The following has just gone out with the JPM email newsheet
… and I’d love to hear of any personal experiences using laser
welding on antique pieces.
LASER WELD REPAIRS TO ANTIQUE JEWELLERY.
Laser welding is now commonplace in jewellery manufacturing and
repair. The technique, which affects only microscopic areas and uses
very localised heat, is increasingly being used to make almost
imperceptible repairs on antique gold jewellery. Those involved with
antique jewellery in any capacity should recognise the characteristic
weld marks (for examples on a Victorian locket hinge see
http://www.jpm-international.com/JPMGallery/Laserweldjpg.html ). A
use of laser welding in the restoration of a seventeenth century
enamelled gold and silver monstrance has recently been published (C.
Innocenti, G. Pieri, M. Yanagishita, R. Pini, S. Siano and A. Zanini.
Application of laser welding to the restoration of the ostensory of
the martyr St. Ignatius from Palermo. Journal of Cultural Heritage,
4, no. Supplement 1 (2003) 362-366 - first reported at a conference
on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks (LACONA) held in Paris in
2001). The authors believe that this is first application of laser
welding in the conservation of a work of art. The ‘non-reversibility’
of the joining process will attract some criticism from within the
conservation community.
By the way if any of you would like a copy of the whole newssheet by
email (topics range from recently excavated ancient jewellery to De
Beers talk’s with the US Justice Department) just send an email to
info@jpm-international.com and put ‘sample’ in the subject line.
The newsheet goes out two or three times a month and it’s free to
sign up.
Jack Ogden
International Jewellery & Precious Metal Network (JPM)