💍
W
@wireandstone_studio
Intermediate · 🌀 Wire Wrap
Freeform Cage-Wrapped Turquoise Pendant
Wire wrapping Cage wrap Oxidizing
The expert breakdown
This is a classic freeform cage wrap built on 20ga dead-soft sterling — dead soft matters here because you're hand-shaping the frame around the stone before it ever gets work-hardened by the wrapping itself. The cage uses six primary wires anchored at the back and brought forward in a symmetrical basket, then a single 24ga wire does the weaving pass to lock the cage tight against the cabochon's girdle. No glue, no bezel — the stone is held entirely by wire tension, which is why gauge choice and annealing state matter so much more here than in a bezel setting. Finished with a light liver-of-sulfur oxidation in the recesses only, then tumbled to bring back shine on the raised wire.