Everything for bracelets from semi-precious gemstones

The best way to determine the required length of a bracelet is to measure your hand circumference by winding a string around it and then measuring the string. If you’re making a bracelet as a gift, try to estimate the difference in the circumference of the hand of the gift receiver compared to your own hand circumference. Then just divide the resulting length in cm by the diameter of the beads (also in cm) that you will use to make the bracelet. Beware, mineral beads can have slight size irregularities, you should therefore always buy a couple more beads than you think you need.

Bracelets from minerals are usually strung on elastic threading materials that you can just pull on your hand. Lycra elastic yarn is thin, has a flat shape and is very stretchy, but its weight capacity is smaller than that of an elastic bead cord. Elastic bead cord has a round cross-section and a little worse elasticity than lycra. However, it’s always important to pick the right thickness in relation to the size of the hole of the beads that you’ll use to make a bracelet. Both threading materials should be finished with knots. There needs to be at least three of them, if not four or five. It’s advisable to make the knots in opposite directions in order for the knots to hook into each other firmly when being tightened. You’ll then hide the resulting knot in the nearest bead.

The first viable test is breaking or crushing a bead. Synthetic mineral will turn into an almost powdery brash while a glass bead will make sharp shards. Crushing a real mineral will make irregular but not sharp fragments. Real mineral is usually the hardest. Synthetic mineral often has an unnaturally regular design and rich colours. In extreme cases, it might even be possible to set it on fire. If you take glass beads in your hand, your first impression will be that they are warmer, and they can also get warm in your hand much quicker than natural minerals can.

Bracelets from minerals can be decorated with an infinite number of pendants, tassels and decorative elements from various materials. With every decorative element, you need to check whether it has a fixed loop and therefore has to be put into its place at the time of stringing a bracelet, or if the loop is opened or there’s none, and therefore it can be attached to the bracelet later, after stringing and finishing it using jump rings.