Usually a professionally soldered jewellery repair should blend in very well with the original piece.
After the soldering itself has been completed, the job is far from over.
The repaired area still needs to be cleaned, shaped and carefully refinished so that it follows the original appearance of the jewellery.
On many gold and silver repairs you may well struggle to see where the work has been carried out during normal wear.
We would never however, promise that each solder repair will be completely invisible.
It depends on the jewellery, where it is broken and how much wear or damage was already there.
What Happens After Jewellery Has Been Soldered?
This is something customers don't always realise.
Soldering the joint is only one part of the repair
Once the metal has been joined securely the repair site may need to be:
- cleaned,
- shaped correctly,
- filed,
- smoothed,
- polished,
- re-finished to match the rest of the jewellery,
- whitened (if white gold) or re-plated where appropriate.
The work needed depends on the item being repaired. A simple gold ring is very different to a fine chain or a heavily patterned bracelet.
A Good Repair Shouldn't Look Like a Blob of Solder
Simply covering up a broken area with a heap of solder is not the aim.
The joint must be correctly prepared before it can be soldered.
Then, any tidying up should make it look part of the jewellery it is supposed to be part of.
The finished repair should be:
- secure,
- neat,
- well aligned,
- and
- as unobtrusive as is reasonably possible.
Why Can Some Solder Repairs Still Be Visible?
Some jewellery can be harder to repair invisibly than others.
For example:
- A simple ring shank can help blend the repaired area in very well.
- A very fine chain can mean there's not much metal to work with at all.
- A patterned piece could require rebuilding the original pattern around the repair.
- A hollow chain can have very thin walls of metal.
- An older piece of jewellery could have wear, or previous repairs or changes to its finish.
So instead of saying things like:
"You'll never be able to see it."
We'd rather say:
We'll do our best to make the repair as neat and sympathetic to the original piece of jewellery.
Which sounds a lot more realistic.
Which Jewellery Solder Repairs Are Easiest to Hide?
Some jewellery repairs can be discreet in a very natural way.
Other repairs are not so straightforward.
A number of factors contribute to this including the shape of the jewellery, the type of surface and the location of the break.
Plain Gold Ring Shanks
"A plain gold ring can often be one of the easiest solder jobs to disguise
For example, if the ring splits at the bottom but the metal is still thick and healthy around the split, it can be easily soldered before reshaping and finishing the ring properly.
Because of the ring's simple design, we can often recreate the shape of the ring very precisely.
On the other hand, if the ring is badly worn, or is incredibly thin, this is a different scenario altogether.
Disguising the join is not the important factor here; the important factor is simply being able to repair the ring at all
First, we have to make sure that there is enough metal left on the ring to allow for a sturdy repair.
Gold Chain Repairs
Gold chains are more complicated.
Often, you are dealing with an individual link that is only a few millimetres in size.
The visibility of the repaired link is highly dependent on the style of the chain.
A relatively simple link can allow the repair to be disguised very well.
However, with more intricate links, it is also important to maintain the link's shape and movement capability.
Excess solder around the repair could make the link look bulky or restrict its movement.
Neatness is therefore essential.
Patterned and Textured Jewellery
Patterned jewellery often needs extra finishing.
Picture a ring with a pattern going round the shank.
If the break runs through the pattern, it's not always enough to just join the ends of metal together.
The join may need to be finished in a way that blends in with the pattern.
The same might be needed with:
-
Engraved jewellery
-
Textured ring surfaces
-
Patterned bracelets
-
Patterned bangles
-
Detailed links in a chain
In some cases it'll be possible to recreate the detail really well.
But we'd need to see the item first before saying how much of the detail was likely to be visible after repair.
Hollow Jewellery Can Be More Difficult
Hollow jewellery poses a different challenge.
A chain or bracelet may look heavy and thick, but it can be made of a very thin wall of precious metal.
If that thin layer of metal were to tear or come apart, there would be minimal metal to work with in order to repair and finish the broken piece.
Older Jewellery May Already Have Wear
There is another reason as to why a repaired area can sometimes look slightly different.
The jewellery itself could be decades old.
Therefore, the surface could have:
-
Fine scratches
-
Wear
-
Previous repairs
-
Softened features
-
A different surface finish than when it was originally made.
The newly repaired area could therefore look a bit cleaner, brighter if you will, as it has just been worked and re-finished.
This does not necessarily mean that there is a visible solder joint.
It is simply part of working with older jewellery and trying to preserve as much of the original piece as possible.
The Aim Is a Repair That Belongs There
To us a good solder repair is not about disguising or repairing a piece of jewellery in such a way that makes it look unnaturally good
but
to create a repair that sits nicely within the structure of the original.
And with sentimental or older pieces in particular we don't always want to lose the character of the original by taking away every mark that might suggest its age or history just to make one particular part look good. We want it secure and nice but we want the solder repair to be respectful to the piece that we are working on.
Does Solder Match the Colour of Gold and Silver Jewellery?
One of the most common customer concerns is that the soldered area will differ from the remainder of their jewellery in colour.
In nearly all cases the appropriate jewellery solder has been chosen to suit the precious metal being repaired.
