How to Fix a Broken Gold Necklace
Gold is a precious metal, which is why jewelry manufactured from gold is expensive. Few things are worse than breaking a piece of gold jewelry. One of the most commonly broken pieces of jewelry is the gold necklace. People yank on necklaces in their rush to remove them or snap them while trying to untangle them. In most cases, the necklace is sadly discarded, shoved into a dark corner of a jewelry box to remain for years or taken to a jeweler for expensive repair service. However, you can repair broken gold necklaces yourself.
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Things You'll Need
- Gold solder
- Wire nippers
- Ceramic soldering board
- Tweezers
- Borax flux
- Paintbrush
- Torch
- Pickle solution
Instructions
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1
Cut the gold solder into very tiny chips, about a millimeter each, using the wire nippers.
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2
Lay the broken gold necklace pieces onto the ceramic soldering board.
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3
Use the tweezers to arrange the broken pieces so they are pieced together.
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4
Mix 1 tablespoon of borax flux with a couple drops of water to form a watery paste.
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5
Gently apply the flux paste to the joints of the pieces to be soldered with a paintbrush.
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6
Pick up the gold solder chips with the tweezers, and place them on the broken joints of the gold necklace covered with flux.
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7
Turn on the torch, and begin heating the gold solder gently from a distance so the solder pieces do not blow off the necklace. The flux will dry and begin to turn hard and crusty before it turns clear and begins to melt, which indicates that the gold is approaching the temperature needed to melt the solder.
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Move the torch flame closer to the gold as the flux turns clear. The solder will heat and slump before it flows together onto any metal it is touching, so the necklace pieces must be positioned exactly how you want them. Reposition them with the tweezers if need be.
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9
Allow the gold to cool, then use the tweezers to pick up the gold necklace and place it in the pickle solution. Pickle is a weak acid that is used to dissolve the flux, oxides and any other residue from the necklace, making it clean and shiny again.
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10
Let the gold necklace sit in the pickle solution until all the flux is dissolved from the necklace. Remove the necklace from the solution, rinse it and dry it.
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Tips & Warnings
Repeat the process if the joints of the necklace are not completely soldered together after the first attempt.
Apply heat to the necklace evenly when soldering with the torch so the necklace molds together correctly.
