Mending an old diamond ring.

[Didi]

Hi all.
I have recently inherited my mother in law's diamond ring. It's been cut through just below the shoulder. One of my daughters would love to wear it in memory of her Granny and has asked me to "Just mend it and make it fit please Mama". Don't you just love the touching faith of the young?

Its 9ct gold with a cluster setting of diamonds in what I assume is platinum. Do I have to take the diamonds out to do what on the face of it is a simple repair. i.e., file the ends of the shank, size it and resolder?

I'm sure I can take the diamonds out but have never done it and I'm a little nervous.
Many thanks for your help
Didi.

[Dennis]

If the cut is through the gold, it might be quite simple to resize and solder. What is more you need to buy only a tiny bit of solder in wire form, for cheapness. For peace of mind you might use easy.
The diamonds can be left in place, but should be left to air cool to room temperature before pickling. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

Or, if possible, keep the stones immersed in wet sand while you solder.
Or laser it :D

[Didi]

Thanks Dennis.
The cut is through the gold shank. I don't have the equipment to laser it so it will have to be solder. I will have to reduce the length of the shank to fit my daughters finger anyway so I can probably get a nice true face on each end for soldering. I have a piece of 9ct solder. I had the feeling that diamonds would be ok with soldering as they are so hard. I like the idea of wet sand but doesn't it make it difficult to bring it all up to temperature?
Didi

[Dennis]

I like the idea of wet sand but doesn't it make it difficult to bring it all up to temperature?Didi

That depends a bit on what torch you are using. If you only have a hand held mini torch, it might well struggle.

But gold and platinum are poorer conductors than silver, so you don't have the same need to bring the whole piece up to temperature before the solder will flow. You would certainly succeed with a hotter torch.

The point of wet sand or sand in water would be just to cover the stones and settings, so that they are not accidentally loosened by a direct flame, particularly in an old ring. You could also use a proprietary heat barrier, such as Technoflux, which comes as a paste in a tube. Dennis.