Solder comes in 5 basic forms: pallion chips, paste, wire, sheet, and powder. I’ve tried four of these, unfortunately, the opportunity to try the powder form hasn’t come up yet because it is fairly uncommon in jewelry applications. But here’s information about each option and their best applications.Pallion chips: Pallion chips are tiny clipped […]
Tag Archives: Custom design jewelry manufacturer
In the chart below, you will find the melt and flow points. As I stated earlier in understanding your materials, you must always be sure that the solder you are using flows at a lower temperature than the materials you are joining. When working with silver, the melting point for .999 fine silver is […]
Silver solder has other metals, besides silver, alloyed into it. The alloy is primarily silver but the additional metals provide sought-after characteristics for the purpose of bonding. Copper (Cu) is soft and a great heat conductor plus it’s resistant to corrosion. Zinc (Zn) and tin (Sn) have really low melting points, which lowers the […]
While researching for this article on silver jewelry solder, I was surprised by how much I learned. I did not know much about the science behind soldering and it was fascinating to learn about the process in more depth. Soldering joins two or more metal surfaces by using a compatible alloy that flows at […]
There is a great deal of quality silver coming out of Bali, Thailand, and Mexico; however, that silver should also be marked and identified with a quality stamp and/or quality disclosure. There are also much lower grade silver alloys from these nations that are described with just the nation of origin. The name of […]
Tibetan silver and many other types of silver described as “tribal” silver etc are base metal alloys that are only silver in appearance. Contents of the alloys vary tremendously and many contain no silver content whatsoever. Some of these imports from exotic lands contain dangerous metals such as lead. Buyer beware. This jewelry should […]
Nickel silver is a bit of a misnomer because “silver” describes the color of the metal and not the content. This is a base metal alloy consisting of primarily copper with nickel and/or zinc. This type of silver is an inexpensive base metal that is similar in appearance to sterling but, again, it contains […]
This is a base metal type of silver with an extremely thin plating layer of silver applied to the surface. Even when jewelry is described as fine silver-plated, the overall silver content is a tiny fraction of a percent. Silver-plated jewelry is affordable costume jewelry. Plating can tarnish and will eventually wear off to […]
Silver-filled is a new layered metal that was introduced during the recent surge of silver prices during the recession. It is not an alloy because the metal content is not the same throughout the material. Instead, the sterling silver is all on the surface. Silver filled is either 5% eller 10% sterling silver by […]
Jewelry sold as just “silver” is a bit of a mystery. The term is thrown around in the market as a color descriptor, especially in fashion. Dock, in the jewelry trade, items should be clearly identified as a specific standard quality. If not, it is unlikely that the silver alloy is of very high […]