Jump rings are (usually metal) rings used to make chains,

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

, and

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

. They are made by wrapping

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

around a

mandrel A mandrel, mandril, or arbor is a gently tapered cylinder against which material can be forged or shaped (e.g., a ring mandrel - also called a triblet - used by jewelers to increase the diameter of a wedding ring), or a flanged or tapered or ...

to make a coil, then cutting the coil with wire cutters to make individual rings. The rings can be assembled one by one into chains, earrings, objects such as bowls or ornaments, and chain mail clothing. The making of items from jump rings is called ''chain maille'' ("''maille''" is French for "''mesh''"). byzantine chain in silver and green aluminium arp

byzantine chain in silver and green aluminium arp

Jump rings can be described by the following qualities: {, class="wikitable" ,

Gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

, The thickness of the wire the ring is made from. Measured according to American wire gauge standards, SWG (

standard wire gauge British Standard Wire Gauge (often abbreviated to Standard Wire Gauge or SWG) is a unit for denoting wire size given by BS 3737:1964 (now withdrawn). It is also known as the Imperial Wire Gauge or British Standard Gauge. Use of SWG sizes has ...

), or in millimetres. , - , Inner diameter , Approximately the same as the outer diameter of the

used to create the rings, but the exact inner diameter will depend on the degree to which the wire springs as it comes off the mandrel. , - ,

Kerf A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

width , The gap between the ends of the jump ring created by the cutting process , - , Cut type , Saw cut or pinched. The former produces a clean uniform cut whereas the latter is pinched and looks less attractive. , - , Outer diameter , The outer diameter of the ring. This is the same as (twice the gauge + the inner diameter). , - , Colour , For example,

anodised Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts. The process is called ''anodizing'' because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electr ...

aluminium rings come in many colours. , - , Material , The common materials are

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

(or plated gold),

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

(or plated silver),

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's r ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

niobium Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has s ...

, and

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion i ...

References

Jewellery components