Does glass jewelry work in metal settings, such as gold, silver or other metals?

Art Glass Jewelry is one of my biggest affections. If glass works so well for decorating the house, why shouldn't it be used for smaller and gentler pieces?!

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There is no problem setting glass beads into any precious or base metal setting: silver, gold, platinum, you name it. It is simply a matter of personal taste. In my opinion, certain colored glass beads can look very elegant in precious metal settings. You can use the combination of precious metals and glass beads or inlays with gold earrings, silver bracelets, gold necklaces or anything else you can think of. The result can be quite pretty.

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Jewelry made out of glass beads and stones is super cool! I mean, why blow your budget on diamonds and expensive precious gemstones when you can fashion stunning looking jewelry with glass beads and stones. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't or couldn't set glass beads into precious metal settings. Incorporating glass beads and stones into precious metal settings could be a great way of cutting the cost of jewelry making, not to mention that, when it comes to glass beads, you can make your own jewelry, since glass is a relatively easy material to manipulate, and since glass beads do not need to be smelted into their settings, but can be glued on by special adhesives. Glass beads and stones are incredibly versatile, and can be manufactured into any shape, size and color imaginable. You can even make your own glass beads with the use of a simple glass blowing kit. Since glass stones are so adaptable they can be mounted into virtually any setting design. However, if you are planning on using glass beads as a way of minimizing the cost of making your own jewelry then I suggest you avoid intricate and unique settings (settings such as invisible settings, tension settings, cluster settings and flush settings). These types of settings are custom designed and can cost a pretty penny to create. I recommend you stick with simple, commonplace settings such as prong settings, channel settings or bar settings for your glass jewelry. As for the metal which composes the setting, you can go with practically any metal (depending on your budget), from base metals such as brass, zinc, copper and steel to more luxurious precious metals such as gold, platinum, titanium and silver sterling. Any of these metals could nicely complement your glass worked jewelry pieces.

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Glass beads and gemstones can certainly be mounted into a metal setting, however, it is not the common practice. What I mean is that jewelers usually don't bother mounting gemstones and beads made out of lesser materials into fancy metals settings. Rather, jewelry makers glue the gemstones onto the jewelry, since the gluing process is easier, faster and cheaper than creating a metal setting. Jewelry glue is also known as bead cement, which can be used by practically anyone. Therefore, if you are a hobby jewelry maker, than I suggest you avoid trying to fashion complicated metal settings for your glass beads and gemstones, and instead simply use glue to secure your glass beads onto your jewelry.

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Gemstones made out of glass (and out of any other material, for that matter) can be mounted into virtually any setting, made out of any material. Though it is true that precious gemstones (such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires) are usually the ones set into precious metal settings, there is no rule against mounting beads and gemstones made out of lesser materials (such as plastic, glass and stone) into metal settings. Just make sure that the setting of your choice accurately accommodated the shape and size of your selected bead or stone.

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