Years ago (14), when my husband and I first met, he bought me a pair
of 14k gold earrings. They are made up of a heart-shaped amethyst
center stone and little diamonds around. The problem is that the
older I get, the more sensitive my ears are becoming. I cannot wear
sterling or even hypo-allergenic earrings. Is there a way to replace
the 14k posts with a higher karat gold? Do they have to be taken
apart and reset? If anyone thinks they can help, I can send a
picture so you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Have you tried titanium posts? They are, IMHO, in another whole
league than the “hypoallergenic” junk out there. It’s an elemental
metal, not an alloy, and it is quite inert. You can always have some
18K posts welded on, but there you have an alloy again. If you insist
on doing it yourself, you’d want to remove the amethysts and coat the
diamonds before soldering. But aren’t you sort of a beginner
solderer? Maybe let someone else do it.
I can send you a pair of titanium earwires to try out on your ears,
if you like.
Any attempt to replace the posts by normal soldering will harm the
amethysts unless they are removed. Welding with a Laser or PUK type
machine will work without disturbing the stones. I would suggest
platinum or palladium posts. If you are in UK, get in touch.
Depending on the setting (back where the post attaches), you may be
able to have a jeweler with a Sparkie Welder attach a titanium post.
They won’t be gold in color (they look like stainless) but they also
won’t hurt your ears. Bonus is that the stones won’t have to be
removed to do the repair, only the old post.
My idea is to remove the stones and plate them in a higher karat
gold. I don’t know how that works with sensitivity, but it might for
a time until they wear through to the lower karat.
How would you attach titanium posts to gold earrings?
The Sparkie welders will attach these posts. That’s the great thing
about them is that they can attach fusion findings made of one metal
to a completely different metal (as long as there is no lead in it).
I believe that most laser welders will do the same thing. We carry
the titanium fusion posts (as well as sterling, stainless steel,
gold filled and 14k) and have for many years along with a titanium
clutch to provide a complete non-allergenic system.