White Gold solder and nickle

[SJEgan]

Hi guys I was hoping someone would be able to help me with this. I have a commission for a white gold 18k wedding ring, the customer asked what alloy etc I would use and I got the info off cookson and it was all good. Then I went to buy the stuff today and the solid solder for sale doesn't comply with EU nickel regs. I'm presuming there is a good chance of a nickel allergy given she asked about the alloy, and I realise the solder join should be tiny but it will be in contact with her skin since it is a ring. Does anyone know where to source solid nickel free solder, I'd rather not use paste for a ring, or if the fact that the rest of the ring is nickel free means that the tiny amount of solder will make the whole piece EU regs compliant?

Any help appreciated!

[Dennis]

Regulations or not, a it's bad idea to take a chance on because sod's law says the customer will react. I would talk to a Cookson Specialist at Birmingham. They are always helpful.

The alternatives I can think of in consultation with the customer would be:
a. Use another solder in the correct melting range even if the colour is slightly out. But this could affect the hallmark.
b. Get it cast.
c. Use a seamless ready made. Dennis.

[Tabby66]

As Dennis has already suggested, I would make a model in silver and have it cast in 18ct white.

[Goldsmith]

The last time I was asked for 18ct white wedding rings, I bought plain ready made blanks and had them laser engraved by Alan Hadley see;http://www.geti.co/



James

[LydiaNiz]

out of interest, do other companies solders comply? seems daft for them not to really

[SJEgan]

The problem is the rings I'm making are textured on a rolling mill then shaped and soldered, I don't really want to get into casting or engraving. I like the style and have had no problems with silver or red or yellow gold it's just this white gold solder. Surely there must be a solder available, it seems pretty basic really! I might try talk to Cookson specialist tomorrow, I can't be the first one to come across this.

[pearlescence]

Surely if the solder doesn't comply with EU law it should not be on sale.

[ps_bond]

A datasheet elaborating on the "not fully compliant" aspect would be useful. I'd wondered about the small size of the solder joint being the issue, but as the release rate is specified in ug/cm^2/week I don't think that's an entirely valid assumption.

[SJEgan]

Exactly Peter, I have no way of measuring that, I can't be the first person to come across this, I'm on webchat with cookson now so hopefully they will come up with something useful and I'll pass it on.

Thats what I would have thought Pearlesence, but it just has the disclaimer that "responsibility for the nickel compliance of the finished article remains with the article designer."

[Dennis]

Idon't see how this can happen when the parent company is based in Germany.

You might also consider Fischer, who are a very reliable company in Germany, to find out whether this is a universal problem:

http://www.goldschmiedebedarf.de/index.php?language=en