Wire wrapping is one of the oldest techniques for making handmade jewelry. In fact, wire and beaded jewelry made using wire-wrapping techniques date back thousands of years BC. The technique for creating wire jewelry uses jewelry wire and other wire-like materials. Wire components are then connected to one another using a variety of mechanical techniques, without soldering or heating the wire. Frequently, in this approach, a wire is bent into a loop or other decorative shape, then wrapped around itself to complete the wire component, making the loop or decorative shape permanent. Because of this technique of wrapping wire around itself, the craft is called wire wrapping.

Due to modern technology, wire-wrapping techniques are not frequently used for mass-produced jewelry because machines can cast (mold) jewelry components faster, more cheaply, and more precisely. Currently, the wire-wrapping jewelry creation approach is primarily used by individuals, resulting in a creative and custom end product.