Question
elephant hair ring
I have a gold ring that has elephant hair set into the band. the elephant hair is set into a separate band within the ring and this centre band has split. See very bad photo
How can I repair it without sizzling the hair. I've tried epoxy glue but it only holds for a couple of days. I have other photos too
AnswerHello Denise,
wow, it is a tricky fix, particularly not knowing the karat..I would use some wet wadded newspaper all around the hair covered parts, and solder from underneath the ring using an outside ring holder so you can diret the flame right where its needed. there are a bunch of heat proofing compounds out there too,I use one called heat block, but i think it would not be as effective as good old wadded wet newsprint.pack it on there well and then hit and run with your soldering operation. use a paste type flux to hold the paillion of solder in place and also to alert you when the 1400 degrees is reached ( the fluxes generally clarify at that temp.).Fixturing compounds will also help- there are some that help hold the piece in position and absorb some heat as well..avoid " cool jool" goop- it is useless and messy and will not tolerate the temps needed for gold work.Asf or epoxies, not really the way to go either: every time you heat them to remove the old it will damage the elephant hair further.
Embedding in non-vitreous enamel may work too- remove the entire elephant hair and set aside, solder the ring to perfection and then apply some room temperature curing enemel like colorit or colores, and after the curing time ( using clear I would guess) that should do it permanently.Those enamel like products must be fresh though so it may be worth it to buy a new bottle if you have some that has been lying around for years unused..same for the catalyst..if its old the results may not be as good as they could be.
Other than those suggestions, I can get a piece of elephant hair from a friend that is a Kiissi tribesman in Mt.Tsavo National park..he runs a safari service and is a craftsman himself..Brayogo safaris is his company and Okeno his name..if you come to that point I will contact him if you haven't already..he is online at brayogo safari's, kenya..
then burning the hair isnot as tragic as it may seem...as long as there are elephants left on the planet!
best regards,Ari
