Sunday, February 3, 2008

Can This Be Repaired?




Once in a while I get back a piece of my jewelry and am asked: "Can you fix this"? I generally look at the piece and wonder what life it has led, how many miles it has traveled. I put on my jeweler's loupe and look closer: scratches from doorknobs and handles, a stone crushed instead of a finger. I like to tell people that jewelry, like cars, must go into the shop for a tune- up now and then. It needs polishing and checking of the stone settings. This must be done with precision and care. I can tell by looking thru my loupe if it is a technical flaw or a problem due to extensive wear.

Here you see two repairs I recently received. Guess which one can be fixed? A stone is easy to reset or replace. My question to the owner of the larger, one-of-a-kind ring that obviously got run over by a car is: DID YOU SURVIVE THE CRASH?