solid or silver plated?

[madsally]

Hello, sorry if this is a bit of a silly question, but please humour me.

I've been asked to repair a bangle by a friend-of-a-friend (I'm sure you all get this too). I'm not certain if it's solid silver, or silver plated. It does have a hallmark on the inside, but it's not British, and i'm not sure what it means.

I should probably be able to tell by looking at it, but alas, I'm not that clever. How to I find out if it's solid and can be soldered? I've filed a little bit on the inside and it remains a silver colour. Does this mean it's solid?

Sorry for asking a probably obvious question, but I'm afraid to heat this bangle without being certain in case I ruin it.

thanks!

[medusa]

Can you identify the hallmark? The 925 (dot com I think) is a good resource. It could be nickel plated.

[Dennis]

If plated, the plating will be damaged by heat and the friend could turn hostile. What repair is needed? Could it be done cold? A picture might help. Dennis.

[madsally]

Hi, thanks for helping. I've attached a couple of photos that might help.....maybe.

I've tried to look at the hallmarks under a magnifying glass; I *think* one of them says 925. I'm hoping it does.

As you can see, the bit that needs repairing is where the star at the centre has broken away from the arm of the bangle. Should be pretty simple to solder back together if it's silver.

[medusa]

When I'm asked to do repairs like that by friends, its always on the assumption it could go t!ts up. I don't charge for such repairs and most of my friends accept that it may be destroyed. This happened when repairing a necklace stamped 925 which was in fact pewter or something. Its amazing how fast pewter melts!

As it is, this bangle is unwearable. If it is silver and you can fix it, then alls good. If it isn't silver and you can't then your friend is in the same position as before you started. Tell your friend no guarantees but you'll give it a go (unless you really don't want the job in which case say its beyond your abilities or you don't have time)

[Goldsmith]

If you are going to repair this bangle, first heat the broken tip with your soldering torch to test it, if it's pewter it will start to melt quickly, if it's plated metal it will have a different colour when pickled, if it's nice and white when pickled it is safe to say it's a silver alloy. And for safety sake use the easiest melting point solder you have when repairing it, extra easy will do fine.
Another tip with these unknown marked jobs is to use an eyeglass to check the marks and see that they are sharp and do not show any casting pits or marks on the surface of the punched mark area. I say this as the bangle shows signs of it being a casting and it is common for fakers to cast pieces with original marks on them.

Good luck,
James