Choosing Gorgeous Jewelry

The Care And Maintenance Of Antique And Collectible Jewelry

14 October 2015 by Isabelle Hall

Human beings have coveted and treasured precious metals for thousands of years. Throughout history, human beings were so enamored of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, that they made them into religious icons, crowns and staffs for royalty, jewelry, eating utensils and coins. The desire to collect and possess jewelry made of precious metals still exists today, especially antique jewelry. In fact, antique jewelry is still so highly valued that it is often used as currency and collateral for loans. 

Antique and collectible jewelry should be evaluated by a qualified appraiser to establish its monetary value. At that time, this jewelry should be inspected for wear or weakness because even expertly-crafted jewelry needs routine maintenance and restoration. Metal fatigue and erosion occur when metal jewelry is stressed by being continually bent or worn and knocked around. Once metal fatigue and erosion occur, these pieces are prone to break. Here are some common repairs and restorations that jewelers, such as The Gold Miner, make on antique and collectible jewelry: 

• Diamond and Gemstone Replacement - When a diamond or gemstone becomes loose, it can easily fall out and be lost. It is best to repair the setting and reset the loose gemstone as soon as possible.

• Prong Repair - Gemstone prongs can become fragile or stressed because they provide the pressure to hold a valuable gemstone in place. Gemstone prongs should be inspected by a qualified jeweler and replaced if weak or have observable cracks. 

• Chain Repair - By design, metal chains are moveable. This motion causes the individual chain links to wear against one another, making them susceptible to breakage. A valuable pendant can be lost if a chain breaks. Precious metal chains should be routinely inspected for wear and repaired when necessary.  

• Ring and Bracelet Resizing and Restoration - When antique jewelry is handed down, it is often worn by someone smaller or larger than the original owner. Resizing such pieces is commonplace. Additionally, antique rings and bracelets often need to be restored because they have wear damage. This restoration should be done at the same time the piece is resized. 

• Remodeling and Restyling - Antique jewelry that is handed down from generation to generation is often no longer stylish, even though the metal and gemstones are still of great value. Remodeling and restyling such pieces can give them new life. An expert jeweler can remove the gemstones and refurbish the metal by melting it down and blending it with new metal. The antique piece can then be remade with a more contemporary design. 

• Broken Clasps - Antique jewelry is stressed when continually worn. This stress most often occurs in the moveable parts of a jewelry piece such as the clasp. If a clasp is no longer working properly or broken, it needs to be repaired or replaced by a professional jeweler. 

• Polishing - Precious metals will eventually need to be professionally polished after years of being worn or stored in jewelry boxes. Aging metals will acquire a dark patina that is not attractive. This patina needs to be removed and a fresh new chemical patina needs to be applied to bring back the original shine and luster to the piece. 

Antique or collectible jewelry should be inspected often and routinely maintained, repaired and restored. This will insure that these highly-valued pieces can be worn for many more years and handed down to successive generations. It is the right thing to do for jewelry with such historic and sentimental value. 

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