Wire Diameter - Gauge Conversions

The diameter of the wire you buy depends on its country of origin. The two units of measurement in use are the metric system, in which the diameter of the wire is given in millimeters, and the Brown & Sharpe (B&S) gauge number. I live in the United States and the wire I buy is sized according to its gauge. However, many excellent patterns and instructions are available written for wire sized in millimeters. You may live in a country where the wire is in millimeters, yet you want to try a pattern written for gauge wire. What's a jewelry maker to do? Use the size of wire that is closest to the recommended wire. There are no exact conversions, so sometimes you will want to use the slightly finer wire (e.g., when making small jump rings or a delicate design) and sometimes you may choose the closest larger diameter (e.g., when making clasps or components that will be exposed to stress).

Nearest Equivalents - Millimeters and Gauges

Use this table when you simply want the wire that is closest in diameter to the other system of measurement.

Metric Diameter -- Nearest Gauge
2.00 mm -- 12
1.50 mm -- 14
1.25 mm -- 16
1.00 mm -- 18
0.75 mm -- 20
0.64 mm -- 22
0.50 mm -- 24

Metric Diameter of B&S Gauges

Refer to this table when you need to make a judgement call to select the best wire for a purpose. You won't actually get two decimal points of precision in gauge wire, unless you purchased wire conforming to this level of tolerance. You can use vernier calipers if you need to measure the diameter of wire with high precision.

B&S Gauge -- Actual Diameter
12 -- 2.05 mm
14 -- 1.63 mm
16 -- 1.29 mm
18 -- 1.02 mm
20 -- 0.81 mm
22 -- 0.64 mm
24 -- 0.51 mm

Metal Stamps & Quality Marks

What is a Quality Mark? A quality mark is information about metal content that appears on an article. It is usually stamped or inscribed on the piece. There is considerable confusion about the meaning of quality marks that are seen on jewelry and other items. Here is some information that I hope will de-mystify terms such as 'plated', 'filled', 'sterling', and others.

Gold Quality Marks
karat, carat, Karat, Carat, Kt., Ct., K, C


Gold is measured in karats, with 24 karats being 24/24ths gold, or pure gold. A 10 karat gold item contains 10/24ths gold, a 12K item is 12/24ths gold, etc. Karats may be expressed using a decimal figure, such as .416 fine gold (10K). The minimum allowable quality for karat gold is 9 karats.

Karats are not to be confused with carats (ct.), which are a unit of gemstone mass. One carat weighs 0.2 gram (1/5 of a gram or 0.0007 ounce). A hundredth of a carat is called a point.

Gold Filled and Rolled Gold Plate
gold filled, G.F., doublé d'or, rolled gold plate, R.G.P., plaqué d'or laminé


The quality mark for gold filled is used for an article (except optical frames, watch cases, hollow ware, or flatware) consisting of a base metal to which a sheet of at least 10 karat gold has been bonded. Additionally, the weight of the gold sheet must be at least 1/20th the total weight of the item. The quality mark may specify the ratio of the weight of the gold in the article to the total weight of the article as well as a statement of the quality of the gold expressed in karats or decimals. For example, a mark of '1/20 10K G.F.' refers to a gold filled article that consists of 10 karat gold for 1/20th of its total weight.

Rolled gold plate and gold filled may utilize the same manufacturing process, but the gold sheet used in rolled gold usually is less than 1/20th the total weight of the article. The sheet must still be at least 10 karat gold. Like gold filled articles, the quality mark used for rolled gold plate articles may include a weight ratio and a statement of quality (for example, 1/40 10K R.G.P.).

Gold and Silver Plate
gold electroplate, gold plated, G.E.P., electroplaqué d'or or or plaqué, silver electroplate, silver plate, silver plated, electroplaqué d'argent, plaqué d'argent, or the abbreviations of these terms


The quality marks for gold plated indicate that an article has been electroplated with gold of at least 10 karats. The quality marks for silver plated indicate that an article has been electroplated with silver of at least 92.5% purity. There is no minimum thickness required for silver plated or gold plated articles.

