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Recommendation Needed: NYC Platinum Jeweler for Resizing

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mistystar

Rough_Rock
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Nov 17, 2004
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howdy everyone,

was wondering if anyone can recommend a jeweler in nyc who can do an excellent job resizing (down) a platinum, knife-edge engagement ring? i know there are quite a few in the diamond district but wanted to know who you would recommend. i don''t want to take something this precious to anybody, who could possibly do a bad job. appreciate your recommendations. thanks.

misty
 
Not that helpful, but I bought a platinum E-ring from Shenoa and Co and they had it cut and resized in an hour for us by someone they use on 47th.

We were quite pleased with the job they did. You could call them and ask who they use.

Shenoa & Co.
1 West 47 Street NEW YORK, NY 10036 (212) 764-1625
 
thanks roadpupp and rockslover for your replies. i was just hoping for a specific jeweler who does an excellent job resizing platinum rings. i have a friend who got her ring resized and i could clearly see the mark left behind by the jeweler. i know my boyfriend spent a lot of time purchasing my ring so i would like to do my research before someone cuts up my ring. i would love it if there is someone who can resize the ring w/o any marks or lines. should i look for jewelers who specialize in laser soldering? read that from doing a search here. no one from nyc that can help a gal out? thanks.
 
need some recommendations, please.
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very highly recommended
Pepe Creations Inc - - 2 W 45th St - (212) 391-1514
 
thanks for your recommendation windowshopper. can you tell me what pepe creations did for you? just curious to know why you highly recommend them. thanks.

happy thanksgiving to everyone on this forum!!!
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Platinum and gold have very different qualities when it comes to soldering, so you are right when you ask for a platinum jeweller.

I can''t help you regarding NY jewellers, but I can tell you that to solder gold you need a rough join as gold solder doesn''t flow as good and you need rough lines to fill the gap. Otherwise you gold join will be weak. Platinum is the opposite in that way. It has a high melting point and loves to fill gaps, no matter how fine they are. You can therefore create a join that is extremely fine and have a good join. If the line is fine enough there won''t be a drag line from the polishing. People who work with gold don''t know that - many who work with plat don''t even. Also, I know jewellers who solder plat with white gold, even silver because their torches are not hot enough!

You can see the line if you look close enough no matter how well the join was soldered, but it shouldn''t be obvious. It probably should be rhodium plated to enhance the stones brilliance which makes joins that dragged look really bad, but slightly improves a good join.

Lazer is not really a good option. It only taks the outer edge - not deep. I don''t know how good some people at using their lazers in NY. It is pretty new technology to me and as yet of no real benefit.

Best of all, ask around to have it fused. The two joins melt together very well in plat creating a solid shank. This takes a lot of skill and many jewellers won''t do it as they risk melting the band. I only do it on rings I personally made, and/or where I know the particular alloy well and what temperature I can bring it too. Unfortunately the heat involved in fusing can burn your diamond. If your ring is a large size and the band not too thick it is not a problem. I am betting you don''t want to take this risk though.

Cheers
 
thanks platinumsmith for your educational reply. your expertise is well appreciated. i assumed that most jewelers would solder a platinum e-ring w/ platinum. it seems like such a waste to cut out a piece of costly platinum and solder it w/ white gold or silver. is this a common practice among jewelers due to the high melting point of platinum? is it more expensive to get your ring soldered in plat due to labor? i''m curious to know what other people feel about this. i didn''t realize that it would be this difficult to find someone in NYC to resize my e-ring. if anyone knows of a good platinum jeweler, you would really make this girl very giddy. still searching for a resizer. until then, i''ll continue to use my snuggie that others have recommended here.

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It does happen and it is actually legal due to some old laws dating back to when torches were just gass. Platinum solder is avoided by some jewellers as they loose any chance of removing the head if it doesn''t solder straight and because you need graphite etc tools just to hold it steady. The other stuff burns.

Not entirely sure what to tell you to answer your question. If w/gold is used, the gold component often bleeds onto the plat at the joins. You will some smidge of gold on some very high-end cutoms platinum websites, so the practice is definately also used in the US.

The most important thing in plat is that they get the solder joins nice and close as both metals make a good join. Take it back if you see a groove, but not if it is hard to see. It is always there. Platinum solder comes in 3 grades hard, medium and easy - most solder comes that way. The difference is the melting point not the actual hardness. In plat the lower melting point solders, especially soft are not better and perhaps inferior. Platinum ''easy'' solder is under Karat as is 9k ''extra easy''

You could ring around and say, do you have a jeweller who can fuse my plat band and keep asking till you have found a few. It should not be done at a premium as, while there is more skill involved the time taken is the same. The best guy would say, yes, but I can''t say yes, or no, until I see it. He most certainly does not need to resort to using other metals.

It is not easy to tell you what you want to hear, but bear in mind, this is only an extremely thin line you are concerning yourself with. If the job is not up-to-standard, it is very simple to put it right, so you might have to chance it, and hope you don''t have to give it back again. Choose someone who seems confident with it. It isn''t that hard, it''s just not everybody is practiced in it.

If they charge a little more for plat I wouldn''t complain. Most don''t but many people devote only a certain amount of time to any given task, so they save time by polishing less etc. The shop you bought it from should do the job for free. Other shops may discount their resizing, just to get your buisness.

You are sizing the ring down, yes. They get a piece of plat out of the deal, not much but it adds up after time. Don''t forget that.
 
You have a laser welder? Thats not fair...

I always assumed you could cover 1/2 a mm all the way around and that would be a better join then solder. I know of the technique your using. Does that tend to thin the band?

I have had pretty good success with fusing, though I often solder joins. I really believe that platinum should be welded, or fused. I also like the idea of taking integral parts of settings before you solder would ensure more precise work and save a lot of hassles in lining up the components. I am unsure about taking a whole setting. Photos I have seen a bit rough on the inside. You'll tell me if I am wrong.

I'd love to see the photos Steve. I know that many jewellers are very excited about laser welders. I know it won't be long before I need one too. I will be watching closely.

Cheers

PS
 
No problem,

If I bought a laser welder I think I''d have every other jeweller on my floor always bugging me to use it.
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