Silver cuff off-center

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi,

Please humor my limited metalsmithing/jewelry vocab…

I’ve got an antique native american sterling silver cuff bracelet.
Has three turquoise stones, one in the center and one on each side.
The cuff looks casted, is not a solid sheet of silver however with
cut out parts here and there in the cuff. The cuff is about 2.5
inches in the center and tapers down to about one inch on each end.
It looks like it must be using between 16-18 gauge thick sterling for
the cuff.

Here’s the problem… when you wear the cuff it looks off-center.
The two ends wrap around your wrist unevenly. one end looks shorter
than the other on the wrist.

How can I go about repairing this cuff? Can I put it on a bracelet
mandrel and try to bend it into shape? I’m worried about damaging the
stones.

Thanks to all…
Chris Young

2

Hi CHris, You do have to be careful about stone breakage on any
repair. On this cuff brac., is it possible to bend it out a bit on
one side and in a bit on the other just using your hands? This way,
you can control where the stress is and avoid the stones. A mandrel
will generally alter the brac over a larger area and put a strain on
the stones. Or, for more labor and more money, you can remove the
stones first. Let me know.

Tom Arnold

3

Chris it probably is offcentered. The casting may have been
incorrectly cast and the smith just put the medallions where he
could. If you must, take the piece apart. First remove the stones,
clean the piece in the sonic, heat it up and pull the settings off.
Then you can see if the piece is misshapened and do what is
necessary. You could even flatten it out and work on the problem.
Reassemble the parts. Not as tough as you might think. Always work
from centerlines. No telling what you may run into though. If you
can do it-fine. Too much effort, well- use your judgment- nothing is
easy. If it was they would have women and kids doing it-WAIT they do
have them doing it. Just think of it this way. Somewhere on a mesa in
Arizona or New Mexico some ten -year old is learning to do what
you are now. It will be fun when you finish. WC/wcsdesigns.com

4

Thanks a lot for the info. Do you know anyone who does this type of
repair work and how much one should expect to pay?

5

Hello Chris, If you want to send a picture, I’ll try to give you an
estimate.

Tom Arnold