Mystery Bracelet; Any idea how it's made? I need to repair it

[ErinBrooke]

A client gave me this bangle for repair. It's a beautiful smooth, free-form silver, stamped 925, with wire wrapping around the outside. It is tearing along the edges in some places, but I can't tell how it's made and thus how to repair it. In a couple of the torn areas, there's a soft brown substance inside, and the bracelet sounds hollow when you tap it. Could it be leather in the core? Wood? How would you get the silver to cover it so nicely and evenly? It's heavy, but not as heavy as you'd expect if it were solid silver.
It's a gorgeous piece, but I'm not sure how to proceed with any repair. Does anyone recognize this style, or can educate me about how it's made or how best to repair it? The only other clues I have are this: it's stamped "AL" beside the 925, and my client says it was bought in Calgary Canada. "A woman from Calgary (have no idea who or where she is) was selling this Israeli women's jewellery designs as that woman wanted to come to Canada. It is the last I saw of her and the jewellery."
Thanks for any insight.

[CJ57]

Tyhere is a jeweller in my area that makes pieces that are half very thin silver sheet over some sort of black clay so it's decorated on one side and silver on the other. It looks from the photos as if it's maybe beaten over something like that which would make it light but has given her the structure to work on and then wire wrap on top



Sorry they are upside down but you get the idea. Not sure how easy it is to repair though

[Dennis]

Hi Erin, the stamp 925, does not in fact guarantee that it is made of silver at all. Even if it were, you would need a large torch to heat it enough for solder to flow.

You say that it has something inside, so it could be electroformed onto something not suitable for heating. If the wire wrapping is coming undone, try to find a cold solution for fixing the loose ends. Dennis.

[ErinBrooke]

True enough.. the stamp *could* be a lie. I was wondering if this could be PMC metal clay, formed over leather, and then fired? That would explain the hollow core, and the freeform-looking shape. Anyone ever heard of that being done?

[ps_bond]

At firing temperatures, the leather would char at least - if not completely burn out. I'd go for it being very thin sheet formed over.

My solution (and yes, OK, this *is* rapidly becoming my solution for everything...) would be laser it. Limited heat input, no additional damage if used carefully. A PUK might do the job too?

[Nick martin]

Out of curiosity Peter, how much did your laser setup set you back ( if you don't mind me asking ) or is the answer too frightening?

Nick

[ps_bond]

Many I could have had several PUK welders instead...