$ vs $$$ JEWELRY CHALLENGE
Hey guys! Today we are here with another ‘something vs something DIY challenge’! This is a challenge where we try and make something super well with expensive and inexpensive materials. The last time we did this with a marble table, and today we are making gorgeous stackable necklaces!
$$$ necklace
materials
Gold Chain (48 inches total) - $62
Gold Findings (clasps and jump rings) - $30
Real Rose Quartz - $40
Zircon Charm - $12
Real Three Gold Disks - $22
First we stopped by some local bead and jewelry making stores to grab some of the more expensive items AND find some inspo for our designs. While at the jewelry making store, we picked up a few strands of real gold chain which ended up costing us a total of $62. We next picked up some findings (such as clasps and jump rings), again all real gold costing us a total of $30. Lastly we picked up some charms for our necklaces! The first was this really pretty piece of rose quartz that ended up costing $40. Next, we picked up a tiny white zircon piece that ended up costing $12. Finally, we picked up three little gold disks that ended up costing $22. The final total for all of that was $167 CAD!
The first step to making the expensive necklaces is to make three plain necklaces that stack nicely together. To help me out a bit, I pulled up this handy necklace length chart (linked here!). I ended up making a necklace that was 14 inches, 16 inches, and 18 inches.
Simply cut your chains to this length and add your findings (clasps and closures) to the ends of the chains!
Next we’re going to add the charms and accessories to the necklaces! Two of our pendants aren’t proper pendants that are able to string onto the chain, so we’re going to have to add some wire! The rose quartz and the zircon have small holes drilled into them, so we used some wire to wrap through the hole and around the stones to create loops to slide onto the chain.
For the small gold disks, we purchased these tiny jump rings to attach them onto the shortest necklace.
Ohh man, we LOVE how this little set turned out. Working with tiny delicate pieces is kind of difficult, but the overall concept of making this set was pretty easy to understand! Let’s try this set on!
$ necklace
Becky’s necklaces obviously turned out beautiful, so now it’s time to try and make this same set, but on a budget. For this, we headed to the thrift store. There, we tried to find similar chain and charms to the ones Becky picked up at the jewelry store. We found various earrings and necklaces that resembled the expensive charms, and got DIYing.
First, I simply cut the chains to the sizes of Becky’s necklaces, adding extra clasps and extender chains as needed.
Next, I deconstructed the earrings we found that resembled our charms and, as Becky did, added some wire to create loops that can string onto our chains. Finally, for the gold disks, I removed them from the bracelet we found and attached them to the chain!
And that’s it! Let’s put these necklaces on and compare!
We definitely think the more expensive jewelry looks and feels nicer, but it’s pretty awesome that we were able to make them look so similar!
If you guys want Becky to do some more jewelry making videos, shoot us a tweet and let us know!
If you want more of us, check out the companion video below! If you make any of the necklaces in this post, tag us in your creations on Instagram using the hashtag #SorryGirlsSquad!