Jewellery Findings

Jewellery Clasps For Your Crafting Projects Explained

When you just start out with jewellery crafting, you might feel a bit overwhelmed because of all the small parts that can be involved in the process. One of the parts you will encounter often is the clasp, which is used to close your pieces of jewellery.

There are several jewellery clasps available today. To help you get to grips with each one and its benefits, we have created a useful guide to jewellery clasps below.

What Are Bolt Rings?

The bolt ring is the most common type of closure you can encounter. Most bolt rings are made from sterling silver, although alternative materials can be used for their construction as well.

There are many applications for bolt rings in jewellery making. They are incredibly popular for light pendants, mainly due to the low weight and small size of the clasp itself, this makes it less likely that the bolt ring will overtake the design of the pendant.

Please note that the bolt ring is a so-called sprung system. As such, this is a clasp that does not do well when it encounters warmer temperatures. When creating jewellery with a bolt ring, always attempt to keep it away from heat sources to prevent deformities on the clasp.

What Are Lobster Claws?

Lobster claws are quite popular in jewellery making. They share some of the properties of bolt rings, although they are somewhat heavier and a little more obvious when you use them in a design.

One of the downsides of lobster claws is that they can be a little more expensive than bolt rings. That being said, they can take more weight than a bolt ring and are more likely to keep a pendant or bracelet in its right place.

Considering the weight capacity of the lobster claw, crafters should not use these clasps for lightweight pendants and bracelets. Special consideration should also be paid to the size of the jump ring closed off with the lobster claw, this since the clasp opens inwards.

What Are Trigger Clasps?

Trigger clasps look remarkably similar to lobster claws, so it is no surprise that their function is quite similar too. That being said, many crafters prefer the trigger clasp over the lobster claw because of its better aesthetic. You could describe the trigger clasp as a beautified version of the lobster claw, this also explains why this clasp may be a little more expensive. Because of its higher price, crafters will only use trigger clasps in their finer pieces of jewellery.

What Are Magnetic Clasps?

Crafters are on the fence when it comes to magnetic clasps and there are a variety of reasons for that. The system consists of two magnets, which are hidden from the naked eye behind some decorative shell. To lock jewellery, the two magnets are simply brought together.

There is no doubt that magnetic clasps can prove popular because of their decorative shell. A lot of jewellery crafters do not like the look of an obvious clasp on their jewellery design, which leads them to use a magnetic closure system such as this one.

One of the downsides to the magnetic clasps is that inferior clasps could easily fail when jewellery is worn. It would only require a small shock to get the magnets to disconnect from each other, this could lead to the loss of a valuable piece of jewellery. Subsequently, crafters who want to work with magnetic clasps should invest in decent options to avoid such incidents.

Please note that high-quality magnetic clasps will not be lightweight, this since the required strength also requires heavier and stronger magnets. As a result, magnetic clasps can be less suitable for lightweight jewellery designs. However, if you are creating something incredibly intricate and a little heavier, you could consider a magnetic closure system to add to the beauty of your design.

Does Spotlight Provide Closure Systems In Bulk?

Spotlight provides most jewellery closure systems in bulk, this goes from basic jump rings to lobster claps and the other closure systems we have mentioned in this article. If you would like to see what we can offer you, check out the catalogue and uncover our sharp prices.