Cup Chains

Chains with empty cups to set rhinestones

It is not too hard to work with the cup chains.

For the steps I show here you need:

• tweezers - I use one with a bended tip as this is the best one to place the stones
• a pincer with a small, longer tip and/or a sup chain tool
• a second small pincer
• 2 small jewellery rings
• cup chain
• glue
• a brow band ;-) - the technique is the same for many products

I form small anchors from the rings to fix the cup chain at the channel sides.

It is important to keep the end that will be placed into the cup short enough so it does not interfere with the stone to be placed.  With a straight pincer it is easy to get a corner and a straight part. The rest, that will be outside the cup is bend to a loop.

Depending on the thikness of the ring you might need to widen the hole in the cup a bit - this can easily be done with the tweezer. It is good if the anchor just goes through the hole, this fixes the chains more securely at the end.

Now I just fix the chain in the channel by putting the anchor between the leather at the end of the channel. Just loosen the leather a bit with the tweezer before you do this.

With the small tweezer I can now easily push the loop between the leather layers and then push from inside the cup until the cup is placed at the end of the channel.

When this is done at both ends the cup chain can not fall out completly any more.

The chain can now be fixed with glue into the channel. Make sure to use a really weather proof and flexible gluw, ab´f our riding equipment normally is used in winter and sommer, in rain and dry periods - so the glue has to cover all this.

Depending of the desired distance between the stones I now adjusted the cups as we want to have the same space between the stones in the end. Depending on the glue you might need to hurry to be able to move all the cups while the glue is not hardened.

Now just put in the desired stones, close the claws with a pincer or a cup chain toll -> ready !

The same tecnique can be used for brow bands, nosebands, halters, key chains, braceletes, dog collars etc etc.