Costs for Tiffany & Co sterling repairs....

[lizzyann]

Just wondering if anyone has had any of their T & Co. sterling pieces repaired before by them. And if so, how were the costs? I have a sterling locket that the hinge broke on. Not sure if I should just bring it to them to repair or try someone else.

 

[Enerchi]

My DD had a beaded silver chain with the "Return to Tiffany" heart charm on a bracelet, and it broke. I gathered up all the beads, as many as we could find, and they just exchanged it. Easy Peasy! Same thing happened with her matching beaded necklace - snapped in the shower one day - again, gathered it all up and when I was back in LV where I bought it for her, no fuss no muss, just an easy exchange.

she also had pearl earrings that were given to her by my sister, and bought in NYC Fifth Ave store. I had them with me when I was in Florida and they just gave me a new pair for her.

I've had very easy repair experiences!

 

[iLander]

I purchased an antique Tiffany sterling silver hand mirror at an antique store in the early '80's. I held on to it for years, and finally wanted to get it engraved (it had a spot for engraving and it had never been done previously). I took it to a small Tiffany branch and they were just in awe of it. The sent it to the NYC store, and the engraving department did hand-drawn sketches for me, of various monogram styles that worked with the design of the mirror. They really took it seriously.

When I got it back, they had completely cleaned it, the engraving was beautiful, and they put it in a Tiffany anti-tarnish bag and a blue box with ribbon. The sales lady was told me it was her privilege to be a part of the process. It was only a 1930's mirror, not that great, I thought, but I'm really picky.

All for about $100.

So, yeah, take it to Tiffany, they take service seriously.

Chanel does too, they will refurbish a bag for life (for a small fee). Vuitton won't BTW, you're on your own with them.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Anyone know about Cartier and polishing/re-rhodiuming a Trinity ring? Is that best left to Cartier or is it ok to take it to any jeweler?

 

[LoveLikeCrazy]

I have many pieces from tiffany's and their customer service is STELLAR.

I have broken more than one chain and it is a flat rate of 25$ for repair. They ship it to NY and you can have it shipped to your home (extra 15$) or pick up from store (free). My most recent chain repair was actually this past week so i know for sure this is accurate

For earrings, if the backs get loose, they will just continue giving you new backs (and allow you to keep the old ones too!).

 

[iLander]

Anyone know about Cartier and polishing/re-rhodiuming a Trinity ring? Is that best left to Cartier or is it ok to take it to any jeweler?

I went to Cartier in NYC for a new watch band this summer. They are a tedious bunch of folks. I sat in a room (a lovely room in the Cartier mansion on 5th, but still just a room) with a bunch of other folks waiting their turn to approach a huge desk and speak to the ladies behind the desk. Many of the other people appeared to be high-powered guys without time to spare, but they were made to wait anyway. It was like an extremely fancy DMV. After about a half hour, they called my name, and they were only able to show me 2 bands that would fit my watch; one that was the one I already had (crocodile), the other was alligator but in black. Yawn. After 1/2 hour wait. I was hoping for something exotic like lizard or at least a great color. Each band was about $160.

If I were you, I'd call the nearest small Cartier boutique and ask them about re-plating and see what they say. Presumably they should be able to give you an estimate on the phone. I would have them do it, to preserve the integrity of the piece, if it were me.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Thanks, iLander. I've twice had terrible customer service at Cartier (once with the Trinity ring and once with a Tank watch) that I feel entirely intimidated. Both the watch and the ring are not high dollar items, so I feel like they'd boot me out of the store for even deigning to ask

 

[madelise]

Everyone's so happy with T&CO.. what's wrong with all my experiences? They charged me almost $200 to lengthen my necklace by 2 inches. OF SILVER. The necklace itself was $200!

 

[chemgirl]

Thanks, iLander. I've twice had terrible customer service at Cartier (once with the Trinity ring and once with a Tank watch) that I feel entirely intimidated. Both the watch and the ring are not high dollar items, so I feel like they'd boot me out of the store for even deigning to ask

Same here with the bad service. Terrible service at two locations and great at one. I always wonder if they would treat me better if I had something of higher dollar value. I was told that its a PITA to rhodium plate a trinity ring, but they can do it. I would expect it to be fairly pricey.

My husband wanted his wedding band adjusted by half a size and he was quoted a crazy amount.

Another time I was told by one sales associate that my engraving would be free since my ring was so new, only to be handed a bill when I went to pick it up!

Buying my husband's wedding band was an ordeal in itself where one location wanted to put a hold on my credit card before they "tried" to find what I was looking for at another location. I called a store across town and they had a courier bring it over from Paris in like 2 hours with nothing more than my name and a product description.

Very inconsistent.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I took one necklace in and the gal told me if an item breaks w/in the first year, they fix it for free. The chain on one of my necklaces was tugged and it snapped. I can't remember how long I had owned it at that point. It was either free or they charged me $20... It crossed my mind that they probably just swapped it out for another silver chain. It broke sooooo easily...I cannot imagine using one of those flimsy chains for a diamond necklace.

 

[lizzyann]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think I'll just have to take it in and hope for the best. I've had it for a little over 2 years now so definitely not less than a year. It is my everyday necklace and I hope they can fix it for me for a reasonable cost or exchange.