Laser Welding and Soldering, Same Day

Heat exactly where it is wanted

A torch heats everything near it. A laser heats a spot the width of a pinhead. That difference is what makes some repairs possible at all.

It matters when there are stones sitting close to the break, because heat is what loosens settings and what cracks certain stones outright. It matters on antique pieces, on thin or worn metal, and on anything with a finish that a torch would discolour. Having a laser here means a whole category of work that would otherwise have to be posted to a specialist gets done on site instead — which is the entire point, since sending your jewelry away is the thing we are trying to avoid.

• Repairs beside stones without having to unset them first.
• Thin, worn and antique metal that a torch would blow through.
• Eyeglass frames and small findings where there is no room for error.
• Done here, rather than sent to a specialist in another state.

Bring it in during mall hours and we will tell you if the laser is the right tool for it.

Why it matters

A jeweller's torch heats a whole area. That is fine on a plain shank and a problem everywhere else — near a stone that cannot take heat, on a thin worn prong, on a hollow chain wall, or on a piece where old solder would run.

A laser puts its energy into a spot smaller than a pinhead. Millimetres away, the metal stays cool enough to touch.

What that makes possible

• Repairs beside set stones — opals, emeralds, pearls and tanzanite can crack or discolour with torch heat. A laser lets us work next to them without pulling the stone.
• Worn prongs rebuilt — metal is added to the tip rather than the whole head being replaced.
• Hollow chains and thin shanks — no collapse, no burn-through.
• Mixed metals — white gold to yellow, silver to gold.
• Near enamel and antique work — where a torch would destroy the finish.

When a torch is still the right tool

Plenty of repairs are better soldered the traditional way — long seams, heavy shanks, jobs where a flowed solder join is stronger. We use whichever the piece actually needs. If someone tells you one method is always better, they are selling you the tool rather than the repair.

What the laser can do that a torch cannot

• Weld right beside stones. The heat is confined to a spot a fraction of a millimetre wide, so opals, emeralds, pearls and other heat-sensitive stones can stay in the setting.
• Work on antique and heirloom pieces where a torch would discolour the metal or destroy an old finish.
• Join dissimilar metals and build up worn prongs and thin shanks with the same alloy rather than solder.
• Repair eyeglass frames, hollow chain, and thin castings that a torch would collapse.

Soldering still has its place, and for a lot of jobs it is the right tool. What matters is having both on the bench, so the repair is chosen for the piece rather than the piece being talked into the only method available.

What will it cost?

Is the piece too thin or too delicate to take a torch? Are there stones sitting close to the break that will not take heat? Is it a hollow chain that would collapse under solder? Is it a mixed-metal piece where a seam would show? Those are the questions we would be asking with it in our hands. Swing by Julio’s Jewelry at Orland Square Mall and let us have a proper look at it together.

Straight to your question

• Can you fix this without heat? There are stones right there
• Is hollow jewelry repairable?
• Stainless steel jewelry repair
• Emerald jewelry repair

Questions we get asked

Where we are

Julio's Jewelry, 800 Orland Square Drive, Orland Park, IL 60462 — inside Orland Square Mall. Mon–Thu 10am–8pm · Fri–Sat 10am–9pm · Sun 11am–6pm.

Laser work brings pieces in from across the region, including Naperville, Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Shorewood and Joliet.