All New Review: 527 Glue

When hunting for jewels and other vintage things, I often come across pieces that need a little extra love and I can’t resist bringing them home so that I can make them wearable again. And sometimes I break stuff.

Oftentimes, all a bijoux needs for new life is replacing a little stone that has fallen off. And all that needs is a little glue. But piecing things back together isn’t always as easy at it sounds. Originally I just used super glue, but the results were fickle. For example, I had two broken jade bangles that I tried to cement together. One has held for about two years, the other came apart after two days. Was it the consistency of the break? Did I not prep the surfaces correctly? Is it something I said?

No one glue works with every type of repair project. My first goal was to find the best way to adhere stones and glass to metal. I experimented with super glue (which was okay for setting small rhinestones, but not so good for anything else), epoxy (way too messy) and 527 (which was recommended by the lady at the bead store). The 527 won in the end because it was easy to apply and dried quickly — but not too quickly, so I still had time to position the stones perfectly. It also dried clearly and, after a few days of testing, seems to be holding tight.

A few notes: Always clean the surface of any dirt or old glue first. And make sure you let the glue “cure” for at least 24 hours before wearing to let the bond set.