First of all, there is no foolproof anything when it comes to
repairing jewelry. Everything is a calculated risk. Taking stones out
might be considered foolproof, except that stones and settings can
get damaged in the process. It is best to learn as much as possible,
so that you have the knowledge and skill to execute repairs properly.
Repairs come naturally, as you learn more about making jewelry. The
skills are the same but the starting point is different. The best
part about repairs, aside from making people happy, is that you can
learn a lot about jewelry by
examining how it was made. The funny thing is s that despite the
huge jewelry repair industry within the mammoth jewelry industry,
there is very little available on the subject; only a few schools
teach repair and very few videos or books even exist. The most
commonly used book on repair was written 50 years ago, and it just
does not hold up to today’s standards or
As an expert on repair, as the author of a dozens of articles on
repair for JCK as well as a series on the subject, I want to let you
know what I have to offer, without sounding like I am promoting my
own books. But the truth is that I wrote investigated, documented and
wrote about 75 repair procedures for precisely the reasons JS stated:
This is important. It can be intimidating without guidance. The
details are crucial and on repair is hard to find, if at
all.
Since rings are the most commonly repaired items for most bench
jewelers, I wrote Professional Ring Repair first in the series.
Professional Setting Rep air is in the works and should be available
within a year, if not much sooner, with others to follow on chains,
clasps, and exotic repairs.
Check out our website where you can actually view pages from the Ring
Repair book and let me know if you have any questions.
Alan
Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, Inc.
760 Market Street
Suite 900
San Francisco, California 94102
USA
tel: 415-391-4179
fax: 415-391-7570
alan@revereacademy.com or alanrevere@aol.com