Is it possible to do your own jewellery repair?
Posted on: 29 August 2018
Do you like to add a little jewellery to your outfit to brighten it up or to complete your appearance before you step out for a special evening with friends or family? Whatever your budget may be, jewellery has an important part to play in helping you to both look and feel great, whatever the occasion.
Jewellery looks great with almost any outfit, but over time, the fragile nature of a lot of items of can create problems. It doesn't take much for the clasp of your favourite necklace to break or a ring to become bent out of the proper shape. The chain of a necklace can easily become knotted if you don't exercise sufficient care when you store it away, and then what do you do? Replacing damaged jewellery can quickly become expensive, so repairing damaged pieces is frequently a better option.
Do you need to find a jewellery repair shop?
If your jewellery is expensive or particularly delicate, then you will need to find a shop with qualified experts who are able to take care of issues such as re-setting precious stones that have become loose, restoring damaged settings and fixing broken chains. If your jewellery is not quite so valuable or if you feel comfortable taking on a simple jewellery repair yourself, then there are lots of repairs you can carry out without too much difficulty.
What jewellery repair can you do yourself?
People are often surprised to realise that even a complete novice can often carry out repairs to fashion jewellery using basic tools that most people already have around the house. Unknotting necklace chains is not difficult if you have the patience to work at it with two pins and plenty of baby oil to loosen those stubborn knots.
Broken clasps are another common problem that you can often rectify yourself. Clasps are the part of your necklace that is handled most often and therefore the most likely place for damage to occur. Instead of paying out to replace the whole necklace it is usually possible to purchase just a replacement clasp and to swap the clasps by prising open a link in the chain. The only tricky part is finding a new clasp that is a similar shape, size and colour as the broken one so that the necklace will lay just as comfortably as it always has done.
If a more major jewellery repair is needed, you should always use a professional. Never attempt to re-size a ring or work on any fine jewellery containing stones because you risk causing a stress fracture or loosening the stone settings. A small financial saving isn't worth the risk of causing permanent to a family heirloom or a piece of great sentimental value. For valuable jewellery pieces, finding a qualified professional is always the right decision.
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