Jump Rings: What Are They and Why Should I Care?
Note: This was originally published on 07-06-2013 on the blog page of my old onlline store, but since that is going away, I have moved it over here. It is still good information.
What is a jump ring, you ask? Jump rings are not a very exciting thing about jewelry, that's for sure. But they're very important, because most of the time they are holding things together. So that's why, if you want to buy jewelry that will last, you should know a little bit how jump rings work.
Perhaps you saw my last Jewelry Tips blog post about wrapped loops and why that bracelet fell apart. Well, jump rings are a slight variation on that design. A jump ring will usually attach two components together. Here is an example:
Jump rings attach the charm and clasp of this bracelet. The arrows in the picture are pointing to the jump rings. The first attaches the spring ring clasp to the bracelet, while the other attaches the butterfly charm. (If you read my previous post, you will notice that the butterfly itself has a closed loop!)
Let's take a closer look at a jump ring:
An open (unsoldered) jump ring
You will notice that there is an opening in the jump ring (on the left). This is because jump rings are made by sawing through coils. So they start out with this opening. Of course, the opening is also necessary to open and close the jump ring if you want to attach it to something. However the fact that it opens and closes is also it's weakness. When you are wearing your jewelry it may open. I'm sure many of you have experienced this, especially when those long, dangly earrings fall apart! Here is a close up example of some earrings that are going to fall apart:
A close up of an earring with LOTS of open jump rings.
Every single one of these jump rings has the capability to open up. Those earrings may look really cool now, but don't pay too much for them, because they're not going to last!
Now, there are a few ways to fix this problem. The first would be soldered (or closed) jump rings. That means the circle is soldered closed. If you look closely, there will be no opening, but you might see a little bulge where it was soldered. This is a great solution... sometimes. First of all, most beaders don't know how to solder. Second, if the jump ring was open to attach something, after the something is attached you may not be able to solder it. Soldering involves high temperatures, and could ruin certain beads or semi-precious stones, so it usually isn't an option in beaded pieces. It's a great solution for metal-worked pieces though!
Closed (soldered) jump rings
You could sometimes use a wrapped loop (see my previous post) instead of a jump ring, but that's not always feasible. Sometimes you just have to use a jump ring, but you can make it a little less likely to fall apart. You may not be able to tell this from the first picture of the bracelet, but that bracelet has oval jump rings instead of round. A round jump ring will turn and turn, and eventually the two things tugging on it will pull it apart due to gravity. However, as the two components tug on the oval jump ring, they are tugging on the ends, not in the middle where the opening is. It helps the jump ring stay together.
An oval jump ring stays closed better
Lastly, open jump rings aren't all bad, you just don't want too many of them, and the tighter they are around whatever is going through them, the less likely they will come open.
In addition, one of my teachers once told me that you should always have at least one open jump ring in a necklace or a bracelet for safety reasons. (So the jewelry will break before a person is choked or trapped.)
I hope you liked this little tutorial on jump rings. If you would like to be notified of future jewelry buying tips, you can sign up for that newsletter by clicking here. Do you have any jump ring stories to tell?
