Antique ring and questions about repairs

[alene]

My most recent ebay find arrived yesterday. It's a really pretty ring, with little but very firey OECs and a beautiful gallery. The only problem is that it appears to have been previously sized with yellow gold, which left the bottom of the ring looking kind of awful, as you can see in the pictures. It can't really be seen when worn but since I'd like to size it up anyway (to fit my right hand), I thought I might as well get it fixed.

I took it to a jeweler yesterday who offered to fix it but two things gave me pause. First, he said that even if the ring is platinum (it is according to the seller but it's not marked so I don't know for sure) once the gold has been introduced, all subsequent repairs have to be done in gold. He can get rid of the yellow gold and replace it with white but there's no way to do it in platinum. This is really my main question, is that accurate?

Second, to go up 1/2 size, he charges $125. It sounds a bit steep, perhaps because it's about half of what I paid for the ring, is it? Would appreciate any advice.

 

[Jim Summa]

Hi alene,
It appears the ring has been sized larger a couple of times from the lines on the inside of the shank.
I am hoping the estimate by your shop would be to remove all the yellow part and replace it in Platinum (assuming that's what we are working with) and not just solder another piece to enlarge it.

My advise is to find a jeweler that will do the work using a laser welder. The best bet...and yes it will cost more money...is to simply cut out the yellow part (curious it was sized in yellow?) and replace it with platinum. It appears a little thin and this would be the time to thicken it up a little. The laser is much stronger and won't leave behind the lines were the piece is added.
Good Luck

 

[alene]

Jim, thanks so much for replying! Yes, it does appear that the ring was fixed with yellow gold for some reason. So, if the ring is in fact platinum, it can be fixed with platinum and not white gold? Is there any way to find out what the metal is before starting the repair? The jeweler I saw yesterday said that he wouldn't know it until he was actually working on the ring. Thanks!

 

[Christina...]

Jim, thanks so much for replying! Yes, it does appear that the ring was fixed with yellow gold for some reason. So, if the ring is in fact platinum, it can be fixed with platinum and not white gold? Is there any way to find out what the metal is before starting the repair? The jeweler I saw yesterday said that he wouldn't know it until he was actually working on the ring. Thanks!

Alene, I think that I would go to a jeweler that specializes in working with antique pieces. I agree with Jim, that this would be the time to have the metal built back up and the ring sized correctly. Also metals are tested all the time, so I'm not sure why he can't identify it until he starts working with it. I think your best bet is to shop around and see what others have to say before settling on this particular jeweler.

 

[Jim Summa]

alene,
Yes, you can size it with platinum...just be sure to remove the gold and replace it with platinum. (and find a shop with a laser welder).
It looks to me to be about 25% of the rings back, or a 1/4 shank because you are sizing it larger.
Christina's advice is good, a shop should be able to figure what the metal is on the take-in. It does take a careful examination on older rings and will take a few minutes while they test it.

 

[LibbyLA]

Alene,

I'm dealing with a similar situation, with a ring I bought over two months ago. I needed to have it sized up a size and a quarter. Apparently, it had been resized once or twice before and gold had been used. Before we knew about the gold problem, my jeweler quoted me $124 to resize. Because we've had some trouble with this (the gold problem and a glitch in communication somewhere that got it resized to 7 3/4 rather than the 8 1/4 I'd specified), he's not charging me any more even though he's going to have to use more platinum sizing stock to replace the gold that will be removed.

It seems steep, I agree, especially when compared to bargain prices for rings, but it's probably still a bargain even with the repair/resizing cost. It will be in good condition so you can wear and enjoy it for years to come.

I think you got a decent deal even including the repair cost.

liz

 

[Mara]

I pay about $50 to resize but I think it would depend on how much you are resizing/aka how much metal would need to be added, and if it's wg or platinum. Also ditto taking it somewhere where they know how to work with old rings and can fix it in platinum and remove all the gold.

 

[alene]

Thanks everyone! I did take it to an antique jewelry shop with great reviews but I guess it doesn't mean much. I'll definitely need to shop around and will make sure to ask about laser welding.

 

[LibbyLA]

Alene,

With platinum, you definitely want laser welding. It was probably resized with gold before there were laser welders, so using gold was the only option (but not a good one).

One online vendor from whom I bought a ring charges $50 for the first part or whole size up and $25 for each additional, but that's on rings they sell. Also, you'd have to consider how much gold has to be removed, so you're almost certainly going up more than half a size. Just depends on the original ring size.

Keep us posted!

liz

 

[alene]

Liz, good point about probably having to size up more than half a size. Sounds like this may end up being a pretty expensive repair. I think the ring may to stay on my left hand for the next few months, until I have my ering reset. Then I'll look into resizing/repairing this one.