Box Clasp

This box clasp is one of the projects from Stage 5 of the Silver program at Jewellery Training Solutions. It just so happens I was working on a new bracelet that was screaming for a box clasp, so the timing was perfect! I’ve made box clasps before, but Peter’s instructions were different than what I’ve done in the past. I’m really happy with the result, and I ended up adding an extra safety catch for added security.

My blog posts have become a little less regular, and I apologize. Life just has a way of getting in the way of my plans! I’ve had less time in the studio than I would like, and some of the projects I’ve done have taken far more time than planned. I’m doing my best to get used to this “new normal” with everyone home, since it isn’t going to be changing in the foreseeable future, especially with online school happening this fall.

What were the challenges?

The initial challenge in making this clasp was to get the box actually square! Then the clasp is just fiddly to make sure that all the parts fit exactly right for a nice “click.” I’ve also been having challenges with fire stain, so it took a lot of cleaning and buffing to get that off. I know it’s because I’m overheating, so I really need to continue to work on my heat control.

Where could I improve?

I’m pretty happy with the clasp itself, although there is a slight gap where the two parts fit together that I would like to fix. I think I made the tongue just a hair too long. The button is a tad tall, too. Something that I’m definitely not happy with is the fact that one of the bracelet parts attached to the clasp is slightly crooked. I tried to fix it, but I realized that at that point I was likely to damage the clasp so I didn’t try again.

What did I learn?

In the past I’ve used instructions from Alan Revere’s book Professional Jewelry Making. Peter goes about things quite differently, so it was interesting to try a new approach. I really liked this method (although it took me forever to complete, but that’s more of a me problem) and was able to get a clasp that fit together beautifully. This is also the first time I made a little safety catch on the side - in the past I’ve attached a safety chain, but that can sometimes get caught on things.