The Rosie Bow

I LOVE Jewelmint, actually at this point it's probably more accurate to say I Loved Jewelmint.  Now we kind of have more of a Love-Hate relationship.  We may even be moving towards an amicable divorce.  There are a lot of things I want to thank jewelmint for, most of all I could credit it with transforming me from someone who never gave a thought about accessorizing to the slightly embarrassed source of the vaguely pig-like squeal heard throughout the vintage jewelry stand of a Nassau county flea market this weekend.  My high school language arts teacher would cringe at that run on.

Unfortunately, due to numerous quality and billing issues, deceptive advertising campaigns and a quickly deteriorating customer service department, I've had to take a time out from this monthly membership.  However, I won't deny them, the credit they deserve for the creation of some incredibly unique jewelry designs.  My favorite bar-none is the Rosie Bow Choker (as seen on Rosie Huntington Whitely).

In what's become typical jewelmint fashion, however, the release of this necklace has be plagued with unexplained price hikes (originally set to be released for $90, the price tag seems to have jumped to $120) correction: it was released at the $90 price, misleading advertisments (customers were offered the chance to buy a special Halloween Bag for $30 or less with a coupon code, where they could possibly recieve this necklace as a suprise gift.  While 3 people did get the necklace, most of us ended up with two pieces that were picked out from an assortment of jewelmint's commerical failures) and falsely leaked release dates. 

All of this presented an opportunity to try to make this bow at home.  Pricing out supplies I figured I could create this piece using the same .925 sterling silver chain for about $20 (this is taking into account buying some of the items in bulk, the price of making just one is closer to $30, still siginificatly lower than the price tag JM placed on it).


Here is my guide to making this necklace (with pictures):

Supplies:
For Necklace:
4mm silver herringbone chain (.925 silver plated) 20" finished
2 silver crimp covers (diameter 8mm, width 4mm)
2 inches of silver wire
3.5" silver link chain (for extender)

Tools:
Heavy duty wire cutters
Small Pliers (2 pairs)
Sand paper (I used a motorized nail file which worked really well)

Instructions:

Using 2 pairs of small pliers pull off the chain end on the side without the clasp.  The best way to do this is to put one end of the nose in the small opening on one side and clamp it and do the same with the pliers on the other side.  Then pull them away from each other.  Depending on the quality of the solder this could be very easy or it could be more difficult.  With the newer chains I had, it tended to be easier than with the vintage chain.  You may have to cut your losses if it doesn't come off easily and cut it off with the wire cutters.  Then you just have to buy a replacement chain end (http://www.fdjtool.com/ProductInfo/500S-4.aspx)

Once the end it off you can cut the chain with wire cutters.  If you have the 20" chain I  reccommend cutting it at the 11.5" mark (as in the description of the JM Rosie).  That will leave you with about 8.5" to make the bow.

 Once the piece for the bow is cut, shape it into a bow (like shown below) and secure it by wrapping the piece of wire around it.  The wire should be tight enough to hold it in place but still have a little room so you can slide it on the choker chain.

To create the center cap for the middle of the bow I found that a crimp cover was the best fit.  Here is a picture from the front and the side, with a red dotted line showing where to cut.

You can work with it by cutting it and bending it to get the shape exactly right.  It should fit over the center of the bow snugly with no apparent gaps.  Use sand paper or a small sander to get rid of any rough edges on the piece.

Now slide the bow onto the chain to where you want it, using the small space you left when you wrapped the wire around.  If there is still a space (you'll know if you can easily slide the bow) tighten the wire until there is none. 

Depending on how easily the chain end came off you can now reattach it using some epoxy resin (or solder, depending on what your more comfortable with. I've found if you pick the right epoxy resin, then that works just as well.) The epoxy resin is really easy to use (scroll further down for pictures). You just use the syringe to pump a small amount out (it comes out seperately on the two sides). Then you mix it together and put it between the sides you want to attach. In this case, make sure the end is open wide enough, put some epoxy resin on both of the inside parts and clamp it down over the unfinshed end of the the 11.5" chain. Then just let it sit and dry. You can still move it around for about 5min before it starts to set. This is also a good time to attach the center cap to the bow, also using epoxy resin.

Now the end caps for the ends of the bow need to be shapped.  Again, use the picture below (of the crimp cover) as your guide for where to cut.

You will need two fo these for each end.  Once you have cut them use sand paper or a small sander to remove any rough edges.  Then fit them over the ends of the bow and use the pliers to clamp them  down (just enough so they don't move).  Then take a wash cloth and put it over the end and use the pliers to clamp the end down as tightly as you can (note: The washcloth is used to avoid indentations on the metal.)

The last step is just to use pliers to add the extender chain.  All you have to do is open the last link of the extender chain and slide it through the opening on the end cap.

Here's how it looks on:

I tend to be a perfectionist, which leads me to nitpick about how close a replica it.  So to put that OCDism to good use I'm going to evaulate (on a 1-10 scale) how well I think the replica came out and what I think could be improved.

I give this Rosie bow a 9. 
The good: I think the sizing is spot on (w/ regard to the chain and bow) and I really like the chain.  The fact that I was able to get a vintage silver chain from Italy also makes it feel like less of a mass produced product.  I think the caps went on really well also, the sizes of the findings I found worked well. 
The 'could be better': I like how the original almost looks like the chain was simply tied in a bow.  Although, I think that is more true for the one Rosie wore on the red carpet than for the one that JM released.  They did seem to make some changes from prototype to product.  I also think that the end caps are going to inevitably be more polished on the JM piece because they can order the exact size they need.

Hope this helps.  Feel free to comment, even about the stuff you don't like.  I know my current views on JM are not going to be incredibly popular.

Also, for most of the items I post about, I will make a few extras and post them in my etsy shop.  For the Rosie Bow I've posted the original one I made a few days ago (which is on slightly thicker chain than the one shown in this blog post) and I will be making 5 more additionally (on thin chain).  I don't have any plans to make anymore Rosie bows beyond that at this point.

This is the link to the shop I set up:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nyliskye?ref=si_shop