Tips for Jewelry Repair
From the founder of Old Jewelry.
This post is part of Repair Month, a series dedicated to taking better care of stuff instead of buying more of it. Join the discussion thread here.
Eight years ago, Sarah Burns started collecting sterling silver jewelry. She had such a good eye that her friends kept asking her, “Where did you get that??" It happened enough times that they encouraged her to open her own business.
Old Jewelry Store began as an appointment-only showroom in Burns’ Ridgewood apartment, where she lives with her boyfriend, Old Jewelry’s photographer and co-owner Adam Caillier. In 2022, they opened their first permanent space underneath the Manhattan Bridge (in the same Chinatown mall where Eckhaus Latta and James Veloria also have storefronts), and this spring, they expanded to an adjacent location with three times the display space. There, you’ll find everything from unattributed vintage to contemporary designer showcases to a highly collectible Elsa Peretti cocktail ring for Tiffany with a “secret compartment.”
When I stopped by in April, Sarah and I chatted about her incredible collection, but I also used it as an opportunity to ask her about jewelry repair. Over the years, she’s collected a wealth of knowledge and is generous about sharing what she’s learned. She even gave me her favorite polishing cloth, which I now use all the time.
“It all started with, ‘Oh no, I have a broken link,’ and trying to find out how to get that fixed,” she says. She explored her neighborhood, where you can “throw a rock on any major road and hit a jewelry store,” and it turned out the one closest to her, K&C Jewelry, was the fastest and best. Fernando, the owner, does nearly all of Old Jewelry’s repairs and resizing. “If a customer wants something done, we’ll just drop it off on our way home.”
Talking to Sarah, I realized that going to a jeweler is a lot like going to a tailor. There are technical questions involved, but also emotions run high. “You're building a relationship of trust,” Sarah says. “Fernando and I, we're on the same page. He understands my timeline; I understand his. Because of that relationship, I feel comfortable bringing a piece back to him if something's not quite right. I can check in with him and have a conversation.”
I’ve developed pretty good relationships with tailors, cobblers, and dry cleaners in my area, but I don’t yet have a jewelry guy, so I picked Sarah’s brain again one afternoon this winter, and it was incredibly helpful. Here are a few things she shared with me…
What to keep in mind when getting a piece resized:
If there’s a pattern the whole way around the piece, make sure you're on the same page with your jeweler about how the pattern will be disrupted and where. Some might not accept the job.
If the piece is a collectible item, ask your jeweler not to slice through the hallmark or artist’s mark.
If the piece contains a precious stone, consider asking your jeweler to remove it, resize the piece, and then reset the stone.
If the piece is enameled, ask for it to be lasered to protect the enamel. Otherwise, it may be stripped away and then re-enameled.
If the piece has a patina, prepare for it to be removed. You can ask them not to polish, but sometimes, that’s not an option. The good news with silver is that a patina always returns over time.
Ask for your remnants, especially if they’re gold. You can turn them into something like a stud or sell them.
Some pieces just aren’t resizable. Thick, solid pieces are hard and laborious to resize; you might as well cast a new one. If a piece is hollow and fully soldered in every spot, that's also usually not resizable. Same for a piece with specific curves and angles. Worth asking, though.
Write all your specific preferences down on an envelope for your jeweler, just in case. They’re busy!
What to keep in mind when buying vintage:
Ask if the piece is hallmarked.
Ask if it’s been tested for its metal purity.
Ask if it’s been plated. (Sometimes, a piece might be marked as sterling or gold but has a rhodium plating over it or some other plating.)
Ask if the seller accepts refunds or exchanges.
Tips for cleaning:
Sarah’s favorite polishing cloth is from Sunshine, which is great for sterling silver. After polishing, be sure to rinse your piece with something like Dawn dish soap and pat dry.
She also loves Wright’s polishing cream, especially for well-worn vintage pieces. With a new piece, you might want to wait to use a cream because they have super-micro abrasives in them.
If you want your piece to look brand new, you can have it professionally polished.
Keep your pieces in an airtight storage container or jewelry box to avoid oxidation. You can also use an anti-tarnish baggie or wrap your pieces in an anti-tarnish cloth.
Sarah’s go-to repair shops:
K&C Jewelry in Ridgewood, Queens.
Ken Repair at 177 Canal Street inside Canal Jewelry Center.
L&C Jewelry at 36 W 47th Street, suite 308.
Thank you, Sarah! Be sure to visit Old Jewelry Store at 75 East Broadway. It’s at the top of the stairs in the back (#227).
NEXT TIME: A slob’s guide to getting out stains.
Thanks for this! Got a bag of things I’m going to now be taking to K&C for repairs 😅. I have a question on played jewelry where some of the plating has worn away — do you know if repair places like these might replace the plating? I have a few well loved pieces that this has happened to.