Repairing Sterling Silver Jewelry: PMC Metal Clay vs. Professional Jeweler

Question
I have Sterling silver bracelet with stress cracks on the band. Can I repair these with PMC silver metal clay, or do I have to take it to a jeweler?

Answer
Hello Susan,
PMC and art clay are fine silver they will not be as strong as the sterling , as it is an alloy ( .999 silver and Cu- copper).However if you buy a  butane torch and  get some silver  sheet,  and sterling  hard solder you  could probably do the job yourself if you have a background in jewelry making or at least soldering. If you will read Tim McCreight's, THE COMPLETE METALSMITH,it is the absolute best introductory book on all the techniques and principles you  will need to make, repair and  pursue  jewelry designing and creation without  attending schools  or paying for the "PMC Tiered Classes" - a multi-level marketing  scheme in  my opinion.
 But  without seeing what the stress cracks are or where they are on  your piece, and  knowing the properties and  applications of  metal clays ( art clay brand is superior to PMC) I  hat to  say , but it will not work. you will most probably melt the sterling and  the fine silver will fail. On the other hand you should also be aware that solder is not a gap filler or metal "spackle" of sorts- so  don't think you can just  go to radio shack  buy some easy melt  silver  bearing solder and  fill in the cracks, it will not work and  you'll have no way to  pickle the piece after the  half-baked ( literally) repair. You  need to fill the cracks in with  splinters of  actual sterling  silver sheet or flattened wire either fused or  soldered to the original.Then refine or  with a  cratex, mizzy, 3m radial bristle disc or other  rubber or silicone wheel  grind down the  excess until the surface is smooth again and   completely repaired to last longer than your first swim or  immersion into  chlorinated or heavily detergent water- the  cheap  solder will turn gray or fall out and the cracks wil be more evident. But  metal clays  being fine silver are softer than sterling  as the bottom line and therefore  unsuitable for repair work..but a jeweler  isn't necessary if you have flux, a soldering board, a torc and some sterling stock..
I hope this helps,
Best Regards,  Ari