Hi there,
I have a customer with an old ring, a 14k carved design with two
white gold bands on the outside edges. they had it resized by another
jeweller and it cracked. I tried to clean up the crack and resolder
it with 14K easy solder and before the solder even flowed the 14K
melted near the joint. I’ve never seen a 14K alloy melt at such a low
temp, and I’m wonderingif perhaps it is not really 14K. It is also
very porous. So I’ve made a silicone mold of the ring and have
re-carved the bit that melted, removed theedges that were in white
gold, and now I’m trying to decide if I should recast it in 14K and
replace the white gold edges with Argentium. I have had a lot of
trouble soldering 14K and argentium in the past, with the 14K forming
a eutectic alloy (at least I think that’s what it’s called) and
meltinginto the argentium. So would I be better off casting it in 18K
instead? The customer is fine with any of these options, I just don’t
have a lot of $ to invest in the amount of 18K necessary for the
ring, sprue and button. Additionally I have never tried to cast a
single ring before, and the smallest flask I have is 3"x3"… Does
anyone have any advice for me in this situation? I would appreciate
any ideas.
Thank you.
Douglas