QuestionQUESTION: I have a cuff turquoise bracelet that I purchased in Arizona in the 1970s. The bracelet is sterling silver and one side was broken by my daughter. I would like to get this repaired but don't know who or where this can be done. Any suggestions?
ANSWER: Hi, Patricia.
Back in the 1970's I made a lot of turquoise jewelry items, using stones I cut from rough material purchased from mines in Nevada. At that time in history, turquoise had not been subjected to massive imported knockoff jewelry items and plastic stones. Unfortunately, because of inferior goods produced later, many people never learned to appreciate nice turquoise as much as did I. Native Americans still produce some nice turquoise items and the better artists/craftsmen make true works of art in the form of jewelry.
I just threw in that previous paragraph since your question brought me fond memories. As for repair of your bracelet, may I assume this is a cuff bracelet, one that slips over and onto the wrist? If so, the break is likely at a point of stress in the metal. Bracelets will be moved a bit when put on the wrist and when taken off, each time increasing stress in the metal at some areas more than others. You can safely assume the break is at a stress point.
Yes, it can be repaired with one notable exception. That exception is inlaid stones. The bracelets with many small stones covering the surface and separated by fine wires of silver are a sort of inlay. Also, a similar inlay is done with stones cut to fit channels or recesses in the bracelet surface, all laid out attractively. When the stones are of the inlay sort, repair is possible but you simply will not find anyone to do the work. Why? Stones must all be removed to solder the break and repair the metal. Then, all must be reassembled. This is as much if not more work than when the bracelet was originally made. Also, some inlaid stones cannot be removed without damage to the stones which must then be replaced by stones specially cut to fit the bracelet.
If the stones are cabochons, that is, the domed sort generally seen and held in place with a band of metal around the rim of the stone, the stones are easily removed and reset. The work can be done.
Who will do it? The sad fact is that for some reason there are jewelers who will not work on silver. We do and so do many other jewelers. Silver behaves a bit differently than gold and other precious metals, requiring complete refinishing when repaired and requiring more total soldering heat to do the repair in the first place. If there is a patina or darkened antique finish in recesses in the bracelet, repair will remove this and it replaced the redo of the patina adds to the labor. None of this is out of the range of a reasonably competent bench jeweler, it just takes longer to do the job.
We charge labor according to what we do. The labor could be more for doing silver repair than gold repair since more work is involved.
Material costs for the silver repair are less than with gold repair. All in all, if the jeweler charges the appropriate labor to do the job I see no reason they should not work on your bracelet.
What you need to do is make some phone calls. Don't expect the chain mall stores to do this work. While some might, many send work out for repair and some repair only items they sell. Try a reputable local jeweler first, one of the better ones. Ask if they do repairs in-house. If so, ask if you can bring the bracelet by for an estimate. If they are hesitant about working on the bracelet, go somewhere else.
A good and competent bench jeweler is able to do this work. The store may have a policy against silver work(silly policy IMO) preventing that. Simply call and ask. You should find a competent jeweler who will do the work for you.
Best wishes on getting the bracelet repaired.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas. July 12, 2008 8:34pm
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QUESTION: Thanks for the information about your work with turquoise. I found that very interesting. I had noticed that a lot of turquoise of this day and age looks too perfect. I know that mine is probably not very valuable to anyone but me,but I only paid $25 for it. Do you have any knowledge of jewelers in North Carolina?
AnswerPatricia, I am not far from North Carolina but do not know jewelers there. I do wish I could help on that but don't have the info.
Again, you should be able to find a jeweler who will do the work.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas. July 13, 2008 1:26pm
