My customer wants a heavy fine silver bezel, with 18k yellow gold soldered or fused to it as an accent. I see this done by high end Navajo jewelers in Scottsdale, AZ but cannot find a tutorial on YouTube.
Use silver solder cut into very small paillons, and make sure to apply the heat to the bezel rather than the accents. You don’t want the solder to run up onto the surface of the 18K, as that will mean lots more cleaning and will likely change the shape of the accents.
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Here’s a YouTube video from Jeanette Caines that explains the process and gives you a visual. Personally, I like to sweat solder my elements, which eliminates one fussy element, but you can do it either way. How to Solder Gold Granules to a Silver Bracelet - YouTube
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Will the granules be attached around the base of the bezel or on the sides? If you have enough metal thickness I would recommend using a small ball bur or a very small chasing tool and hammer to make a little divot where you want your granules to be. Then add a very very small amount of paste flux in the divot, add the granules and use a softish flame to solder. Keep your clean non stick solder pick at hand to corral any granules that want to go for a walk about. When soldering small things to bigger things I always use a reducing flame and move the torch around the piece very quickly. Things that heat up fast cool off fast. Lager areas warm and cool more slowly. As I fan the piece back and forth with the torch the smaller bits go hot cold hot cold hot cold while the larger base just gets slowly warmer. I use paste flux. When I see that the flux is liquid and clear I know it’s time to tighten my flame and focus the heat where I want my solder to flow. I should mention that I use a natural gas oxy torch. With the fingers of the hand holding the torch I can adjust the flame while moving the torch around.
If you get a taste for making granulated jewelry or just like to look at it here is a link to our old friends Jack and Lizzie. Jack was a former apprentice of ours. He and Lizzie are just about the best granule artists I have ever seen. https://zaffirojewelry.com/ I own and proudly wear a beautiful parue of their work in 22 kt gold and golden south sea pearls.
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