Monday, February 25, 2008

Jewellery repair

I just want to confirm my humanity here - I'm afraid of car mechanics. When they give the quote are they just pulling numbers out of their heads because they know that I know nothing? Do they really replace the broken part with a new one or is it a rebuilt one? Is anything broken at all??? Every time the old van started acting funny I got all stressed out. And I know many people feel that way about taking their treasures to a jeweller for repair. I sympathise and I got some common sense advice for you;
1. If the job is going to be complicated, get a second opinion. Make sure that both jewellers agree on what the problem really is. If they don't, go get a third opinion.
2. If a job is going to be expensive go get a second opinion. And don't go with the cheap guy, go with the person who can explain the problem to you and why its going to be expensive to fix.
3. The only way to get a truly independent Appraisal is to look up Jewellery Appraisal in the phone book and pay for it yourself. The "Independent Appraisal" that the jeweller gave you probably reflects what the jeweller wanted written.
4. Don't bother asking for your gold back when you have your ring sized. The little piece of metal is our profit margin, we will just charge you extra for the hassle of remembering to put it in a baggy, and what good is it to you stuck in your underwear drawer?
5. If you want me to fix your earring, bring me the unbroken one too. That way I can make sure that they still match after, you look silly if I only polish one.
6. Don't try to fix it yourself. I charge extra to remove pipe solder and plier marks.
7. Every year bring your jewellery in to be looked at. Its much cheaper to re tip claws that replace lost stones. Ask to have stuff polished and checked, yes it will cost money, but so does any tune up.
8. Don't tell the jeweller to 'just make the ring a 1/2 size bigger" invariably that is wrong. Always get your finger measured.
9. If I say I will call you in a couple of days with the estimate, it means that I must figure out the price, maybe I need to calculate the diamond replacement cost or maybe your jewellery is so dirty I need to clean it before I can see the whole problem. If I just tell you a number Right Now I'm going to guess high so I don't put myself out of business.
10. hmmm I'm sure I will think of more...

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Unusual metalwork



Requests are an important part of my business, Im willing to make anything! I like new challenges, keeps the world interesting. This coronet is sterling silver, and made up of approximately 50 pieces.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Old is New Again


The original brooch is part of the Fishpool Hoard - I think it was dug up in some Englishman's backyard when he was putting in a pond. The original is missing all its pearls and some of its enamel but I always thought it was a graceful piece. My version is 18k yellow gold with glass enamel and freshwater pearls.
The reason I got into jewellery was my interest in medieval history, and I believe good design does not go out of style.

Unusual stones


There was a time in history when silver was much rarer than gold. The Norse graves have left us many lovely objects including some crystal sphere pendants. Mine is based on a 5cm diameter sphere from a swedish grave, but my sphere is only 2cm so I had to put a lot into this little package. Its a bit of a puzzle to make too!
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