Take an open ring and go through 2 of the 4 rings, add 2 closed rings and close the ring.

Place a bamboo skewer or thin mandrel in the center of this tight circle and bring the chain up onto the mandrel.

The 3 sets of 2 rings have one ring lying on the other. Take the top ring of each set and rotate them 180 degrees so they lie flat against the mandrel. This piece is now 3 rows of round maille.

Now using the larger 3/16" (5mm) rings add a new row. To begin adding the new row take an open ring and go through 2 rings that are next to each other in the previous row, at the point where they meet. Go down into the first ring, up through the second and close the ring. Add another ring in the same way at the next point where 2 rings from the 3rd row meet. Add the third ring in the same way at the last spot where 2 rings meet. This piece now has 4 rows of round maille.

Add another row using 13/64" (5.4mm) rings.

The row you just added is now inverted to create the pagoda look. To invert the rings, hold the bottom of the ring and rotate it 180 degrees towards the top of the chain maille piece so it lies flat against the chain maille. What was the top of the ring is now the bottom. Do this for all 3 rings.

With 13/64" (5.4mm) rings add another row as before. The inverted rings of the previous row are a little harder to see because they don't come down as far and they sit under the rings from the 4th row. Make sure you are adding your new row to the row of inverted rings. The process is exactly as before, adding a ring to 2 rings of the previous row where they meet.

Add 2 rows with 5/16" (8.2mm) rings. Now place the aquamarine nugget inside these 2 rows.

Invert the 3 rings from the last row and capture the nugget inside the inverted rings.

Add 2 rows of 1/8" rings to close the cage around the stone.

To finish off the top of the earring you add 2 rows that taper to one ring. Using 1/8" (3.2mm) rings add one row with only 2 rings leaving the third position empty. Add the last row with one ring going through the 2 rings of the previous row. Make 2.

Place the side edge of your flat-nose pliers next to the middle mark, bend both sides of the half circle towards each other to make the ear wire shape. On one of the ends with round-nose pliers make a loop that curves away from the main shape. If you like you can put a slight bend in the other end. The ear wires need to be work hardened so they maintain their shape. You can do this by hammering them with a rawhide or plastic mallet, or put them in a jewelry tumbler.