If you want to make wearable resin earrings without buying molds, hooks, and rings as three separate purchases, the Let’s Resin 171-piece earring mold kit is the cheapest credible way in. The headline numbers - 11 silicone molds, 30+ cavity shapes, 80 earring hooks, 80 jump rings - describe a complete beginner system that lands in the $13-$20 band. The short version of this review: it is the best-value starter set for thin UV-resin earrings, it is genuinely versatile for shape variety, and its limitations are entirely about depth and rigidity rather than quality. Buy it for variety and a fast finish; size up to a dedicated deep bezel mold if you want chunky cabochon or statement pieces. The full spec breakdown is in the specs below, and the pros and cons are summarized in the comparison table.
What is actually in the box
The 171 count is not marketing fluff layered onto a handful of molds - it is mostly findings. You get 11 flexible silicone mold trays, and then the bulk of the piece count comes from hardware: 80 earring hooks and 80 jump rings, supplied in both gold and silver tones. That hardware is the part beginners usually forget to budget for, and having 80 of each means you can finish roughly 40 wearable pairs straight out of the box before you ever need to reorder. What the kit does not include is the consumables: no resin, no colorant, no mixing cups, no stir sticks, and no UV lamp. It is molds plus findings, full stop. Plan to supply your own resin and, if you are going the fast route, a UV lamp.
Where the “30+ shapes” number comes from
This is the spec people most often misread. There are 11 molds but 30-plus shapes, and the reason is that each mold tray holds multiple cavities. The “30+” counts every individual cavity across all 11 trays, not the trays themselves. In practice that range covers small rounds and studs, ovals, teardrops and water-drops, several geometric forms, and a set of irregular, organic outlines. For a single sub-$20 purchase, that is a wide design vocabulary - enough that you are not casting the same two earrings forever, and enough to test which silhouettes actually sell or suit you before you commit to buying more specialized single-shape molds.
Silicone quality and why it handles UV resin
The silicone here is soft, flexible, and ultra-clear with a glossy interior, and that clarity matters more than it sounds. Cheap opaque or cloudy silicone blocks UV light, which forces you into slow two-part epoxy. Because this silicone passes UV through well, you can cure UV resin directly in the mold - a thin layer sets in roughly 2-5 minutes per layer under a 36W or stronger lamp. The glossy interior is the second payoff: the face of each piece that sits against the smooth silicone comes out high-gloss and needs little to no polishing. One honest caveat for the long term - that glossy interior dulls gradually with heavy repeated use, so the mirror finish you get on casts one through ten is sharper than what you get a hundred casts later. Clean the molds gently and the gloss lasts longer.
Pour depth and the UV-versus-epoxy workflow
These are flat earring cavities, so think in thin layers. The recommended pour depth is about 1-3 mm per layer, and that single fact drives the whole workflow. With UV resin, pour a 1-3 mm layer, cure it for 2-5 minutes under the lamp, then stack another layer if you want more depth or want to suspend an inclusion between layers. With epoxy, you pour the same thin layers but wait out the bottle’s full cure schedule - usually overnight. There is no deep single pour here; trying to fill a shallow cavity to the brim in one shot just gives you an over-domed, uneven piece. For a refresher on matching resin type to project, see the rest of our resin equipment reviews.
The thin-mold warping problem - and the fix
The single most common complaint about this kit is that the molds are thin and the silicone is flexible, so they warp. This is real, but it is also entirely preventable. The trays have very little structural rigidity of their own, so if you set a filled mold on a soft towel, an uneven shelf, or you pick it up by one edge while it is full, the cavity flexes and the cured earring comes out distorted or slightly twisted. The fix costs nothing: put the mold on a rigid, dead-level surface before you pour - a sheet of glass, a ceramic floor tile, or an acrylic board all work - and then move the board, never the mold, while it cures. Treated that way the thinness becomes a non-issue. It only bites people who pour onto an unsupported surface.
Glossy front, textured back
Understand that these are open-face molds, because it explains the other big complaint. Only the cavity side is sealed against smooth silicone, so that face cures glossy. The open top - which becomes the back of the finished earring - is exposed to air the whole time, and air-cured resin comes out with surface texture, a faint concavity, or a dull skin. That is normal physics for any flat earring mold, not a defect in this product. You have three ways to deal with it: slightly overfill so the resin domes above the rim and you sand it back flat, do a thin flood or back-fill coat after demolding to glaze the back, or lightly sand the back and re-coat it with a doming layer. Curing on that level surface from the section above also keeps the back from pooling unevenly.
Bubbles in small cavities
Small cavities trap fine bubbles fast because the resin has less room to self-release air. Pour slowly, from a low height, in a thin stream rather than dumping. Then pass a heat gun or a lighter quickly over the surface from about 15 cm away - the warmth thins the surface resin and bubbles rise and pop within a few seconds. A light mist of isopropyl alcohol over the top bursts stubborn surface bubbles too. With UV resin specifically, give the poured layer about a minute to self-level and de-gas before you hit it with the lamp, because once it cures the bubbles are locked in. Warming the resin bottle slightly before you pour lowers its viscosity and lets trapped air escape more easily.
Demolding and finishing wearable earrings
This is where the flexible silicone earns its keep. Wait for a full cure - do not rush it - then flex the tray and the thin pieces pop out cleanly without prying. Once demolded, you finish the piece into jewelry: drill or pre-set a hole for the jump ring if your cavity did not include one, open a jump ring with two pliers, thread it through the piece, close it, and attach the earring hook. With 80 hooks and 80 rings in two metal tones, you can match warm or cool hardware to the resin color without a second shopping trip. A light sand on any rough edge and an optional resin gloss coat finishes the back.
Who should buy it - and who should size up
Buy this kit if you are starting out, if you want shape variety more than depth, and if you mainly make thin, flat, lightweight earrings - studs, drops, geometric dangles, organic shapes. For that buyer it is close to unbeatable on value. Skip it, or treat it as a companion purchase, if your goal is deep cabochon domes, thick chunky statement pieces, or earrings with bulky embedded inclusions - the shallow cavities simply cannot do that, and you will be happier pairing this with a dedicated deep bezel mold. For more on choosing between mold types and matching equipment to your project, browse the full reviews collection.
A quick safety note: resin and UV resin should be used in a ventilated space, with gloves and away from skin contact, and you should follow the safety guidance on your specific resin’s label rather than the mold packaging. The brand does not publish a food-grade certification, Shore hardness, or exact cavity dimensions for these molds, so do not assume food-contact safety - treat them as jewelry molds only.