Gluing silver to stones

Jewelry Discussion
1

I have posted this before but I think it went out into cyber space I
would be very grateful if anyone could recommend the best adhesive
to use when attaching silver to stones (jaspers, boulder opals,
agates etc) I am just starting in this field and would very much
appreciate your advice

Many thanks
Linda

2

Hi Linda,

best adhesive to use when attaching silver to stones

If glue must be used, then a two part epoxy seems the way to go. A
clear type that will not yellow with age being the best type,
although obviously the aim would be to not have any of the glue
showing.

Yay, I’ve just noticed you’re in the UK!!! Where do you live? I’m in
Preston.

Have you thought of taking the first tentative steps into
fabricating bezels, etc using a torch? It’s great fun and very
addictive and there’s lots of great advice and help on this forum.

Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://www.helensgems.co.uk

3

Hi Linda - What do you mean ‘attaching silver to stones’? Like, you
have a bail and want to glue it on the top? If you could be a little
more specific it make it easier reply in kind. Generally I don’t glue
anything to silver except pearls. In that instance I use a 2 part
5-minute epoxy. All of the jewelers I have worked for use the same.
However…glue is glue, it won’t hold forever (How many repairs
consist of gluing things back in? More than I care to count!). Also,
with a 2 part epoxy you really have to make sure you get the hardener
and the resin in equal amounts (or slightly more hardener) or the
darn thing will never set up. The best (permanent) way to attach
metal to stone is to create some sort of setting, be it bezel or
otherwise. If you are just starting out perhaps you can find a place
to take classes near by? Good luck.

Cheers,
Rachel

4

Hi Rachel / Ray

I have just done a course in soldering bezels to back plates. I use
PMC for the back plate and bezel strip for the bezel. The problem is
the stones I am using are flat cut so not domed. So when I push the
bezel in over the stone it just swallows it up. I have seen stones
bezelled where the bezel is flush to the outside of the stone which
leaves the stone showing more sympathetically. I thought the only way
to decrease the risk of it falling out was to use glue. I would
really appreciate your advice.

Linda - Leicester, UK

5 
The problem is the stones I am using are flat cut so not domed. So
when I push the bezel in over the stone it just swallows it up.

The bezel should be trimmed so just a tiny amount (1mm or even less)
reaches onto the top part of the stone. Or, if the sides of the
stone slope in, it doesn’t have to fold over the top at all.

Another alternative for setting stones that are flat on top and not
sloped in on the sides (besides recutting to slope the sides in) is
to make the bezel out of thick material (I use 1.25mm) that is
higher than the stone by a couple of mm. Saw partway down in pairs
of parallel cuts a mm or so apart, creating a tiny prong that gets
pushed over the stone. I like Andy Cooperman’s name for this-- he
calls it “pickets”.

If my description is unclear, I explain the technique in more detail
in my step-by-step article in the current issue of Art Jewelry.

Noel

6 
The problem is the stones I am using are flat cut so not domed. So
when I push the bezel in over the stone it just swallows it up. I
have seen stones bezelled where the bezel is flush to the outside
of the stone which leaves the stone showing more sympathetically. I
thought the only way to decrease the risk of it falling out was to
use glue.

There is what’s called a buff top cab. It’s a cab that’s polished
flat but the edge has a bevel so the bezel can be pushed in to hold
the stone. If you have a lot of flat stones with no bevel then you
can take a diamond file and file a bevel on the edge. As long as you
are using bezel that is as high as the stone your filing will be
hidden.

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com

7

Glue like 2-part epoxy is a good gap filler. It does not bond very
well to non porous materials; what you get is a sort of airtight
suction joint.

Flat stones with vertical sides will need some sort of keyway in the
sides so that the glue will lock in even when the adhesive bond is
broken. Grind hoizontal notches or little X’s with an abrasive disk
into the vertical sides of the stone, and the same on the inside of
the bezel with a small ball or hartz burr.

If the stone is too valuable to alter in any way and it is going to
be glued in, then I would key the glue into the bezel and leave a
tiny lip of glue over the surface of the stone.

Regards, Alastair