Some Things To Know About Pinch Bails

Posted by adortalukdar on April 23rd, 2014

As much as gems, colorful glasses or beads or sparkling crystals are important to create a beautiful jewelry piece, one cannot ignore bails and connectors. Available from smaller sizes of beads to big ones like chandelier earrings, they form the backbone of any jewelry. Used to connect pendants, bails come in different shapes, sizes, forms and materials to fix any sort of pendant to a chain or a necklace. They are available as very simple ones, plain ones and decorative ones themselves. It totally depends upon the preference of the jewelry maker or the customer to decide on the right kind of bail for the piece.

Among all the bails available, pinch bails are the most sought after and common. Pinch bails make the perfect bails while working on pendant that have pierced top or beads that are narrow. They look like a horseshoe when seen from sideways and fit the pendant’s hole perfectly into the prongs and secure it very strongly. These bails are available as both thin and sturdy ones and you can choose based on your needs.

Materials:

These are made up of almost every material right from acrylic to precious metals. There are even wooden one’s available, but in general, most of these pinches are made of metal.

Gold Plated/ Filled: Gold can enhance the beauty of any jewelry. For artificial jewelry, the one that have been gold plated or have filling is the right choice moneywise. Any metal that is used to make the bail is coated using electrolysis with a thin line of gold. Heat and certain amount of pressure are applied to create rolled gold with same effect.

Silver plating: Pinch bails made of silver, though not as expensive as gold are still pricy in comparison to non-precious metals. In the non-precious metal jewelry making, the artisan use silver plated bails instead of going for silver. Further, silver is very heavy and especially for earrings using plated silver is the right choice.

Sterling Silver: Sterling Silver is used if the artisan needs to engrave or alter the shape of the pinch bails or any other connectors. They are easily available in every store, right from the craft stores to speciality stores. These days it is also easy to find the items on online sites like eBay, Amazon and Pandahall.com.

Similar to gold, silver, silver plated, gold plated, platinum bails are available in other metals like bronze, copper, brass, and so on. These are used to the normal jewelry making to create lustrous pieces that are in fashion these days. When buying pinch bails from online retailers, it is always important to ensure that they are of good quality.

Many online retailers such as Pandahall.com offer various types of pinch bails suitable for all types of jewelry making projects. They are available in various materials and sizes. Therefore, it is essential to match the type to the elements of your beading project before buying. Additionally, you can consider buying in wholesale lots to save money on your purchase.