Elayne designs a necklace to last, as long as a person takes care of it and protects the glass or semi-precious beads from falling and cracking.
Many companies and some beaders put their beaded necklaces together with string and some beaders even use elastic. String breaks over time and elastic rots. Elayne has remade expensive crystal and semi-precious stringed beads for close friends when strands have fallen apart. All Elayne's necklaces are wired.
Also, many necklaces on the market have clasps, some so small they are difficult to put on and take off. When Elayne began beading, she used larger clasps so that everyone could put them on easily, especially seniors. The problem with that was the rings the clasps were attached to, and sometimes the clasps themselves, often discolored over time. For years now, Elayne has been using various types of toggle that match the design of the necklaces and are easy to put on and take off.
Elayne was taught to use one crimp to hold the wire tight near the clasp, but experience has shown that two crimps are best for lighter weight necklaces and three crimps for heavier ones. Elayne also wires back one to two inches to reinforce the neck area and ensures the strand is tight before crimping. All this provides for a longer lasting necklace.
When Elayne first started beading, she bought a variety of beads, including wood and acrylic, but as she did more beading she used mostly quality glass (including some Swarovski crystal), semi-precious, and metal spacers that looked like they might not tarnish. Elayne used some beads only once since she had not seen them again - such as the "spreckle" beads on a two-strand colorful necklace she gave to her cousin Pat, red Chinese resin on a silver necklace she donated as a fundraiser, and a "purple luster" necklace that a customer wears a lot and gets numerous compliments on. These days Elayne uses less silver beads, especially within the necklace itself (not the toggle) since they tend to tarnish over time and have to be polished before displaying them, which is a lot more work for Elayne and she doesn't want the customer to have to polish them as well.
Copyright 4/28/19, Updated 5/21/25