At one moment you could have your necklace around your neck, and the next moment, it’s broken. It can be daunting to have your chain in pieces; however, you don’t have to moan that it’s the end of your jewelry. There are various ways you can fix a broken gold chain and the technique you use depends on the type of chain and the nature of breakage. You can avoid an expensive trip to your jewelry store and fix your white gold rope chain yourself. If it’s a broken ring, you may just need to replace it. However, if that can’t work out, you can try soldering the gold chain back together.
Reattaching a link, charm, or clasp
If you want to reattach a clasp or link you will need to follow these steps.
Step 1:
Take your gold chain or necklace pieces and place them flat on a surface. Place the charm or clasp next to your necklace. If you’re reattaching a linked gold chain, set the two parts of the necklace next to one another.
Step 2:
Get a pair of pliers in both hands and pick up a piece of jump ring using the pliers you are holding in your dominant hand. Reposition the opening of your jump ring to allow it to be at the top.
Step 3:
Get the pliers to grasp your jump ring on the left and right of the opening. Now twist the ends of your ring away so that you open the ring. Avoid pulling the ends open using the pliers because pulling the pliers to the right and left will weaken the ring.
Step 4:
Now slip the ends of your chain, charm, or clasp onto the rings then close by twisting the ends towards one another. You will not have reattached the charm, link, or clasp.
Soldering a gold chain
Chain soldering involves mending breaks in gold chains using solder. The solder holds the disconnected parts together like glue. The low heat point of the solder means that you can melt it without adversely affecting the rest of your 14k gold chains. This is paramount because the repair process shouldn’t damage the original parts or components of the chain. Once you finish the soldering process, you can apply color to the area of repair if you are repairing a plated gold necklace.
If you want to solder a gold rope chain, you need to be careful because it’s made with tiny, delicate interlocking rings of gold. Your chain is pretty small such that it looks like a braided wire or rope. You can solder your gold rope chain to repair it. You will need to apply a layer of solder made of gold paste and some heat.
Use these steps to repair the broken gold chain using the soldering technique.
Step 1:
Use a small-end wire cutter to tear off or remove the damaged links from the ends of the rope chain that are broken. Cut or remove the end links of your chain. These are the chain links that attach to the clasp of your gold rope necklace.
Step 2:
Place your gold chain on a work surface or a ceramic soldering board. Use a pair of tweezers to fit the two ends of your chain back together and press the links to close them. Now apply a little amount of the solder to the joint or the broken parts of your chain links using a cotton swab.
Step 3:
Use the jeweler’s torch and regulate the flame to have a small pointed tip. Now, direct and run the flame from the torch over the ceramic solder pad close to the chain’s joint. The heat is going to radiate up off the pad and melt the gold paste solder. The reason you are indirectly heating the solder is to avoid accidentally melting your gold chain links in the areas around the joint. When you see the solder melting, you can now turn off the torch.
You will need to wait for about an hour to allow the chain to cool. This also allows the solder to set. After that, you can now place the gold chain joint onto a bench pin and clean off any flux or discoloration that may have occurred due to oxidation using a radial bristle disc brush.
Snake chain vs. box chain vs. rope chain repair
Snake chain jewelry pieces are a favorite for many customers due to the way they look. These pieces are seamless and wonderfully lie on the collarbones, but when they break, they scare people since they look like they are irreparable. The good news is that you can repair them by soldering using the right amount of heat. On the other hand, box chain jewelry is popular among men. The links of the chain are squared in shape making the chain be pretty resilient because of the shape of its links. The chain has a sturdy feeling when you wear it. Box chain does always require soldering. Depending on the damage, you can fix the broken chain using a pair of pliers.
When it comes to rope chains, they are because due to their woven appearance. Like a snake chain, rope chains appear to be impossible to repair when they break. However, you can solder them, but you will need to be careful because of the complex nature of the links. You may need to weave the links back together before you solder them to ensure that the areas you repair look indistinguishable from the other parts of your necklace.
These are some of the methods you can use to repair or fix your broken gold chain. You will need to understand the type of chain you own and the best method you can use to repair the piece. Not all chains will need soldering, but others do require this process. Take precautions when using flames to repair your 10k gold chains because they present a fire risk. Also, ensure you have the items and products you need to fix the chain.