Need help with broken tennis bracelet

[rinkyb]

Hi

My 8 ct tennis bracelet (which I never take off) broke in half and fell to the floor, thankfully at home. My jeweler said it is becuase it was big for my wrist and was dangling and the weight of it made the joint weak. He took off two stones to make it smaller and soldered it back and said it will be fine now since it hugs my wrist. I am now very sceptical and afraid to wear it daily since it did break off once, next time it may not be at home, What should I do to make it more secure? I was looking at Youtube videos to use magic string (elastic string) to string the bracelete and knot it for extra support or is that a crazy idea? Any other options?

Picture for attention, it is the bottom most bracelet.

Thank You
Rinky

 

[MissGotRocks]

So I assume the jeweler checked each link? Is it insured in case of loss? That is about all you can do - hopefully it will never happen again but I understand your concern.

 

[mayaINaU]

Hi

My 8 ct tennis bracelet (which I never take off) broke in half and fell to the floor, thankfully at home. My jeweler said it is becuase it was big for my wrist and was dangling and the weight of it made the joint weak. He took off two stones to make it smaller and soldered it back and said it will be fine now since it hugs my wrist. I am now very sceptical and afraid to wear it daily since it did break off once, next time it may not be at home, What should I do to make it more secure? I was looking at Youtube videos to use magic string (elastic string) to string the bracelete and knot it for extra support or is that a crazy idea? Any other options?

Picture for attention, it is the bottom most bracelet.

Thank You
Rinky

Did it break at the clasp or at a random joint between two stones?

 

[rinkyb]

Did it break at the clasp or at a random joint between two stones?

Random joint

 

[rinkyb]

Did it break at the clasp or at a random joint between two stones?

Random joint

So I assume the jeweler checked each link? Is it insured in case of loss? That is about all you can do - hopefully it will never happen again but I understand your concern.

he said he checked it but I am still very worried

 

[MissGotRocks]

You could always ask the jeweler to get in another bracelet setting and reset your current diamonds if that would make you feel better. It would be time and money though. I would just insure it and wear and enjoy it. I wouldn’t wear it to do everything though - some activities like gardening, dishwashing, etc. are just too hard on jewelry.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

If it breaks at a random link there’s nothing you can do except have it checked to make sure the links are strong. Or perhaps ask your jeweler if a safety chain would help but I feel like that only helps if the clasp fails, not a random link, unless the presence of the chain yanks on your wrist and makes you notice instantly that the bracelet has broken / fallen.

One way of making sure a bracelet is completely secure is to have it reset into a tennis bangle instead, ie a hinged bangle (either oval or round) with a clasp and safety clips on either side of the clasp (so the only possible points of failure are the hinge or the clasp, which are reinforced and more hardy than a bracelet link). But it won’t look like a tennis bracelet anymore of course.

 

[LilAlex]

My jeweler said it is becuase it was big for my wrist and was dangling and the weight of it made the joint weak.

How many pounds was it?! This does not make sense to me -- at least not the weight part.

I would wear and enjoy and get it checked annually. I don't think there is a high likelihood of this recurring -- unless it was made by this jeweler...

 

[Bron357]

No, it’s not the weight that caused the link to fail. If it was loose on your wrist possibly it got “bent” beyond its tolerance. Without knowing how each link is joined, there should be some flex between links.
Other possibilities are metal fatigue, poorly tempered gold or a failed solder joint. With these potential issues you can’t tell by looking unfortunately.
Without knowing what the actual cause was you can’t be 100% sure it won’t happen with another link / joint unfortunately. Obviously resetting the whole bracelet will be expensive, perhaps turning it into a bangle by soldering the bracelet to the bangle might be the better option.