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The Guide to Necklace Maintenance After Repair

Written by Annabelle
October 29, 2019

Just got your necklace fixed and back around your neck? Great! You're not quite finished yet though; there are a few things to keep in mind after your necklace has been repaired. Learn more about necklace repair maintenance below.

Necklaces and How They're Repaired

The most common repair we get is a broken necklace chain. When pieces are snapped in two places or more, our jeweler examines the necklace to determine how to fix it. The method depends on the type of chain:

chain-soldering

A typical chain repair involves reconnecting the pieces with a bit of solder, or a soft metal alloy that matches the metal type of the necklace. This solder acts as a glue to fuse the two ends together.

While most chains can easily be repaired via this method, certain chains require more work. Rope chains and snake chains, for instance, have links that are specifically constructed to create a particular visual pattern. When they break, the repair will be slightly noticeable at the area of work because the jeweler cannot fully restore the pattern.

To get even more granular, specific kinds of rope chains are very difficult to repair. A hollow rope chain, for instance, is a type of rope chain that is woven to have an empty space on the inside, similar to a tube in construction. When a hollow rope chain is broken and soldered, the chain has to be “crushed in” at the point of repair or reconnected with a skillfully inserted jump ring. This jump ring is a tiny loop of metal that holds the two ends together by weaving in between two intact links.

necklace-repair-maintenance

A rope chain before and after repair. Notice the small jump ring.

With all these repairs, keep in mind one thing: the solder used in the repair process is essentially soft metal “glue.” Similar to actual glue, the strength and integrity of the repair will never be the same as the original necklace before it was broken. That's why it's important to understand that you'll need to be more careful with your piece even after the repair.

How to Keep Your Repaired Necklaces in Good Condition

Now that you're aware of how the necklace repair works, you'll also need to know about some general maintenance tips. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Do not sleep with your necklace on! We cannot stress this enough; sleeping with your necklace on will break it one way or another. You stretch, toss and turn, and your hair catches on the chain- or you pull at the necklace in your sleep. Remember that the chain is now weaker than it was before, and any activity like this will break it again.
  2. Do not exercise with it on. If you happen to be a sports enthusiast, make sure to take your favorite necklace off before you go swimming or karate sparring. These types of activities provide too many things for your necklace to catch on and one good tug will snap your necklace again.
  3. Be careful with kids when wearing your necklace. We hear all the time from our customers; “My nephew/daughter/cousin grabbed my necklace as they were sitting on my lap and it snapped.” Children can be grabby, so just make sure to either leave your piece off when they're visiting, keep it in a place out of reach, or just tuck the necklace back into your shirt so they have less of a chance to tug on it.
  4. Keep your necklaces in a safe place where they can't get tangled. Tangled necklaces mean frustration, a lot of pulling, and a lot of damage dealt to pieces that are already weak. Ideally, if you can hang lighter pieces up and keep heavy necklaces lying flat in your jewelry box, you'll be able to keep your jewelry safe and secure.

Now you're all up to date on necklace repair maintenance! If you have something that needs work, comment below.

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Sai Teja

I noticed one thing. western Hollow chain makers need to learn how to make real chain …like how I did, Tight and strong.. and it’s not hard as you think to repair a rope chain

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henry

Relevant information I was looking for. Thank you.