Broken Chain Repair with Laser Welding

The Challenge

Why Traditional Chain Repair Fails

Standard soldering methods often ruin delicate chains. Here's what typically goes wrong—and how laser welding solves it.

Heat Damage

Traditional soldering torches spread heat across the entire chain, discoloring metal and melting adjacent links.

Visible Seams

Solder joints often leave visible blobs or discolored patches that never quite match the original metal.

Weak Joints

Soldered links are structurally weaker than the original—leading to repeated breakage at the same spot.

Gemstone Risk

Open flame near set stones can crack, cloud, or discolor delicate gems and enamel work permanently.

Micro-Precision

Laser beam width is under 0.5mm—fusing only the exact broken point without affecting surrounding links.

Matched to the Chain's Own Metal

The weld is made from the chain's own metal, so colour and texture follow the piece rather than a filler alloy chosen to melt lower.

Restored Strength

The joint is a fusion of the parent metal rather than a bridge of lower-melting solder, so there is no second alloy sitting in the chain at the repair.

Localized Heat Input

Energy stays at the joint rather than travelling down the chain, so gemstones, enamel and neighbouring links are far less exposed than under a torch. Pieces with stones or enamel are still assessed individually.

Our Process

Typical Chain Repair Workflow

What a chain repair actually looks like at the bench, from assessing the break to checking the finished joint under magnification.

Inspection & Cleaning

We examine the break point under 10x magnification and ultrasonically clean the chain to remove debris and oils.

Alignment

Broken ends are precisely realigned using micro-clamps to ensure the link sits exactly as it did originally.

Laser Fusion

A calibrated laser pulse fuses the metal at the molecular level, adding matching filler metal only where needed.

Polish & QC

The weld is polished to a seamless finish and stress-tested before a final quality inspection.

Macro of a fine gold cable chain with one link opened and the two ends separated

The Work Itself

Common Chain Breaks & Repair Jobs

A single opened link

The most common job over a counter. One link has sprung or worn through, and the fix is closing and fusing it without the neighbouring links losing shape.

A clasp or jump ring that has gone

The join is at a fitting rather than in the chain itself, often with two different gauges of metal meeting at the same point.

A break that keeps coming back

Repeat failures at the same spot usually mean the link is worn thin rather than simply open. Rebuilding metal there is a different job from closing a gap.

Several breaks in one piece

Long chains that have been stored badly can come in with three or four failures at once — the same operation repeated, where a stored setting earns its keep.

A hollow curb chain and a solid curb chain side by side, wall thickness visible at the cut ends

The Hard Cases

Fine, Hollow & Delicate Chain Repair

These are the pieces that get refused or sent away, and they are the reason the specification matters more here than on almost any other repair.

Hollow chain has nowhere to put heat

There is very little metal to absorb energy, so the wall collapses before the joint forms if the pulse is wrong. Low, controlled energy is the whole job.

Fine gauge leaves no margin

On a chain under a millimetre thick, the difference between a joint and a hole is a fraction of a setting. Spot size and pulse width decide whether the work is possible at all.

You are aiming at something you can barely see

Magnification is not a comfort feature on this work. What you cannot resolve, you cannot place a weld on.

Method

Laser Welding vs. Torch Soldering on Chain

Chain is where the two methods diverge most, because there is so little metal and so little room.

Where the heat goes

A torch heats the area around the joint, which on a fine chain means several links. A laser puts energy at one point, so neighbouring links keep their temper and finish.

What the join is made of

Solder is a lower-melting alloy bridging two ends. A laser fuses the parent metal, so there is no second alloy sitting in the chain.

Hollow and fine work

Broad heat and thin walls are a poor combination. This is where torch work most often ends in a refused job.

Clean-up afterwards

Pickling and re-polishing a whole chain to clear firescale is its own operation. Localized energy leaves far less to put right.

