Ordinary Jewelry Clasps

Jewelry clasps come in many shapes, some designed for greater security and others as a focal point for the necklace or bracelet you're making. Let's talk ordinary jewelry clasps. These are the workhorses, the clasps you'll find on most of the pieces you wear regularly.

Spring Ring - a spring ring clasp is a round tube with a catch the you pull back to slide the clasp open and release to secure it closed. 

Lobster Claw - the lobster claw gets its name from the claw like pinching aspect of the part the works like a spring ring. The shape of the lobster can make it easier to catch the ring on the other end of a piece of jewelry to securely close the piece. Lobsters come in a variety of shapes: pear shaped (pictured above,) and straight. They also come in versions that swivel.

Toggle - a toggle clasp comes in two parts. One is shaped like a T and the other a circular loop. The T bar is threaded through the loop, and if the cross bar is long enough, will keep two ends of a necklace together.

Barrel - a barrel clasp comes in two parts that screw together to form the barrel shaped piece that connects two ends of a necklace.

Hook and Eye - as the name suggests the hook and eye are two pieces shaped to quickly attach to ends of a jewelry piece together. It is less secure than the other styles of clasps.

S-Hook - a clasp similar to a hook and eye but the center piece of the clasp is an S-shape with top and bottom of the S of equal size. It comes with two rings to attach to necklace ends and allows you to clasp or unclasp from either side.

I prefer lobster and spring ring over the other styles of clasps listed here. Although I will use a toggle on short necklaces that won't bounce about much. S-hooks, Hook and Eyes, and Toggles have all come undone on me while wearing a piece using them. I hate the barrel clasp because I screw up the threads and get the little short hairs at the bottom of my hairline caught in it.

Of these six clasps, spring ring, lobster, toggle, barrel, s-hook or hook and eye, which do you prefer? Are there some you refuse to wear? Let me know in the comments. Your answers will help me as I choose clasps for my designs.

I'll talk about more secure styles of clasps and magnetic clasps in a future post.