Hi all, I bought this pin/pendant in Sedona in the early 90s… after a while, I notice the crack/split/? and haven’t worn it in a long time. Curious what has happened and assume it isn’t treatable 
input welcome as always!
Well, that must be disappointing 
Is it a crack? And not some kind of rust or stain? I’ve never seen that. And it’s a beautiful piece. You could contact Perry Null and see what they think. They do a great job.
yes, it appears to be a crack 
Hi @tepowell. It’s a nice handmade pin, and should be reparable.
From the looks of it, it was originally repaired when it was made, and the repair has separated over time from flexion.
The procedure for repair is pretty straightforward. The piece needs to be soaked in hot acid pickle to remove any tarnish and oxidation in crack and recesses. Once rinsed and dried, antiflux should be applied to recessed areas to keep solder from flowing into them (I use liquid paper for this). And then flux and #56 or #65 solder applied from the back to close up the crack. I would also consider using an additional 26 or 28 gauge sterling backplate on the back of the piece to keep the piece stable, and prevent the solder joint from separating again.
Once repaired it should be polished occasionally with a buffing glove or cloth to keep the solder repair joint nearly invisible.
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Thank you so much for that info, @mmrogers. I will investigate getting it repaired by someone who has the expertise. (I always thought the crack was odd).
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