DIY Crystal Necklace Worn by Jyn Erso in ‘Rogue One’

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I saw ‘Rogue One’ this weekend and LOVED it! I was particularly captivated by Jyn Erso’s crystal necklace, given to her by her mother with the reminder to “Trust the Force.” I’ll admit to being a bit of a Star Wars nerd and I think she received a Kyber crystal, which is  a powerful, Force-attuned crystal used in both lightsabers and the Death Star. I believe Jyn Erso’s Kyber crystal is significant to the story, though I’m not yet sure how. What I know is that really want one of these crystal necklaces! So I went to a rock shop to find my own crystal and made a Kyber crystal necklace like Jyn Erso’s. You can make one, too!

Of course, you may not be at all interested in re-creating Jyn’s necklace, and that’s cool, too. This is actually a great tutorial on how to make a DIY “gold” dipped crystal pendant, as well as a tutorial on wire wrapping leather cord. You can use these techniques to make beautiful jewelry!

Jyn Erso’s Kyber Crystal Necklace Materials

First, you need a crystal (or two). You can’t go mining in Ilum’s Crystal Cave for your crystal, so instead you’ll want to look in a local rock shop for a clear quartz crystal. If you can’t fine one locally, there are plenty online. Look for one between 1-2 inches long, or whatever you think you’ll enjoy wearing. Try not to go much bigger than two inches long because the crystal will be rather heavy for the technique I’ll be showing you. Here are the other things you need (links below are Amazon affiliate links for your convenience):

• E6000 Craft Adhesive (Clear) — be sure to get clear (I accidentally got black — it works, but clear looks better)
• Brass or gold jump rings (6mm) (2)
• Brass or gold wire (26 gauge)
• Brass or gold hook & eye clasps (2)
• Black leather cord (2mm, at least 1 yard long)
• Needle nose pliers
• Side cutters
• Gold metallic acrylic paint
• Tape and scissors

I experimented with different sized crystals. The small ones here are about 1 inch long. The large one is a little over two inches. The big one is rather large, but it looks more like Jyn’s crystal. I was able to purchase the small crystals at my local rock shop for 30 cents a piece, while the large one was $5.

Jyn Erso’s Kyber Crystal Necklace Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Wash your crystal and locate the end at which you want to hang it. This is usually the flat end, so the pointy end hangs down. Dab the flat end with the E6000 adhesive. Place the jump ring in the adhesive, positioned properly.

Step 2: This is the hard part. You must wait 24 hours for the adhesive to cure. Do not say to yourself, “Oh, this looks like it’s set already. Let’s just paint it right now.” Your adhesive won’t set properly if you do this. (Yes, I tried it! This is why you have me to make the mistakes first!) You may want to put a piece of tape over your jump ring to hold it in place. While the adhesive is drying, you can work on the necklace.

Step 3: Put the leather cord around your neck and allow it to hang where you’d like your crystal to hang. Jyn’s necklace looks fairly long — I’d say at least 18-20 inches long. Determine your length, then add an extra five inches to it.

Step 4: If you look at Jyn’s necklace, you’ll see there’s a part that hangs down from the main necklace. We’ll make this part first. Fold your leather cord in half to find the center and pinch it together tightly. Now cut off a 6 inch piece of brass wire and place the tail end of it in the fold of your leather.

Step 5: Holding the leather and brass wire well between two fingers, begin wrapping the wire tightly around the leather cord about 1/2 from the end, moving toward the pinched end.

Step 6: When you get about seven wraps in, push the end of the brass wire back into the wrapped section and pull down. Use your needle nose pliers if necessary to pull it all the way through. This essentially knots your wire in place.

Step 7: Trim the ends of the brass wire closely with your end cutters.

Step 8: About two inches from the end, do another wire wrap. This time you’ll also want to do some extra wraps around each individual cord — I found this helped the necklace look more like Jyn’s and also stabilizes the wire.

Step 9: Put the leather cord back around your neck (with the ends of the cord touching behind your neck) to check it’s length again. You want it to be just one inch longer than desired. Trim if desired, but make sure you have an even amount of cord on both sides.

Step 10: Attach each clasp part to the two ends of your cord using the same wire wrapping method we used earlier. This time, you’ll put the leather cord through the hole of the clasp first, then wrap the wire around the leather to secure it. Be sure to trim the wire ends when you’re done.

Step 11: Once the adhesive is cured, dip the top of the crystal into your gold paint so it goes in far enough to cover the jump ring, the entire flat end, and a little extra. If your crystal is small enough, you can just dip it in the bottle. If it’s too big to fit, pour some into the cap or a little bowl. Allow 1-2 hours for the paint to dry, depending on how much paint ended up on your crystal.

Step 12: Once your paint is dry, attach a jump ring or another connector to your crystal and attach it to the bottom of your cord!

Jyn Erso’s Kyber Crystal Necklace Notes

I think this is a great beginner project to jewelry making. And the results are amazing! This turned out to be a really stunning necklace. And it would make a great gift!

Did you know quartz crystals are believed to be a “power stone.” Some believe that quartz enhances thoughts, amplifies energy, and can energize you. This makes it a perfect stand-in for a “Kyber” crystal!

Quartz can be super clear or have veils, bubbles, inclusions, and various colors. In Star Wars lore, the Kyber crystal is described similarly. The Kyber crystal’s combination of transparency and opacity was known by Jedi as “the water of the kyber” (see Kyber Crystal | Wookiieepedia).

Love,

P.S. Check out my other fun DIY gift tutorials to help you make wonderful homemade and inexpensive gifts! I currently have tutorials on DIY teacup candles, DIY Sharpie mugs, DIY hand warmers, and DIY bath bombs!

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