Yesterday I had a customer come into the store to have her ring repaired. The ring had cracked under where the center-stone sits - alongside the hole that the peg for the crown sits. (Feel free to ask questions if you are not sure what this means!) - in other words, it cracked between the center stone and the side stones, all the way through to where your finger is….
Anyway, at my store this is a $44.00 repair. My jeweler spent time reinforcing the area, cleaning the break, smoothing the edges, tightening the gap so it would take the solder, and soldering the opening closed. He went on to check the prongs, tighten any loose stones and polish it to make it shine like a brand new ring!
Unfortunately, this ring had sat in this customers drawer for YEARS, because another jeweler told her it would cost $300 to repair. (YIKES!) She had finally decided (after all of these years) to try again, except this time - that same jeweler told her that the ring WAS NOT WORTH REPAIRING, that she should remove the stones and mount them into a brand new ring. That is RIDICULOUS!!! She does NOT need a brand new ring.
I think what I find most bothersome is the idea that a jeweler would tell a customer that their engagement & wedding ring needs to be discarded. To me, this is the most important ring to repair!! This is the ring that was there when he got down on one knee to propose, the ring that was there when she walked down the aisle and said “I DO”. This is the outward symbol of that commitment - it went through pregnancy, childbirth, and most importantly the ups and downs of MARRIAGE. This ring should be the one that is most highly prized and the one that you fight to keep on your finger.
If find this sort of advice UNETHICAL!!!
So please, I beg you - bring your jewelry in here for a FREE QUOTE before or after you take it anywhere else. Above all, do not allow anyone to make you think that your jewelry cannot be saved.
Thanks for reading!
~Hali
Another jeweler told this client that her ring WAS NOT WORTH REPAIRING, that she should remove the stones & put them into a brand new ring.
This could not be further from the truth!! This ring was a great candidate for a seamless repair!
