Repairing Old Jewelry

Ok Ok... I know I said I was going to write about steam punk. That will have to be put off for another week. I realized I had a lot of pictures about fixing old stuff.

Recently my mother, my boss and my old boss came to me with items they needed fixed for one reason or another.

The first one was a Lia Sophia multi-strand necklace. One of the strands had broken and the chain on the back had fallen off. The strand was easy enough to fix since it was just bending the wire back into place. And to fix the back all I needed was a small bit of simple antiqued brass chain and it was done. :) A Bazillion dollar necklace fixed in no time.

The next two are both from Mom. She likes to buy bracelets made out of elastic but after a while the elastic loses its stretch. The first one is green stone, I think serpentine with white elastic thread.

It didn't really photograph well because of the white thread. But here is the after picture. Mom asked for the lobster claw clasp. I really don't like them very much, they are too hard to clasp by yourself. I like the toggle clasp much better, they are elegant looking and easier to clasp.

Here is a myth! "Toggle clasps fall off easier" That is false if the bracelet fits properly it won't come off. Only when you have a bracelet that is too big for a wrist will it come undone.

The next one you can see really stretched. This one is a mother of pearl or abalone two holed bracelet. It had black elastic thread instead of the floss.

With this bracelet I used the lobster claw again and beading wire. I was very pleased at how it turned out.

The last one was a broken necklace from my boss. The one I spoke about in my last blog post. They were magnetic beads, and at first I tried to lay it out on my bead board, but they skittered all over the place. So I gave up on planning out the necklace and used what was still strung as my guide. The bead had been strung on nylon thread. (No wonder it had broken. The beads were heavy to start out with and you add that the necklace was too small for his neck AND the fact it was on nylon thread it was going to break its a wonder it lasted as long as it did!)
Dave asked that I add about 1/2 inch to it so it wouldn't be so tight. I added two magnetic round barrel beads on either side. After putting it back together only one tiny bead was missing. I used thin beading wire again along with a new magnetic clasp for the necklace.

All in all I was very pleased with how it turned out. What is great is I see him wearing it every day, which is wonderful!!! Make me feel happy.

Here is a note on my pricing. If I am fixing items that are simple restringing. Then I usually charge about 5 dollars. If it needs rework or new bead a little more depending on supplies. And if I am busy and something is given to me that needs fixed right away then it is a bit more. (About 10 dollars, especially if I have to put something aside to work on their item.)

Ok so next week... Steampunk.... maybe. :D