Like any other piece of jewelry, those that are made of jade can break. When that happens, the first thing on your mind could be to bring it to a jeweler for repairs right away. But if the damage isn’t that serious then you may be able to repair broken jade on your own. However, before you attempt to repair piece of jewelry you should examine it if the job can be done on your own.
Assess the Damage
The first thing you need to do to repair broken jade is to assess how badly damaged it is. Check the edges of the sides that were broken and see both ends will fit well together. Check if you are missing any small fragments of jade lying around in the nearby area. If there are just too many pieces to put back together then you should immediately consider getting a professional to repair broken jade instead of doing it on your own.
Repair Broken Jade Yourself
Now, if the damage isn’t that huge and you only have a couple of fragments to put back together then you may repair the damaged jade all on your own. The first thing you need to do is to clean the ends that you will join together.
Use a swab of alcohol to clean the area that will need to be mended. The idea here is to get rid of any oil sticking onto the pieces of jade. Obviously, oil and other kinds of dirt will prevent any adhesive to bind together any of the broken pieces. They also make your binding weak in case you were successful to put the broken pieces back together.
Once the broken ends are cleaned, you should set up a means whereby your broken jade can remain untouched. The idea here is to keep the broken pieces together in the desired position until the adhesive dries.
The best adhesive you can use to repair broken jade is any clear curing two part epoxy cement. You can get one from a hardware store, jewelry store, or a craft shop. Depending on the store, you can ask them to order one for you if they don’t have them on sale.
Once you have everything set up mix the two part epoxy cement according to specifications. Apply it onto the ends that need to be joined together. Use just enough cement to join the pieces. Bind the pieces together and leave them in place so that the broken pieces will stay in place.
Give enough time for the cement to cure and bind the pieces together. If you put in too much cement wipe off any excess before it cures. It will take up to a couple of hours before the broken pieces are bound together.
When to Call a Professional
If you assess that the damage is too much for you to handle then it might be best to call a professional to repair broken jade. This means that the pieces don’t fit perfectly together or there are too many fragments or perhaps there are pieces of jade that are lost, then just let the pros handle it.
