I am working with vintage base metal jewelry (brooches) which
requirea converting pins and brooches to pendants. I’ve tried pin
converters and don’t like the way they hang. I’ve also tried glue on
bails, but I’m not confident that they will stay in place. I’d like
to have the pendant apparatus soldered to the pin instead.
I’m looking for someone in Orange County, CA who can possibly
contract with me to do this soldering, or teach me how to do it. I’m
looking for suggestions please.
Has anyone overcome this situation?
Thank you!
Cathie- You’ll have to use a low temp lead type solder. It can be
very tricky and you will have some loss. It can be done though. I’ve
done a bunch of costume repair over the years.
I prefer Tix brand solder and a very small flame for this operation.
Also if the piece is a collectable designer piece, say an Eisneberg
or Dior, you understand that by altering it you will destroy the
value of it as a designer piece? if you must, I’d suggest a fold down
bail so that it can be hidden and worn as a pin or pendant when
desired.
ins by the way are making a big comeback from the 50’s-60’s when
they were big. Check out Margaret Thatcher’s collection.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
www.timothywgreen.com
An easy solution might be to make pin converters that hang the way
you like rather than using the purchased ones. You can shape the
size and structure of the bale to your specifications and solder to a
piece of tubing. This way the customer still has the option of
wearing the pin as a pendant and you won’t have to worry about
keeping stones in the brooch protected from the heat during
soldering.
Beverly Jones
I’ve had nice success using uv resin to attach a new finding to the
back of a brooch. Also, depending on what is set on the front of the
brooch, you can usually use a soldering iron and low temp solder to
secure a new bail. Buy a kit and do some practice pieces first. Good
luck!
Amanda Carroll
beadboutiquenc.com