How to Fix a Broken Gold Necklace or Bracelet

Nothing's worse that accidentally breaking your precious gold necklace or bracelet. Unfortunately, this frequently happens to many people simply because the gold is so delicate and precious. Pulling or yanking too hard on it in a rushed attempt to remove it, getting it snagged on something or accidentally snapping it while trying to untangle it can easily break the chain. Jewelry repair service is expensive and can sometimes cost as much as the gold necklace or bracelet did itself. So most times, your broken gold necklace or bracelet ends up put back in a dark corner of a jewelry box never to see the light of day again. Yet, it doesn't have to be that way because with the appropriate supplies, you can fix a broken gold necklace or bracelet yourself.

Things You'll Need

Gold solder

Wire nippers

Broken gold necklace

Ceramic soldering board

Tweezers

Borax flux

Water

Paintbrush

Soldering gun

Pickle solution

Step 1

Obtain some gold solder. You don't need much, just a tiny bit (the smallest amount offered by manufacturers) will be more than enough to mend the broken ends of your necklace or bracelet. Be sure that you select a solder of the same color as your gold necklace or bracelet so that the metals will match.

Step 2

Cut the gold solder into tiny chips with the wire nippers. The chips should be no larger than approximately a millimeter apiece.

Step 3

Place your broken gold necklace or bracelet atop a ceramic soldering board, and arrange the broken pieces together with a pair of tweezers. Make the broken pieces fit exactly together like a puzzle piece.

Step 4

Mix 1 tbsp. of borax flux with a couple of drops of water-just enough for the flux and water to form a watery paste.

Step 5

Apply the flux paste to the ends of the pieces of the broken gold necklace or bracelet to be soldered together. Gently brush the paste onto the pieces with paintbrush. This flux paste will ensure that the solder will flow smoothly onto the gold when it melts.

Step 6

Use the tweezers to pick up the tiny chips of gold solder and place them atop the flux paste on the broken gold necklace or bracelet.

Step 7

Fire up the soldering gun and begin applying the heat to the pieces of solder at a distance so that the flame doesn't blow the solder chips off the gold. Apply the heat evenly to the solder at a distance. The flux paste will dry and turn hard and crusty, and then it will turn clear, which indicates that it is getting ready to melt.

Step 8

Move the flame closer to the solder as the flux paste turns clear. At this point, use the tweezers to reposition the pieces of the broken gold necklace or bracelet if need because the solder is getting ready to melt. It will slump before it collapses and flows together onto any metal that it's touching, melding the pieces together.

Step 9

Allow the gold to cool completely, and then place it within the pickle. No, this isn't the type of pickle that you eat, but a weak acid that will break down the oxides on the gold, dissolve the left over flux paste from it and remove any other residues from it, making it shiny and new looking. Let the gold necklace or bracelet sit in the pickle until all the flux paste is dissolved from it, and then remove it, rinse it and dry it.

Tips

This process can also be executed on other metals like silver-just make sure you buy the appropriate type of matching solder for your metal.

Warnings

Beware of unevenly applying the heat to the solder because if you do, some of the solder chips will melt faster than others. In order for the solder to flow smoothly and evenly together, the chips need to melt at essentially the same rate.