How to make epoxy resin jewelry: techniques, colors and finishes

Pendants with encapsulated flowers, earrings with wave effects, and rings with crystal inclusions have become some of the most sought-after handmade jewellery pieces in recent months. Epoxy resin makes it possible: it's transparent, accepts pigments and inclusions, and with basic tools at home you can achieve a professional finish. In this guide we walk you through the main techniques for making jewellery with epoxy resin, from mixing to final polishing.

Which resin to choose depending on the piece

For jewellery, the choice of resin depends mainly on the size of the piece and whether you have time to mix and wait, or prefer to work faster.

Materials you need

Add to your list: disposable mixing cups and stir sticks, a small scale or measuring cups, nitrile gloves, silicone jewellery moulds in the size you need, a lighter or kitchen torch for removing bubbles, wet-and-dry sandpaper from 400 to 2000 grit, and jump rings, cords or metal findings depending on the piece you're assembling.

Step 1 — Prepare your workspace

1. Work on a protected surface covered with plastic sheeting or baking paper: resin that drips outside the mould is almost impossible to remove once cured.
2. Level the surface with a spirit level or shims if needed. A slightly tilted mould results in a piece that's thicker on one side than the other — something very noticeable in small pieces like earrings.
3. Ventilate the room and put your gloves on before you start mixing, not after.

Step 2 — Mix the resin without mistakes

1. Weigh the components separately rather than estimating by eye: ClearWater Epoxi para Joyería is mixed 100A:100B, in equal parts.
2. Pour Part B into Part A in a clean cup and stir slowly for at least 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the cup thoroughly, where unmixed resin tends to collect.
3. Work in small batches. With a 30-minute working time, it's better to prepare several small mixes for different pieces than one large batch that starts to thicken before you've finished pouring. If you only need to fill a tiny earring mould, consider using ClearWater UV Resin Adhesive instead: there's nothing to mix and no proportions to calculate for such a small amount.

Step 3 — Add pigment and create colour effects

1. For a translucent, glass-like colour, add a few drops of UltraColor and stir well: the less you add, the lighter and more translucent the result.
2. For a solid, opaque colour, use paste pigment at around 3% by weight. Mix it first with a small amount of resin, then gradually incorporate the rest.
3. For a wave or marble effect (the classic wave-effect earring), pour the base resin — transparent or with a touch of blue — and, while the resin is still liquid, drop a few drops of Piñata alcohol ink in white and blue, then drag them gently with a toothpick to create veins, without blending them completely.
4. For texture and sparkle, sprinkle CRYSTAL CRUSH or CRYSTAL PEARLS over the resin before it starts to gel.

Step 4 — Pour or encapsulate

1. For moulded pieces (pendants, rings, bracelets), pour the resin slowly from a low height, letting it flow rather than splashing in, to minimise bubbles introduced during pouring.
2. To encapsulate dried flowers, photos or small objects, first pour a thin layer of resin, let it partially gel (10–15 minutes) so the object neither floats nor sinks completely, place it, then fill the mould with the remaining mix.
3. If you plan to hang the piece, place the jump ring or metal finding in the mould before the resin fully cures, holding it with a clip if needed until the resin has gelled enough to keep it in place.

Step 5 — Remove the bubbles

1. Pass a lighter or kitchen torch very quickly over the freshly poured surface, without pausing at any point: the heat breaks the surface tension of the bubbles and brings them up.
2. Repeat the pass 1–2 minutes later, when new bubbles appear that didn't surface the first time.
3. Don't hold the flame too close or keep it fixed on one spot: it can scorch the resin surface or, if you're working near alcohol-based pigments, cause a small flare-up.

Step 6 — Demould, sand and polish

1. Respect the full cure time before demoulding (around 8–10 hours with the jewellery resin at room temperature).
2. Sand wet progressively, starting at 400 grit and working up to 2000, to remove mould marks or flashing without scratching the surface.
3. Finish with PolarShine applied with a soft cloth in circular movements, until the piece regains its transparent shine.

4 jewellery ideas to get you started

1. Pendant with encapsulated dried flowers. Follow the encapsulation process in Step 4 using a small pendant mould, placing the jump ring before the resin fully cures.
2. Wave-effect earrings. Pour resin with a touch of blue into an earring mould, add white ink veins using the technique in Step 3, and finish with a little CRYSTAL CRUSH near one edge to simulate sea foam.
3. Ring with crystal inclusions. Fill a ring mould with transparent resin and sprinkle CRYSTAL PEARLS before it gels, for a frozen-bubbles effect inside the piece.
4. Bracelet charm with an encapsulated object. Encapsulate a small photo or a piece of fabric in a tiny mould using ClearWater UV Resin Adhesive — ideal for a charm that cures in minutes with no mixing involved.

Professional tips

Always do a small test with a new pigment

The colour when wet is not the final colour: the resin may darken slightly as it cures. Mix a small sample and let it cure before applying that same shade to a large piece.

Store moulds clean and dry between uses

Cured resin residue on the mould walls from a previous use can break off and become visible inside the next piece. Wipe the mould with a cloth after each demoulding.

Control the room temperature

A sudden change in temperature during curing can cause the resin to catalyse unevenly. Always work in a room with a stable temperature, avoiding cold draughts blowing directly onto a freshly poured piece.

Don't use resin from an expired container

Epoxy resin has a limited shelf life once the container has been opened (around 3 months for the ClearWater range). Beyond that point, it may be harder to cure or remain tacky.

Materials at Feroca

The full range of transparent epoxy resins and resin pigments is available at Feroca. If you'd like a detailed look at the technical differences between all the products in the ClearWater Epoxi range, check out our complete ClearWater Epoxi guide.

Frequently asked questions