Most of us purchase precious jewelry as an investment for life. Jewelry is often inherited and can even become family heirlooms. Jewelry requires maintenance to always look flawless, and after a while, a little neglect starts to show.
If you’re here because of a broken jewelry piece, there are some questions you should ask yourself before giving your jeweler the “go-ahead” to start bringing your piece back to life. Here are the most important ones:
1. Will you truly wear it after the repair?
If you’re repairing a jewelry piece you never wore much to begin with, there’s a chance it’ll happen again. In this case, you should consider a jewelry redesign. Maybe the reason you’re not wearing it is just because it doesn’t match your style.
Talk to your jeweler about remodeling options. You might uncover gorgeous possibilities which will truly reflect who you are.
2. Check with your jeweler if the repair will be done in-house
Now, if you truly want to move on with the repair of a most-beloved, can’t-live-without jewelry piece, you should make sure the jewelry piece in question isn’t being sent somewhere else for repairs.
Your local jeweler is the person you should trust the most for the repair because your jeweler is interested in maintaining a long business relationship with you. They’ll keep your wishes in mind.
3. Ask for a quote before moving on with the repair
Jewelry includes some incredibly precious parts. If your piece requires the replacement of precious gems or diamonds, for example, those will increase the repair cost considerably. You might conclude it’s truly worth the investment, but you should know what’s on the table beforehand.
4. Ask what your jeweler can fix
Jewelers can fix the most delicate jewelry, but breakages to gold chains or adjustments to rings featuring hard precious metals might not be worth the repair. Besides those, a quick chat with your jeweler might help you learn about the care and maintenance you should be providing your jewelry. An inspection might even prevent you from losing important bits in a precious piece.
5. Verify your jewelry shop has a certified gemologist in-house
It’s always great to have expert knowledge. Suppose you bring your precious jewelry piece to Lamon Jewelers, for example. In that case, you can rest assured that five goldsmiths and four graduate gemologists will be working to ensure the best possible repair solutions.
Jewelry making is an art, and gemstones and precious metals should be treated as the rare and delicate materials they are, no matter the age of your piece.
6. Always make sure you know how long the repair will take
If you are already acquainted with your jeweler and know exactly where to go, this will be a critical question to ask before having a piece repaired.
For example, imagine you have a big event, or you’d like to wear a family heirloom on your wedding day, but you don’t know how long its repair takes—in this case, you might miss the opportunity of having it repaired in time.
So, if you have an upcoming event, and you know you need a jewelry piece repaired before the date arrives, take it to your jeweler as soon as you can for a time estimate.
Have questions? Send us a message using the chat box at the bottom of this page, and our specialists will be with you shortly!
