Dear Orchid Members,
I am looking for jewelry finding suppliers and am having some
difficulty. I am looking for someone in Paris, France or an online
source for the following, in gold fill:
Crimp Beads
Crimp Covers
Wire - thin and thick guages
Chain (on the spool, not finished chain)
Earring Hooks and Posts
Any leads would be much appreciated, thank you.
Daniella
Shipwreck beads, hands down. I have been ordering for the last 8
years from Tripps, Fire Mountain Gems and Shipwreck. Shipwreck isone
of the largest dealers in the world. I can make two orders in the
same phone call and have 60 orders done by other sales reps. (my
order number). Tripps has a bad habit of consistently changing prices
on items. Fire Mountain Gems always make mistakes on their orders.
Shipwreck. Two mistakes and one broken item. Quickly resolved. I am a
small town lady, I want personal. Since the first day with Shipwreck,
I have talked to the same Sales Rep. I get their name, ask for them,
and they call me back. They are great. I can call up and ask for
James. Say this is Pat from Alaska, only now he knows my voice.I can
say “I need 500 sterling crimps” lose connection and get my crimps.
They may be big, but they are personal and do a very good job. Call
them, ask for James, tell him Pat from Alaska recommended them, and
feel confident. I think their address is
and their shipping is also the best. Best of luck. pat
Thanks, Pat, for your review of Shipwreck Beads. I’d like to put in a
good word for Fire Mountain Gems, too. I have not found that Fire
Mountain Gems always make mistakes on their orders.
What I like is that, in their description of semi-precious beads,
they include its treatment (whether natural, dyed, etc.) and its
Mohs hardness, besides its size, shape, and grade. With metal beads,
they’ve gotten much, much better in describing the metal content
(after I complained several times that “brass” beads actually proved
to be brass-plated pewter or steel). Their prices are very good, if
you have an order of 50 items or more, so I get together with local
friends, and we do joint orders.
Judy Bjorkman
I have found the same experience as Judy. My orders were completely
well by Fire Mountain Gems and I have had only one mistake in their
order - which they rectified very quickly at their expense. They are
complete in their description of gemstones and while they do not
stock perhaps the absolute best quality of they have a
quality guide and are not afraid to use it. They have also been open
to receiving suggestions in inventory - and I enjoy their
competition even if I do not enter.
Barbara - on a day that it disguising itself as Spring, but it is
still March and lots of days before we can finally take off our
winter boots!
Dear Judy, I do like Fire Mountain Gems. But my orders tend to be
large, the last one was over $1,700 and had 252 items, it was a co-op
order, and that leads to problems. I do wish I could use them more,
but find it is easier to get one or two things from Shipwreck versus
FMG. And never once have I been able to connect with the same service
rep. I am in total agreement about their descriptions. I share the
with my students. Using the catalog as reference.
Hi Daniella, This is Vicky from Athens, Greece. I buy findings online
from US sites of ten, but when it comes to more expensive items (like
Gold) I have found that import duties and taxes are usually not
worth it. If you are interested, I have compiled a small list of EU
based sites to save on shipping and customs costs. You can find it
here:
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/1uv
I hope this helps 
Vicky
Daniella,
This is the best place I have found for GF findings. They have an
Etsy site and a regular website
If you are stateside, they are out of Tel Aviv. They have great
feedback, but I put in a test order for bezel cups about 4 weeks ago
(just slightly longer than the normal international shipping times
I have experienced) and still no sign of them.
Carin Jones, owner/designer
Jonesing for Jewelry