Lasers 'very useful to gold jewellery industry'

Laser welding equipment is revolutionising the way in which jewellers can mend gold items which have fallen into disarray, according to one jewellery chain owner in the UK.

David Shone runs Emson Haig which has a number of shops in Britain including one at Lakeside Shopping Centre and others in Essex. He says that by investing in a state-of-the-art laser welding machine he can repair jewellery without damaging it.

The localised nature of the heat used is easily controlled so that gems and enamel can be modified quicker than traditional methods, plus gold rings can be welded with filler wire to achieve perfect results.

Mr Shone said: "It revolutionised my workshop. I can repair gold or steel watch cases and put metal back into them."

The repair of gold chains takes a fraction of the time of older methods while the results are stronger than other, more conventional ways of mending them.

When joining there is no need to use solder if you use a laser welder so the finished result is always seamless.

Lasers have come in handy in the jewellery market because the International Gemological Institute, which grades diamonds, has begun lasering "laboratory grown" into the back of synthetic diamonds so that customers are not duped.