FORUM

I have just been quoted €45 to replace the catch on a fine gold chain -- which is about what I paid for it new, a few decades ago!

Can anyone recommend another jewellery repairer (preferably in Perpignan), whose prices might be a bit more reasonable?

I thought €45 was an average price nowadays, the price of gold has gone up considerably over the past decades. You might try going to Le Perthus, I've taken jewellery there to be repaired.

The price doesn’t seem unreasonable to me either.

There are a number of working jewellers near to the Castillet in Perpignan who have done minor repairs for us. The prices have always been less than we would have expected to pay in England.

Easy enough to fit a new catch yourself:
http://www.cooksongold.com/Findings/14c ... channel=uk

Russell

russell wrote:Easy enough to fit a new catch yourself:
http://www.cooksongold.com/Findings/14c ... channel=uk

Russell

You obviously know the jargon, and the necessary skills. But it’s entirely unobvious to me how you’d fit it (does it need to be soldered?) or whether it might be the right size (12mm seems quite big for me for a gold chain, unless I were a drug dealer, but what do I know).

It’s my good fortune (or at least that’s how it seems to me) that I have no idea how much you might pay to repair gold jewellery. But it has taken me 60-odd years to learn that there comes a point when you stop searching for a better price and just cough up.

It’s one of the advantages of the interweb that the bricks-and-mortar shops cannot rip you off as much they previously might have.

russell wrote:Easy enough to fit a new catch yourself:
http://www.cooksongold.com/Findings/14c ... channel=uk

Russell

Not quite as it seems, the product shown is not gold at all but rolled gold which is normally used on junk jewellery. From the same supplier, the cheapest gold clasp is about 30€. You then have to add on the cost of gold Solder (about €20) and then have the means and the skill to heat it to 750 deg C. to solder the joint.

Suddenly €45 looks a bargain.

There are,of course, various sizes and qualities available. The bigger ones are easier to do up if you have arthritic fingers. What quality did the original quote specify?

They do not need soldering. They come with a jump ring which you just twist to open and then twist back. If you want a really cheap solution you can buy from the far east :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wholesale-18K ... RCNBCuLBZQ

I do agree though that €45 seems reasonable when you consider all the overheads involved in running such a business.

Russell

russell wrote:There are,of course, various sizes and qualities available. The bigger ones are easier to do up if you have arthritic fingers. What quality did the original quote specify?

They do not need soldering. They come with a jump ring which you just twist to open and then twist back. If you want a really cheap solution you can buy from the far east :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wholesale-18K ... RCNBCuLBZQ

I do agree though that €45 seems reasonable when you consider all the overheads involved in running such a business.

Russell

Again Russell, you are pointing to something that is not gold, the GF after 18k stands for gold filled which is otherwise known as rolled gold which is brass with a tiny coating of gold.

Allan wrote: Again Russell, you are pointing to something that is not gold, the GF after 18k stands for gold filled which is otherwise known as rolled gold which is brass with a tiny coating of gold.

Agreed Allan, but my point was that it's difficult to know exactly what you are getting. All jewelers buy in mass produced findings from wholesalers. Cooksons are an old established firm and their range is similar to other wholesalers. If you buy from the far east via Ebay you take pot luck.

Legally "gold filled" has to be at least 5% gold while "gold plated" can be as little as 1 micron.

I would point out that brass is much stronger than gold so a gold plated or gold filled catch will be more durable than a gold one.

Russell