The Diamond Corner is a versatile and relatively easy technique that I've developed for making caps and cages for beads and undrilled stones. Please feel free to use this technique in your own designs and sell them with wild abandon; however, we ask that you don't teach this technique, leaving that for my upcoming book on embellishing chain. Your understanding and consideration makes it possible for us to share techniques prior to the book's release and that's better for everyone so thank you. -- Aislyn
Skills & Experience
The following techniques are not difficult but they do require some prior experience and aren't intended for those brand new to making jewelry. You will need to be able to make a nice wrapped loop and you will need to be past the death grip stage with your chainmaking in order to work successfully with specialty rings.
Making a Diamond Corner
;)
For each Diamond Corner, you'll need 3 diamond rings, 3 connector rings and 3 stabilizing rings. (Information on choosing ring sizes is near the bottom of this page.)
Open the three stabilizing rings and set them aside. Use the three connector rings to join the 3 diamond rings into a circle, as shown here.
;)
Position the diamond rings at 90 degree angles to each other so that they form a corner and the flat sides of the rings are pressed flush together. Notice that there's a triangle shaped space where the three diamond rings come together.
;)
Gather the connector rings toward that triangle with your fingertips so they look something like this.
;)
Pick up an open stabilizing ring and put it through two adjoining connector rings on top of the diamond rings and close. Work your way around, putting the other two stabilizing rings through the other two adjoining pairs of connector rings.
That's all there is to it. Now let's look at what you can do with these little units.
Pendant Bead Cap
;)
To cap a single bead that you plan to hang as a pendant or dangle, put a headpin through the bead from the bottom then through the center of the Diamond Corner from below. Add a bead or a ring to keep the (soon to be wrapped) loop from slipping down through the triangle space in the corner, then make a wrapped loop.
Oval Cage
;)
Put your stone between two Diamond Corners and attach the diamond ring "petals" to each other around the center of your bead with single rings, doubled rings or small chains of 3 rings.
Round Cage
;)
Put your stone between two Diamond Corners and turn them relative to each other so that the petals interlock and flat sides of the rings are all pressed flushly together.
If your cage contains an undrilled stone, work your way around the center of the bead attaching the diamond ring petals to the two adjoining petals from the ;)
other corner unit with single rings, doubled rings or small chains of 3 rings.
If your cage contains a bead rather than an undrilled stone, look at Link with Bead or Dangle with Bead below for instructions on joining the two Diamond Corners without using extra rings.
Square Cage
;)
For something really ornate and exotic looking, put your stone between two Diamond Corners and turn them relative to each other so that the petals interlock and flat sides of the rings are all pressed flushly together. Notice that every place where the two units touch, the diamond rings form a triangle exactly like the one at the top of each Diamond Corner. Join each triangle of rings together the same way you did to make the Diamond Corner, with three connector rings and then three stabilizing rings. This variation looks best made with large aspect ratio rings... meaning skinny rings that leave a lot of open space to show the stone.
Attachment Points for Adding Cages to Chain
You might be using the cages as links, meaning you have chain attached to both ends, or you might use them as pendants or dangles, meaning the cage is attached at only one end. In addition, you might have a bead in the cage or you might have an undrilled stone. Attachment directions follow for all these variations.
Link with Bead
;)
Wrap a loop on one end of a piece of wire. Thread the other end through a small bead or ring (to keep the wrapped loop from slipping through that triangle shaped space), then the center top of a Diamond Corner, through your focal bead, then up from the bottom center of another Diamond Corner. Add another small bead or ring and make a wrapped loop snugly against it.
This form of attachment holds the two Diamond Corners snugly fitted together so you don't need to join the outside rings to each other which makes for a cleaner look.
Dangle with Bead
;)
Put a small bead or ring on a headpin (to keep it from slipping through the triangle shaped space) and then thread the headpin through the center of the bottom Diamond Corner, up through the bead and then out through the center of the top Diamond Corner. Add a bead or a ring to keep the (soon to be wrapped) loop from slipping down through the triangle space in the corner, then make a wrapped loop.
This form of attachment holds the two Diamond Corners snugly fitted together so you don't need to join the outside rings to each other which makes for a cleaner look.
Dangle with Undrilled Stone
Put a small bead or ring on a headpin and work it through one of the spaces in the cage and up through the top center of the Diamond Corner. Pull the headpin up so that the cage is hanging from the headpin with the ball inside the cage. Add a ring or small bead and make a wrapped loop flush against it. Note: It's much easier to add the headpin and wrap the loop before joining the two Diamond Corners together.
Link with Undrilled Stone
Follow the directions for Dangle with Undrilled Stone at both the top and bottom of your cage. Again, it's much easier to do this before joining the two Diamond Corners together to make the cage.
About Ring Sizes
There isn't a specific set of aspect ratios that are best for Diamond Corners because the ring sizes adjust relative to each other depending on your needs. Play with the technique a bit to see what's best for your particular situation. Heavy gauge diamond rings give the caps and cages a more industrial look. Small, thick rings make the metal more pronounced against the stone. Big, thin diamond rings make for a more lacey look and really show off the stone.
;)
The stabilizing rings are a nice accent point to use twisted, multistrand or even gold rings. If you want to use very thick stabilizing rings, your connector rings will need to be a little more roomy to accomodate them. If you want to use small, delicate rings as your stabilizers, the connecting rings will need to fit more closely to the diamond rings. The units don't need to fit tightly enough to be rigid unless you plan to use two as caps without joining them together.
The three primary rings must be diamond shaped because the flat angles provide structure that holds the shape. The connectors and stabilizers can be any sort of ring you like. I've used plain round rings in the renders to clearly explain the concept but don't limit yourself to those. Use square rings to make the look very modern and industrial, or multistrands for a lacy, Victorian style. The possibilities are endless. Have fun with it. *s*
Supplies
We recommend the Specialty Ring 6 Packs for the best selection of rings to make the Diamond Corners. Larger assortments provide more matching rings and therefore more design options as you experiment. When you've settled on your favorite size and shape combinations, you might want to order those sizes individually. The easiest way to do that is to measure the rings you like with calipers. If you don't yet have good calipers, you might want to consider the ones we use which are very accurate, pleasant to use and reasonably priced. You can find those here.
I've added some speedy buttons to make it easy to order your choice of mixes but a little explanation is in order. A 1ozt 6 Pack is 1 troy ounce each of the 6 different shapes in your choice of metal. A 2ozt 6 Pack is 2 troy ounces each of the 6 different ring shapes in your choice of metal, and so on.
Speedy Add to Cart Buttons for Specialty Ring 6 Pack Assortments |
||||||
| Sterling | Copper | Argentium | ||||
| ¼ozt 6 Pack | ¼ozt 6 Pack | ¼ozt 6 Pack | ||||
| ½ozt 6 Pack | ½ozt 6 Pack | ½ozt 6 Pack | ||||
| 1ozt 6 Pack | 1ozt 6 Pack | 1ozt 6 Pack | ||||
| 2ozt 6 Pack | 2ozt 6 Pack | 2ozt 6 Pack | ||||
| 3ozt 6 Pack | 3ozt 6 Pack | 3ozt 6 Pack | ||||
| 4ozt 6 Pack | 4ozt 6 Pack | 4ozt 6 Pack | ||||
| 5ozt 6 Pack | 5ozt 6 Pack | 5ozt 6 Pack | ||||
|
If you'd prefer to order specialty rings one type at a time, just click the name of the shape you want in the metal you want and you'll be taken directly to that assortment. |
