Category: Repairs

The original clasp on this very heavy chain has worn through due to pressure from continual wear.  The associated loops are thinning too.  I made a new ‘S’ hook with thicker oval wire that should last much longer but also spread the pressure on the loops and reduce the wear on them too.

This is possibly the most dramatic repair I have had to make.  This scent bottle is about 4cm high and is worn as a pendant often and with much fingering.  Over time both the top plate and bottom plate solder joints started to fail.

This picture shows the flask after I have replaced the bottom and top plates, but before the final clean.

It should be good for many years forward now.  It seemed a bit drastic ripping the top and bottom off, but it’s the only way to get a lasting repair.

I was asked to repair an ‘open’ style ring where the shank had snapped.  It had work hardened over the years, which will have weakened the fairly thin band.

The left hand picture shows the ring parts after I had removed the stones.  You can see the browny coloured packing used to raise the moonstones in the setting.

The right hand image shows the ring prior to sizing for the client.  I’ve backed the stones with silver sheet so they now look much brighter than before.

My client wrote to me later ‘ You have made a wonderful job of it – it’s beautiful and sturdier than before – and I’m extremely grateful. Thank you, too, for consulting me about the detail and for completing the work so quickly. It’s greatly appreciated!’

This medallion is a treasured possession, but after years of wearing the plating on the base metal disc has corroded and the suspending loop pulled off with some of the plating.  To rescue it, I created a bezel for the coin which securely holds it, covers the damage and provides a new suspension point.  It should be fit for a good few years more now.  The bezel is similar in principle to the surround I use for 50p coins.

The cufflink on the right lost its treasured partner.  I managed to copy it using delft clay casting.

Whilst I would have preferred to smarten up the old cufflink and make them both bright and shiny, the owner enjoyed the somewhat battered character of the existing one.  So I distressed the new one a little to make it similar.

I didn’t actually make this pendant, but I do make something very, very similar.  The gift was given when there were three grandchildren, but now there’s four!

To make it wearable again, I made a new silver ring to match and then arranged for it to be engraved in a similar font to the others.

This well loved spoon was used for stirring and removal of a teabag, but unfortunately was showing signs of wear after many years of use.

I successfully soldered the crack closed and repolished it.  It should be good for years to come.

(My thanks to the owner for permission to use his ‘before’ photo.)

My first real repair job using the welder.

As you see it, the left knuckle of the base had come off and the right knuckle had broken.  This was probably due to the lid being forced after the pin got gummed up.

I fixed the knuckles by laser welding them and made a new silver pin that was fitted in the normal manner.

I wouldn’t have attemped this repair without the laser welder.

This is an example of a fit for purpose repair rather than a perfect restoration.  The owner has happy to have a few dents as part of it’s character, but not to the extent of the base being uneven and so unstable that it couldn’t hold her drink safely.

Before

After

Safe and stable  now.

Some repairs I can do, some I can’t.  Some bends, marks and dints,  I can fix and some I can make look less obvious, but not a perfect restoration.  This is an example of a bowl that I made much better, but not perfect.

I like to see at least pictures of the piece before I commit to doing anything and any repair I do is subject to my terms and conditions.

On the left you can see it as received and on the right with a new pin catch and the chain reattached.  Fortuately the beautiful filigree work on the front face remained intact.

This style of bracelet has a design flaw.  When the bracelet is flexed to get it on and off it work hardens and fails at the thinnest point which is the wing joint.

I managed to rejoin the wing and added a brace section underneath for added strength.  It doesn’t affect the looks or wearability, but should make the bracelet last a good few years now.

It’s not the first I’ve had to fix!

When I was asked to repair this ring, there were no floating rings – they had slipped off/ broken or otherwise vanished.  Two copper and one silver ‘distressed rings were requested and delivered.

 

The partner of the earring on the right disappeared and I was asked to make an earring to match it.  The owner was happy with a standard pin and butterfy fitting.  It isn’t perhaps obvious from the picture but the tube is square section and I could only buy round tube.  The solution is to pull the tube through a square drawplate several times to convert the profile.  The match was good.

One of the knuckles on the hinge of the clasp had torn through completely and the others were  showing serious wear.  It’s a really heavy bracelt and buts a lot of strain on the hinges.  They were originally thin-walled tube, but I’ve replaced them with proper thick-walled hinge tube.  The hinges should last for years and years now.