Problem with soldering sna-ptite 925 claws onto silver wire

[Cerflun Designs]

Hello Fellow smithies!

Both my tutor and myself have had great difficulty in getting the 925 sterling silver Snap-tite claws to solder onto the 925 wire. I've been using 1.5mm round 925 wire soldered into a circle. No problems there. I used Hard paste. Again, no problem there. However, when coming to getting the claws to attach, neither myself nor my tutor have had any success. I am trying to attach it to the side of the circle, as it is to sit on the inside of the wire with the circle hanging as a pendant. We've tried paste and pallions of all strengths, but no joy. The wire heats up, but the claw heats up way too quickly and either melts, or, if I keep moving the torch away to prevent melting, then the wire doesn't heat up enough.

I've attached a picture of a mock-up (the central claw is missing).



Any ideas, please?

Thanks

Vikki