Once the repair has been completed and polished to a high standard it is possible to achieve a junction which blends invisibly with the surround.
However, there are a number of factors which may scupper this ideal result.
Does Solder Match Yellow Gold?
With yellow gold jewellery, the solder is always selected to match the gold being repaired.
Once the joint has been soldered, it is cleaned and re-finished.
On a suitable item, it can often be incredibly hard to see where the repair has been made during day to day wear.
However, gold isn't always one colour!
Depending on the alloy, the shade can vary slightly, especially when looking at pieces from different manufacturers, or made at different times.
This is why how the repair is finished is so important, as well as the soldering itself.
What About White Gold?
White gold is a little different as most white gold is rhodium plated.
This is what makes the metal appear as pure white as it does.
When soldering and refinishing a white gold ring, the finish around the soldered area may be slightly affected, although this can usually be re-plated where necessary as part of the finishing process, to regain the correct white appearance.
Does Solder Show on Rose Gold?
Rose gold colour is determined by the alloys used for its preparation.
Like yellow gold, the aim is to use the right solder and finish the repaired area properly to match the rest of the jewellery.
But since there may be different shades of rose gold, an invisible repair cannot always be guaranteed.
This is especially true for older jewellery, in which the alloy may have a slightly different composition than the one used nowadays.
What About Silver Jewellery?
Silver jewellery can also be soldered and refinished.
After repair, the soldered area can often be cleaned/polished so that it blends in naturally with the surrounding silver.
However, older silver jewellery may well have:
-
Tarnishing
-
Surface scratches
-
Patina
-
Textured areas
-
Years of natural wear
A freshly repaired/polished area may therefore look initially brighter than the surrounding silver.
That doesn't necessarily mean you're seeing the solder in situ.
You may be seeing newly refinished silver adjacent to an older surface.
Finishing Makes a Big Difference
This is why we do not think of the job as finished once the solder has flowed.
The repair still needs to be completed with care.
Depending on the jewellery, this can involve shaping, smoothing, polishing and restoring the appropriate surface finish.
The objective is not to conceal a poor joint beneath a polish.
What we are striving for is a proper repair, followed by a finishing to make it blend naturally with the jewellery it was part of.
Will the Colour Match Be Completely Invisible?
Often the repair can blend in incredibly well.
However, we'd never promise that every solder joint will be undetectable when magnified.
The age of the jewellery, the alloy, previous repairs, the surface finish and the overall condition can all affect the outcome.
At The Jewellery Mechanic we'd rather give you a realistic idea before the repair is undertaken than promise something the jewellery itself will not allow us to achieve.
Frequently Asked Questions About Visible Solder Repairs
Can you always see where jewellery has been soldered?
No.
On many items of jewellery a properly executed and well finished solder repair can prove extremely hard to see during every day wear.
The degree to which the repair can be seen will depend on the type of jewellery, location of the repair, condition of the metal being repaired and how the original piece was finished.
Does solder leave a mark on gold?
Not necessarily.
Once the repair is done, the area is cleaned and re-finished.
On a suitable piece, the area repaired should be virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the gold.
Older pieces, unusual alloys or previous repairs can sometimes make a repair more noticeable on close inspection.
Will you see solder on a repaired gold chain?
It depends on the chain.
Some simple links can be repaired very nicely.
Fine, hollow or intricate chains can be more challenging as there is a lot less metal to work with, and the original shape and movement of the link needs to be maintained.
Will a solder repair show on a ring?
A repair on a plain ring shank can often be blended extremely well after soldering and shaping and polishing.
If the ring is patterned, engraved, badly worn or has several previous repairs, restoring the area may require additional work.
Why can I see a different colour where my ring was repaired?
There could be a number of reasons.
Different alloys of gold can be slightly different in colour, especially in older jewellery.
White gold may also have a rhodium-plated surface. If repairing the jewellery, rhodium plating may be needed to plate the surface again in order to maintain a uniform appearance.
Can an old visible solder repair be improved?
Sometimes, yes.
We might be able to improve an old repair by carefully refinishing it.
If the original joint was badly aligned or there is more serious damage, the previous repair may have to be redone, not merely polished.
A Good Repair Is About More Than Hiding the Solder
It's understandable that you want your jewellery to look correct after a repair.
We do too,
But it's also about how well and appropriately the repair is done.
We'd rather leave a little mark saying 'I've been repaired, but I'm still beautiful' than try and completely remove amounts of metal just so it can't be seen at all. Particularly on older pieces of jewellery, or sentimental pieces, we'd much rather keep as much integrity and strength as possible during the repair process.
Need Your Jewellery Soldered?
If you have a broken chain, split ring, damaged bracelet or another piece of jewellery that may require soldering, please send us some clear photographs
At The Jewellery Mechanic, repairs are carried out in-house by experienced manufacturing jewellers.
With over 35 years' experience, we'll examine the damage and be able to advise on:
Whether it can be soldered.
Whether soldering is the correct repair.
How the area is likely to look after soldering.
And whether any further work is required.
We will not promise that every repair will be invisible but we will always strive to achieve a secure, tidy repair that respects the item it is being made to.
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