How To Repair A Jewelery Chain That Has Closed Links

(Photo by: Burcu Avsar + Zach DeSar from the book, Button Information technology Upwardly)
How to Mend Broken Jewelry
Past Susan Beal
Mending your own jewelry tin can be easy to do. If a pendant chain snaps, a clasp comes off a necklace, or you need to replace an earring wire, a few bones techniques can go your favorite pieces correct back into heavy rotation. Make sure you lot have some bones tools and materials on hand, and yous're all fix to set up things upwards!
Here are a few uncomplicated techniques to effort, depending on the style your piece has broken.

Jump Rings
The first basic method to try is attaching or re-joining with spring rings — tiny circles or ovals of wire with an opening. They come in a huge range of sizes and in all different gauges (meaning how thick the wire is) then you tin choose the right 1 for your repair.
I've made a fiddling video that shows you how to open and close jump rings securely using a pair of pliers — plus how to use them to bring together a chain to a clasp or ring, and plough a amuse into a simple forward-facing pendant. Employ a smaller bound ring to join a delicate chain to a clasp, or a larger one for a thicker or heavier style.

If a squeeze comes off a pendant chain or necklace, you lot can oftentimes rejoin it with a new bound ring. Await for one similar to the cleaved one, or employ one gauge upwardly if the ring was likewise fragile to begin with.
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This small-scale clasp is joined to a fragile chain with 4mm jump rings.
And call up, if the replacement bound ring is giving you lot fits, just throw it away and beginning again with some other one — it'south not worth endlessly wrestling with, and metal can get piece of work-hardened and brittle after existence handled too much.
You tin also open and shut an earring wire the same mode you work with jump rings. Just remove the earring dangle from a broken or damaged hook and supervene upon information technology with a new one. (This is too great for changing earrings from prune to pierced or vice versa.)
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This pair of dangly earrings has elementary hook-style earring wires. To supercede old ones, just use your pliers to carefully open the wire loop at the lesser of the earring wire and then re-shut it securely, just equally you would with a spring ring.
If a chain snaps, an piece of cake way to mend it is to cut away any cleaved or damaged links and and then bring together the open links with a new leap ring. With luck, you can find a replacement that blends right into the chain links, colour and fashion-wise. If a ring stands out likewise much, how most adding a tiny charm as an accent in that location, every bit if the slice was intentionally designed that way?
Wirework
If you can't find a similar ring to use for a broken chain, you tin can consider using wirework to mend your slice by creating a new bead link to join the chain pieces together. This volition obviously modify the look of the piece, but it tin be a pretty and striking design element — especially if y'all choose a bead that complements your necklace or pendant, or add together two chaplet into the concatenation symmetrically or asymmetrically. I happen to like asymmetry in jewelry, so the example I'm showing of a mended chain includes 2 beads spaced forth one side, to a higher place a pendant piece: one bead link that mends the chain at the breaking betoken, and the other just added for a visual balance.
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This fragile chain is joined with two pocket-size carnelian chaplet wrapped with 24-guess sterling wire.
This v-minute video I've fabricated shows how to make a bead dangle, using the aforementioned wire-wrapping technique you'd use to join a chain with a bead every bit in the photo. Brand a wrapped loop above and beneath your bead of option, joining each of the loops to a chain link before completing the wraps.

You tin can also make a replacement clasp with wirework. I wrote a tutorial for a unproblematic version: an South-clasp to make with pliers and a heavier-gauge wire.
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These South-clasps are elementary to make with 14- or xvi-gauge wire.
In that location are so many ways to mend other types of broken jewelry. Effort searching YouTube or the CRAFT archives for resource on soldering, restringing, and other techniques. For gluing, thistothat.com is a helpful collection of recommendations tailored to the materials you lot're working with. And my book, Bead Simple has an illustrated techniques section that includes repairs and fixes, as well.
Well-nigh the Writer:

Susan Aggravate is a crafter and writer in Portland, Ore., who loves to drink coffee, sew, and make things with buttons. Her new book, Push It Up, is out at present!