Front Side Connections

Since I brought up polymer clasps yesterday, I thought I’d talk about a variation on that type of connection: the front side toggle, and derivations of it. The connection for a necklace does not have to be at the back. If you are making a piece with a central focal bead, why not make the bead a connectors as well?

One of my favorite versions of this is the almost  bolo-like polymer and filigree pieces Janet Pitcher creates for her Petal Pushers line of polymer jewelry. The focal bead is like the entry point half of a toggle; but instead of an insertion piece that will back up against the opening of the entry point, Janet creates weighted lengths of ribbons with beads created from the same petal canes as the center piece. The bead-weighted ribbons are threaded through the focal bead, and hang there as part of the design.

This is not, by far, the only option for front side connections. A really showy or beautifully done toggle type clasp can operate as a focal bead, or a large bead sliced in half with magnets in either half can be the central focus of a necklace or bead design. Just don’t relegate your beautiful connectors to the back of the necklace or bracelet if showing them off out front will make for a gorgeous piece of jewelry.