Where soldering still wins

Heavy solid links with plenty of metal and nothing heat-sensitive nearby — and any bench where the torch is paid for and the machine is not.

What Goes Wrong

Common Chain Repair Problems

The failures that send chain work out of a shop, and what sits behind each one.

Heat

Neighbouring links lose shape

Energy spreading down the chain distorts links either side of the joint — the repair holds but the piece no longer hangs right.

Heat

The wall blows through on hollow chain

Too much energy into too little metal, and the link opens up instead of closing. Usually terminal for that section.

Finish

The join shows as a different colour

Solder is a different alloy by design. Under a shop light it reads as a mark on an otherwise uniform chain.

Durability

The same link fails again

Closing a worn link without adding metal leaves it thinner than the rest. It comes back, and the customer remembers where they had it done.

Material

Mixed metals at one joint

A white gold clasp on a yellow chain means two behaviours at the same weld point, and one setting will not serve both.

Scope

Plated chain

Any heat at the joint disturbs plating around it. This is worth telling the customer before the work, not after.

Buying For This Job

What to Look for in a Chain-Repair Laser Welder

Chain is a narrower brief than jewellery welding in general — small, thin, and often hollow. These are the specifications that decide whether the work is possible, described by what each one changes at the bench.

Read the full buying guide

Smallest controllable spot

A link is a fraction of a millimetre of contact. The spot has to be smaller than the feature you are joining, or the neighbouring links take the energy too.

Low, stable energy output

Hollow and fine chain need repeatable low power far more than they need a high ceiling. Stability at the bottom of the range is the useful specification here.

Fine pulse control

Adjustable pulse width lets you put in just enough energy to fuse without punching through a thin wall.

Microscope clarity

You cannot place a weld on a feature you cannot resolve. On chain this limits precision more than the laser does.

Filler control

A worn link needs metal added, not just closed. Being able to feed and melt filler cleanly is what separates a lasting repair from a repeat visit.

Parameter storage

Yellow gold, white gold and silver chain each want their own settings. Recalling a proven one beats re-dialling it per job.

Chain Repair Applications

Three Chain Jobs You Can Bring In-House

Which welder fits depends on the link gauge, the metals and how much of the work is one-off restoration. Match the job to the machine before you compare models.

Delicate Chain Repair

Fine silver and gold-filled links
Low pulse energy, tightly focused spot
Heat confined to the break, adjacent links unaffected
Needs fine spot control more than raw power

View Equipment Range

Gold & Platinum Chain Repair

Solid gold, white gold and platinum links
Higher pulse energy for denser metal
Colour-matched weld, no solder seam to hide
Adjustable pulse width covers both metals on one bench

Compare Models

Complex Chain Repair

Designer and antique chains
Multiple break points across one piece
Work close to set stones without removing them
Send us a piece and we will weld it on your specification

Request a Free Weld Test

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Laser welding uses a highly focused beam of light to melt and fuse metal at a microscopic point, with minimal heat spread to surrounding areas. Traditional soldering uses an open flame that heats a much larger area, often causing discoloration, weakened metal, and risk to gemstones. Laser welding puts the energy at the joint instead of across the piece, which leaves far less to blend afterwards.

Yes. Because laser welding generates virtually no ambient heat, it's safe for chains set with diamonds, gemstones, pearls, and enamel detailing. We take extra precautions and use heat-sinking techniques for particularly heat-sensitive stones.

That depends on your bench rather than on us. A single clean break on a solid chain is a short job once settings are dialled in; fine, hollow or multi-break work takes longer and is judged piece by piece.

We repair 10k-24k gold (yellow, white, rose), sterling silver, platinum, palladium, and most gold-filled or gold-plated chains. For costume jewelry with base metals, we'll assess feasibility on a case-by-case basis.

Simply request a free quote through our form below, and we'll send you a prepaid, fully insured shipping label. You can also visit our workshop in person if you're local—same-day service is often available for walk-ins.