"Hard soldering" or "silver soldering" is used to join precious and semi-precious metals such as gold, silver, brass, and copper. The solder is usually described as easy, medium, or hard in reference to its melting temperature, not the strength of the joint. Extra-easy solder contains 56% silver and has a melting point of . Extra-hard solder has 80% silver and melts at . If multiple joints are needed, then the jeweler will start with hard or extra-hard solder and switch to lower-temperature solders for later joints.