Silver Quality Marks
silver, sterling, sterling silver, argent, argent sterling, abbreviations of these terms, 925, 92.5, .925


The quality marks or a decimal figure may be used on articles containing a minimum of 92.5% pure silver. Some metals may be called 'silver' when, in fact, they are not (except in coloration). For example, nickel silver (also know as German silver) is an alloy consisting of about 60% copper, about 20% nickel, about 20% zinc, and sometimes about 5% tin (in which case the alloy is called alpaca). There is no silver at all in German/nickel/alpaca silver.

Vermeil
vermeil or vermil


The quality marks for vermeil are used on articles made of silver of at least 92.5 percent purity and plated with gold of at least 10 karats. No minimum thickness is required for the gold plated portion.

Platinum and Palladium Quality Marks
platinum, plat., platine, palladium, pall.


The quality marks for platinum are applied to articles composed of at least 95 percent platinum, 95 percent platinum and iridium, or 95 percent platinum and ruthenium.

The quality marks for palladium are applied to articles composed of at least 95 percent palladium, or 90 percent palladium and 5 percent platinum, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium or gold.

How to Solder Sterling Silver Jumprings

Soldering is the process of joining solid metal parts (e.g., sides of a jump ring) with a melted metal alloy. Fine (pure) silver will fuse to itself, so no solder is necessary. However, sterling silver is an alloy and solder is needed to form a metal-to-metal bond or weld. While you can melt solder using a soldering iron, you won't melt the ends of your jump ring. The closure that you form using a soldering iron may look solid, but it isn't durable because the metal of the jump rings can't get hot enough to melt and mix with the metal in the solder.

Soldering Materials
You need a torch to apply enough heat to get a solid weld. You don't need a fancy, expensive model - the type of propane or butane torch sold in a hardware store will do the job for you. You can use paste solder or solder sold in sheets, which must be cut into small pieces before use. For jump rings, it's probably easier to use paste solder, since it stays exactly where you put it. Paste solder is a mixture of solder, a flux, and a carrier (makes the mixture flow and stay where you put it). You can buy paste solder in a syringe, which makes it easy to apply with precision. Paste solders are sold with names such as hard, medium, easy, and super easy. The names have nothing to do with how easy it is to use these products. They indicate the temperature at which the solder melts. Hard solder melts at a high temperature and super easy solder melts at a low temperature. If the name of the solder is followed by a number, then that is the temperature at which the solder melts. Personally, I would recommend hard or medium solder for jump rings. You want the ends of the jump rings to melt and the solder to flow at approximately the same time. If the melting point of your solder is too low for your torch, the solder may flow away from the jump rings before the ends can fuse.

Start Soldering
One of the quickest and easiest ways to solder jump rings is to set up an assembly line for yourself:

• Close all of the jump rings to be soldered so that their edges are flush with each other. Solder can't bridge gaps, but it will flow down the joint between jump ring edges. Place the jump rings in a row close together, but not touching, on a fire brick or soldering block. Line them up with all of their joints facing the same direction.
  
  
• If you have more than one row of jump rings, place additional rows below your first row, with about 1 inch separating each row.
  
  
• After all rings have been placed, apply the paste solder to the joints. Apply the solder to the inside of the rings, so it contacts the joint on both sides of the rings. The amount of solder you use should be about the thickness of the wire. Apply the solder to each ring until all have had solder applied.
  
  
• Turn the soldering block so that all of the joints are facing down or toward you.
  
  
• Light the torch and begin soldering, starting with the upper left ring (upper right if you are lefthanded), proceeding across the row until all of the rings in that row have been soldered. Apply the flame so that both the right and left sides of the joint are heated evenly until the solder flows. You should be able to watch the solder flow through the joint and come out on the front of the ring.
  
  
• After all of the jump rings have been soldered, you may find it convenient to collect them on a wire. Pickle the jump rings to remove any oxidation or flux residue. Neutralize the pickle by rinsing the jump rings in a water with a bit of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

Use a similar technique to solder jump rings on chains. In this case, each ring/link is done indivdually. The ring is held apart from the chain with pliers or a hemostat, solder paste is applied, and the link is held over the edge of the solder block (to help protect the rest of the chain from heat) and torched.