Link Bracelets Made From Repurposed Vintage Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

I have been collecting some very nice costume jewelry, which I have been repurposing, restyling and restoring. There are a lot of beautiful pieces, even broken or mismatched ones, that have plenty of wear left. Much vintage costume jewelry was beautifully designed and made, and may just need a little TLC to make them wearable again.

Vintage Rhinestone Costume Earrings, Clip-On or Screw-On: OK if they are broken or mismatched. Try local thrift and secondhand stores, eBay, garage sales.

Link Bracelet Blanks- available on Etsy and through some craft stores. There is a list of resources at the end of the tutorial.

After I have a nice group of earrings, I wash them in a warm bath with just a few drops of ammonia and detergent. I rinse and let them dry overnight.

Not all earrings will work well- they should have flattish bottoms and should measure not less than 5/8", or more than 1 1/4" across. It's fun to just go through them and pick out the ones you really like. You can arrange them according to color, size, style or however you like and find a design that looks good to you.

It's important to use the correct tools and materials. Check with your local craft and home improvement stores.

Make sure you observe safety guidelines.

Examine the earring backs to see what kind of clips are present; and to check for any damage or missing rhinestones.

Next is removal of the earring backs; use your chain nose pliers to do this. The little connecting piece which is soldered onto the back can also be removed with the chain nose pliers or nippers. Cluster earring backs can be removed with a dull craft knife by gently prying off two of the four prongs which hold the back onto the cluster earring.

Remove all sharp or jagged edges with a Swiss file. Then clean the backs and the bracelet blank with alcohol and a lint-free cotton pad. No need to do this with a cluster earring, as the cement will cove the wires.

After you decide on the placement of the earrings on the bracelet, place a generous amount of E6000 (enough to cover most of the back with about an 1/8" of cement) to the back of the center earring.

Place the earring glue side up on a toe separator and place the center bezel of the bracelet top side down, and allow to set for at least 2 hours before handling. Continue to add earrings to the bracelet in this way until completed.

Allow the cement to cure for at least 72 hours to obtain the best bond. And your bracelet is finished!

There are many varieties of earrings and several types of bracelet blanks available.

Here are a few resources available.