Repairing an Omega Earring Clip

This project shows a challenging repair and reconstruction of earrings with a broken Omega clip and heat sensitive gemstones. One of the Omega clips has broken off the earring. The center stone and cultured pearls are heat sensitive making the repair difficult with a torch.

The benefits of performing this repair procedure using tack- and pulse-arc-welding technologies are:

1. It will not damage the center stone or small cultured pearls so un-mounting and remounting the gemstone material is not required.
2. It will not remove the spring tension from the Omega earring clip so disassembly is not required saving reassembly time.
3. The pre-finishing and finishing time is drastically minimized.

Repairing an Omega Earring Clip Using Welding Technology
	I flattened the bottom portion of the earring where the clip was broken by filing and sanding.
	Next I pre-polished the flat surfaces using a split lap.
	I tacked the Omega clip to hold it for in position for pulse-arc-welding. The ABI Tack II tack-welder was set to 35 volts on the high-energy setting. I used the clip and pliers leads to tack the Omega.
	Next I used the ABI Pulse-Arc-Welder to permanently weld the Omega clip. I shaped the tip of the #2 welding pencil by grinding a 45 degree angle on two opposing sides. This allowed me to pulse-arc weld at the 90 degree joint all around the base of the clip. I recessed the electrode about 1 millimeter from the top of the ceramic collar.
	I pulse-arced the earring clip by placing the tip of the weld pencil at the junction of the earring and base of the clip. The pulse-arc- welder was set to 45 volts on the high-energy setting. After a few pulses of energy, the voltage was increased to 50 volts for better penetration. I used several pulses of energy around the entire base.
	Next I weld-fill the joint using 29-gauge 14-karat yellow gold wire. I placed the tip of the wire below the electrode and over the location that is being built-up. I used pulses of energy and the wire and built the joint up around its base.
	This photo shows the completed job. I removed the majority of the surface discoloration in the ultrasonic then completely with a pumice wheel.
	This procedure took 20 minutes to complete from start to finish. The earring on the right is the one I repaired.

Important

All tack-, fusion- and pulse-arc equipment settings will differ and are based upon the volume, amount of contact and alloy of the material you are assembling. Working with like materials will give you a parameter for the settings required for your application. Keep a record of settings and tasks for future reference.