Gold jewellery repair

Have you used a local company or service in the P-O? Put your recommendations here/Share your good and bad experiences.

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KScarlett
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Gold jewellery repair

Post by KScarlett »

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?
Florence
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Post by Florence »

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.
Allan
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Post by Allan »

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.
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russell
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Post by russell »

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

Russell
martyn94
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Post by martyn94 »

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.
Allan
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Post by Allan »

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.
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russell
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Post by russell »

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 : :lol:

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
Allan
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Post by Allan »

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 : :lol:

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.
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russell
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Post by russell »

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
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