Chunky Rose Quartz Necklace Tutorial

I think it's no secret that Rose Quartz is one of my favorite gemstones.  For starters, I love pink.  I also love that Rose Quartz symbolizes friendship and love.And have you seen the top 10 colors from Pantone for Spring?  Rose Quartz is the actual name of the first one!So obviously, it's time to use some Rose Quartz to make some jewelry.Today's tutorial comes to you thanks to my favorite online bead store, Happy Mango Beads.  And while I'm using Rose Quartz, you can substitute any of their other lovely gemstones if pink isn't your thing!There are a few different components in this necklace that you could actually use separately in different ways or even alone.  The big rose quartz pendant in the middle would be quite stunning alone on a chain, for example.So grab your tools and get your rose quartz ready and here we go!Tools and Materials:

• Rose Quartz Large Nugget Gemstone Beads 9-35mm
• Rose Quartz Nugget Beads 10-14mm x 8-10mm
• 30mm Pewter Toggle Clasp
• 20 gauge, half-hard round wire (I used silver plated)
• 7mm jump rings (23)
• Wire cutters
• Round nose pliers
• Chain nose pliers
• Bent nose pliers
• A sharpie and a ruler

Step #1Before we get started, make a mark on your round nose pliers with a sharpie.  It doesn't matter where exactly where you place the mark; just that you use the mark to make your wire wrapped loops throughout the project so they are uniform.Step #2First I'll show you how to make the wire wrapped bead links with the big chunky rose quartz beads.Cut approximately 10 inches of wire.Step #3Hold the wire in round nose pliers about 2 1/2 inches from the top.Step #4Wrap the short end around one barrel of round nose pliers.Step #5Take the wire off your round nose pliers.  Hold the loop in chain nose pliers.Step #6The loop will be off-center at this point and we want to center it.  To do this I wrap the short end of the wire around the longer one and at the same time pull the longer wire out straight, which centers the loop.Step #7Wrap the wire around two more times.  Keep your wraps straight and close together.Hint:  If your wraps are not close, use chain nose pliers to pull them close to each other.Step #8Trim off the excess wire making a flush cut.Step #9Using chain nose pliers, push in the end to make sure it's not poking out.Step #10Slide on a rose quartz large nugget gemstone bead.Step #11Hold the wire just above the rose quartz with round nose pliers.Step #12Like we did previously, wrap the wire around the pliers forming a loop.Step #13Follow Step #6 to straighten the loop.Step #14Wrap the wire around 2 more times.Step #15Pull the wire down across the bead and then wrap the wire around the wire wraps you did previously a couple times.Step #16Now pull the wire across the other side of the bead and wrap the wire a couple times.Step #17Trim off the excess wire making a flush cut.Step #18Use chain nose pliers to make sure the end is not poking out.Step #19Repeat all the steps to create 4 wire wrapped bead links with the rose quartz large nugget gemstone beads.Step #20Now we'll make the pendant.  It's very similar, but a little bit different because we only need one wire wrapped loop.Cut a piece of wire approximately 10 inches long and follow Steps #2 - #10 to form a wire wrapped loop.  Slide a large quartz nugget gemstone onto the wire.Step #21Pull the wire back up across the bead.We'll just have wire on one side of the bead, so choose which side you would like to have as the front.Step #22Wrap the wire around the previous wraps you made a few times.Step #23Trim off the excess wire making a flush cut and make sure the end is not poking out.Step #24The final component of this necklace are plain wire wrapped bead links with the smaller rose quartz nuggets.These are very similar to the wire wrapped bead links we made previously, but these will not have the wire across them.Cut a piece of wire about 6 inches long.Step #25Follow Steps #3 through #10 to form a wire wrapped loop on one end of the wire.Slide on a smaller rose quartz nugget gemstone bead.Step #25Hold the wire in round nose pliers just above the bead.  Wrap around a barrel of round nose pliers forming a loop.Step #26The loop will be off-center at this point and we want to center it.  To do this I wrap the short end of the wire around the longer one and at the same time pull the longer wire out straight, which centers the loop.Step #27Wrap the wire around two more times.Step #28Cut off the excess wire making a flush cut.Step #29Use chain nose pliers to make sure the end isn't poking out.Step #30To make a 24 inch necklace you'll need 18 plain wire wrapped bead links.Step #31Lay out your design.Note:  In this photo I have extra plain wire wrapped bead links.  I decided to make my necklace shorter, so I used less.On one side line up the four large nugget gemstone bead links.  On the other side make 2 lines of 6 each of the smaller bead links.At the end of the 2 sides add 3 plain wire wrapped bead links.  (Like I said, I have 6 on each side in the photo, but decided to make the necklace shorter.  You can, of course, make your necklace any length you like.)Step #32Open 23 jump rings.Need help opening and closing jump rings?  Click here.Step #33Now we'll put together all the pieces using jump rings.Starting in the middle with the pendant, add 2 of the smaller wire wrapped bead links and the pendant to a jump ring and close it.Step #34Attach the first large wire wrapped bead link with another jump ring to the first jump ring.Then continue using jump rings to connect the bead links to each other.Step #35When you come to the end of the 2 strands of the smaller plain wire wrapped bead links, add a jump ring to attach the last beads together and then add the next plain wire wrapped bead link.Then continue adding bead links.Step #36Add the pewter toggle clasp to the ends.Ways to customize this necklace:

• Use any gemstone that you like!
• Use any metal that you like for the wire.
• Instead of asymmetry, use 4 of the large nugget gemstone beads on each side.
• I used a very monochromatic color scheme here using all rose quartz, but you could mix up the gemstones.
• Make just the pendant and hang it from a chain or cord.

Now it's your turn!  Make your own Chunky Rose Quartz Necklace.  If you want to share what you made, you can upload a photo of what you made in the comments below!