You just bought a piece of jewelry and you love it. You get home and are admiring it and think, “Wait, how do I know if and when this will need repaired? I know eventually it will probably need fixed, but when?” You should always get your jewelry checked by a jeweler at least once a year to hopefully prevent loss or damage of your jewelry. This is one time when Do It Yourself is not a good idea; let the experts take care of it.
When you bring your rings in to The Jewelry Shop to be checked we will inspect each piece to see:
- Are the prongs covering enough of the stones to not catch on anything and potentially break off?
- Are any of the prongs so thin that a stone could pop out easily if bumped on something?
- Is the shank (the bottom of the band) thin, cracked, or broken?
If the prongs are not in the ideal condition, we will suggest that you get them tipped (metal added onto your existing prongs). We may suggest that you remount the stones into a different mounting depending on the condition of the rest of the ring. For example, if half of the prongs need tipped on a solitaire mounting the best option for you may be a new head (the claw-shaped top of the ring that holds the stone). You will obviously know your ring needs repaired if a stone or prong is missing or broken, or the band is broken, but it is best to get it cleaned and checked at least once a year to prevent loss of stones and major repair work.
It is difficult to tell when any chain will need repaired before it is broken, unless you feel it is rough or catching on your clothing. The best thing for you to do to keep your chains in good condition is bring them to us to be cleaned and checked and we will look for weak spots in the links. If we find any weak spots we will first make you aware of them and you can decide if you want us to go ahead and fix them or wait. If any chain or bracelet has stones, we would also check the prongs on the stones just like we check prongs on a ring. If any of them would need repaired, we would make you aware and take it in to be repaired if you choose to do so. If your pendant chain is broken and you are bringing it to us for repair, remember to bring the pendant with the chain. We may need to put the pendant onto the chain before we solder it back together.
Other common jewelry services we can assist with include, but are not limited to, ring sizing, rhodium plating, hinge replacement/repair, earring repair, prong repair/replacement, stone replacement and setting, bead stringing, engraving, and remounting.
Any one of our staff at The Jewelry Shop is able to check jewelry to see if it needs repaired. If there is a question about which direction to go that is in the customer’s best interest, they will consult with one of our three goldsmiths about the repair options. Ultimately, the final decision on the jewelry repair is up to you, our customer. When you decide to have us repair your jewelry, we repair your jewelry. We don’t send it out anywhere else. You don’t have to wait weeks – months to get it back. One of our three in-house jewelers will repair your jewelry and it should be ready in about a week.
Sometimes it is difficult for you, the customer, to know if your jewelry needs repaired. That’s what we are here for. We provide complimentary cleanings and checks and our hope is that you will come see us for that service at least once a year, or when you suspect you have a problem.