs can be set and tightened in less than ten minutes.
Basic Instructiions:
- Place the cubic zirconia (CZ) in the form and jostle it around until it is sitting in the form square and level. This is a very simple task if the earring form and the stone are the same size.
- Place either side of the jaws of the pliers on the prongs (reference Image 1 below) and with gentle, steady pressure squeeze to close the prongs against the CZ. If your CZ becomes unseated during this process, not to worry, just stop and gently push it back into place.
- Position your pliers with one side of the jaw at the bottom of the setting and the other sitting on top of the prong (reference Image 2 below) and gently squeeze to tighten the prong over the CZ. Repeat for the other prong.
- Like to see this process in action? Info on how to order a gem-setting video is posted via a blog.
That's it – pretty simple!
Use the same instructions on four-pronged jewelry forms. Work from the top left prong to the bottom right prong, then from top right to bottom left, slightly tightening each prong. Repeat the above three times, making sure the stone is sitting level and square during the process.
This isn't exactly rocket science. Practice, patience, good natural light and a steady hand will make this easy work. In no time at all you will be an old pro at tightening prongs.
