Take a look at your collection of necklaces and bracelets. Notice there are many styles of jewelry clasps? Each type of closure has its advantages and disadvantages. The jewelry clap is the mechanism that allows necklace or bracelet to be put on and taken off. There are a variety of jewelry clap types to connect your jewelry.
Lobster Claw
As the name suggests, a lobster clasp resembles a lobster claw. A spring-loaded arm stays shut until the user pulls on a lever to open it. These are often easier to use than a spring ring (see below) because they are more elongated, while the spring ring is round.
Spring Ring
A spring ring opens by pulling on a short arm, which slides a piece of metal along a circular ring, opening a gap, allowing it to be passed through a ring on the other side of the piece of jewelry. Letting go of the arm slides shut the piece of metal, covering the opening again. The spring keeps the clasp from opening accidentally.
Fish Hook
The fish hook earring clasp is a method of attaching an earring by using a shaped wire that penetrates the lobe and returns through the back far enough so that the total weight is balanced and the item is therefore well secured.
French Wire Hook
The French wire hook is an open-ended earring clasp that relies on friction from the earring hole and gravity from the counter weight of the earring body to secure the piece of jewelry in place.
What difference between Fish hook and French wire hook? They are the same thing. Fish hook and French earwire are all the same thing: a hook. It is better terminology to state “French earwire” rather “Fish hook” in the tag.
Leverback
This style earring has a hook that goes through the pierced earlobe and is held in place by a hinged lever that is attached to the back of the earring.
Toggle
A bar attached to one side of a piece of jewelry fits through a single, large ring on the other side. If the bar is shorter than the ring’s diameter it is a poor fit and not secure. Toggle clasp is an easy-to-fasten, secure way to finish your necklaces and bracelets. With the vast number of shapes to pick from, like round, heart, teardrop, leaf, square, flower and more, these nifty clasps make a statement on their own. This stylized clasp type often serves as the centerpiece of a design.
“S” Hook
The clasp with a plain or fancy ring on each end of the S-hook. An ‘S’-hook is a one-piece clasp, shaped like the letter ‘s’ that simply hooks onto the end rings of the necklace or bead strand design or bracelet. This clasp uses an easy hook-on, hook-off motion. A curved piece at the bottom of the hook catches onto a loop or circle to hold it in place.