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Re-mounting stones, repairs and cleaning
Jewellery that is worn daily can suffer damage and wear. We can take the stones from a piece and use the original precious metal base to take a wax impression from which the new precious metal base is cast. Occasionally we will use to photographs of the original item to help in the recreation process.
Like almost everything that is worn, jewellery can go out of fashion. The piece that looked stunning in the 1970s can look hideous 30 years later. If the piece is set with quality stones, we can remove the stones and create a new setting for them.
Heirloom pieces, particularly rings, can be re-sized to fit the current owner.
When we undertake repairs to jewellery we only use appropriate precious metals. Few people realise that badly executed repairs (where lead solder is often used) can render a piece almost worthless. Always have your jewellery repaired by experts.
Cleaning
Most jewellery can be cleaned using a few drops of washing-up liquid and warm water and an old toothbrush. Two useful tips when cleaning jewellery are: never clean jewellery in a sink – if a stone is dislodged in the cleaning process it can easily be lost when the sink is emptied; and, always check that stones are secure in their settings after cleaning – removing decades of grease and dirt from a piece can leave stones loose. People often lose stones shortly after cleaning their pieces. If you are nervous about cleaning your jewellery we can do this for you. This is recommended for pieces set with many stones. Old pieces with less than 18ct gold (9ct and 14ct) can suffer from tarnish – especially if the piece has come into contact with chlorine. This tarnish can be removed by re-polishing.
Gilding and re-stringing
Silver gilt pieces can see wear after years of use. We can bring many of these pieces back to their original state by re-gilding them. Pearls and gemstone beads may need to be re-strung after years of wear. If you have worn a strung necklace many times over a period of years it is worth having the stringing checked. Few things cause quite as much chaos as dozens of pearls suddenly being scattered on a crowded ballroom floor! |
