Cast silver ring

[Patstone]

Does anyone know if you can solder a cast silver ring. A friend dropped her silver ring and a car ran it over and the shank broke in two places, I tried to solder one side of the shank back but it took a lot of heat and not sure if its solid until I re-shape it. Thinking about it, it could be silver clay not cast. The hallmark says 925.

[ps_bond]

Yes, you can solder a cast ring. What did the edges of the break look like?

[Patstone]

One side is ragged but one side was a clean break.

[ps_bond]

OK, so what's the texture of the metal where it has broken? What sort of grain size?

[Nick martin]

Hi Pat,

I've successfully repaired both cast silver and cast gold rings this year with no issues. Just like you would with a ring you were forming yourself, cleaning and aligning the edges perfectly is the key to success.

Cheers,

Nick

[Patstone]

Well I have soldered the piece back in, and now it's now in pickle. Looks a bit rough but hopefully it will polish put OK.

[Lucie]

If it snapped in 2 places, it sounds like it could be silver clay. Unless it's a terrible casting, a cast ring shouldn't snap!
Either way it should still be fine to solder

You can usually tell if it's made from silver clay because the break will be irregular. The inside of the break will also look whitish / lighter in colour than the surrounding metal with a slightly grainy appearance.
This is because silver clay items are sintered and are not completely solid metal. They have inherent porosity / air spaces and are very different to a solid molten metal casting.
xx

[Patstone]

That's exactly it. Well I have soldered it and it has come up OK now it's polished. It belongs to a friend so no doubt she will tell me if she isn't pleased.

[Lucie]

Really glad it polished up nicely. I was going to suggest getting it plated it you could see the join, but it sounds like it's gone really well

[Patstone]

I wouldn't go that far, but its OK.