When fine old jewelry needs restoration, our goal is to preserve all the work that is good and repair or restore what is missing or broken so it blends seamlessly with the original.

Repair, Renovation, and Restoration

Jewelry is worn and exposed to such extreme physical stress and abuse that it’s amazing any ancient pieces still exist.

If not destroyed by the wear and tear of day-to-day use and the ravages of time and the elements, jewelry can fall victim to the shifting whims of fashion.

But when you do acquire a fine old piece that needs restoration, weigh the merits carefully. The piece has lasted this long; the choices you make will determine how it fares in the future.

Determine your goal for the piece and deliberate which course of action you will take to meet that goal. Each piece presents a series of questions. To find the answers, you need to understand a few things first. Here’s a guide.

How does restoration differ from repair and renovation? What is conservation and how does it apply? How do you go about getting the work done?

Conservation is a careful preservation and protection of an object and is the approach most often favored by museums for collections that are not intended to be worn. The work is stabilized and then stored or displayed to minimize future deterioration. Any restoration is minimal to avoid clouding the view of the original work, which would damage its historical significance. Due to the irreplaceable nature and sentimental value of family heirlooms, conservation is often implored to minimize the risks of damaging the piece.

Historical restoration involves using authentic period details, materials, tools and techniques. It often involves extensive research. Historic restoration also involves many aspects of conservation. The goal is to preserve all the work that is good and then repair or restore what is missing and broken. The final step is to re-create the appropriate patinas and surfaces so the new work is difficult to detect.

To repair is to restore by replacing a missing part or putting together what is torn or broken. Repair places more emphasis on mending than on returning to an original form. Repair is carried out in the most direct manner, but often leaves the piece visibly altered.

Renovation involves altering an old piece of jewelry to evolve it into a new one. Some examples could be turning a broach into and necklace, removing components from a tiara to make into earing’s, and converting a pendant into a ring. Renovations often result in a drastic, if not total reduction in the antique value of the piece to collectors.

Combination of approaches

Repair and renovation are the most common approaches we use when working on antique or old jewelry. The exact combination of approaches used depends on the ultimate use of the piece, its value, historical significance, age, and current condition.

The Restoration Process

Surprisingly, the majority of restorations we perform include the correction of poorly executed previous repairs.

 After pinpointing the problems, we provide you with the costs and benefits of different restoration opinions. We make you aware of the risks, give an honest assessment of the final result, and provide a realistic timeframe for the work.

Timeframe

Restoration always takes longer than you imagine due to the nature of the work, our meticulous attention to detail, and the care and consideration that we put into each product. Restorations can take in excess of six months.

When working on particularly exceptional pieces we take care to document the work with before and after photos. These often prove useful in determining authenticity and provenance. If an item is lost or damaged later, the photographs can be used to establish the historical baseline.

Potential Risks

Most jewelry processes have inherent risks. The delicate nature of antique jewelry makes it even more susceptible to damage.

While today’s consumers relate weight with value in fine jewelry, lighter jewelry used to be favored  because it was more comfortable to wear and gave evidence of a maker’s virtuosity in creating a complex piece that was both visually and physically light. To express themselves and display their prowess and technical skill, goldsmiths would create incredibly difficult designs. This fine work can easily fall victim to being crushed, melted, or otherwise damaged if the restoration is handled poorly.

Another hurdle in restoring antique jewelry is preserving the delicate and rare materials in the piece. When creating new jewelry, hair, emeralds, pearls and other delicate materials are all installed or set after all welding has been completed. However in restoration work, those fragile components are already in place requiring the restoration to work around them as to avoid damage. Some esoteric materials found in antique jewelry have little intrinsic value, but are very difficult to replace, and some older gemstones are cut in ways that are no longer available but can be custom-cut at great expense.

The dangers of restoring a piece of jewelry go beyond simple risk to the materials. All jewelry is a product of the era into which it was born.  It’s connected to fashion, economics, politics and social consciousness.  For this reason, it’s important for a jewelry restorer to understand the zeitgeist – or general intellectual, moral and cultural climate – of the era in which it was created. A restorer must not damage or erase these characteristics that distinguish the period in which the jewelry was designed or the individual characteristics of the designer.

Patinas are one example of period defining characteristics. They reflect a connection to the past. Patinas can be developed artificially to replicate those produced naturally through time, but they are never the same. Any work done can damage the patina which can highly impact the value of the piece, especially to collectors.

Engravings are another common example of historic features on antique jewelry. While we can restore engraving using old world techniques, it’s difficult to match the form and expression of a particular artist.  A variation in the depth and angle of a cut, the size of grooves and how the cutter was sharpened will change the finished effect of an engraved piece, for example.  This can be a daunting task because other examples of an artist’s work often aren’t available for comparison.

One last challenge can be repairing an inherently flawed piece. Often, a piece fails and is weak structurally because the material is flawed or because of an engineering error, and if merely repaired it will most likely break again.  In these cases, it is not only required to repair the break, but also to correct the original problem in the least invasive possible manner as to preserve the original style and technique of the piece.

Many of today’s restorers make the mistake of applying a 21st century aesthetic to the redesign of elements missing from antique jewelry.  Examples include huge replacement prongs on delicate Georgian period jewelry, wide shanks replacing narrow ones on Victorian rings and high polish on all surfaces – regardless of whether that was the original design.  This is why it is necessary to learn about the period in which the piece was created.

These legacies of an era of quality craftsmanship for its own sake are difficult and risky to repair. A second’s lapse in concentration can destroy a piece which why it is important to exclusively utilize experts in antique restorations for this kind of work.

For more on restoration, check out our articles for accounts of restoration projects we’ve worked on.